Air Arabia links France and Morocco

Beginning at the end of March this year, Air Arabia will fly between Montpellier in southern France and the cities of Nador, Tangier, Oujda, Fez and Casablanca.

There will be a total of eight flights per week. Montpellier is Air Arabia Maroc’s third destination in the country after Paris and Lyon. Flights between Montpellier and Casablanca originally started on March 28, 2010.

Air Arabia Maroc flights will operate four times per week between Montpellier and Air Arabia Maroc’s hub in Mohamed V International Airport, Casablanca. The LCC (low-cost carrier) will also operate one weekly flight between Montpellier and the cities of Nador, Oujda, Fez and Tangier. Flights details will soon be available on www.airarabia.com.

The Middle East's first low-cost carrier, Air Arabia was established in 2003 by the Ruler of Sharjah and the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates, and is now a publically-listed company based in Sharjah with secondary hubs in Casablanca and Cairo. With its fleet of A320s, Air Arabia’s network includes services within the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Europe. Air Arabia has established subsidiary airlines in Morocco and Egypt with local investors in each country. This is part of the airline's strategy to create the first pan-Arab airline.

Magic in Marrakech !

The Marrakech International Magic Festival will take place in Marrakech from the 19th to 22nd March 2011.

The festival will feature performances by international magicians and illusionists. The largest shows will be held at the Royal Theatre located at 40 Boulevard Mohammed VI, in the heart of the Le Gueliz area. The show will perform at 10am, 3pm and 8pm. There will also be smaller free street performances throughout the city.

Visitors to the event will be able to marvel at the grand illusions, the inventiveness and the millimetre-perfect precision of magicians and illusionists from across Europe and further afield. Further information on the programme for the 2011 Marrakech International Magic Festival and the participating acts may soon be obtained on the website magiemarrakech.com. However, at present the site does not mention anything after 2009 !

In addition to the performances there are also conferences. For conferences that are open to the public the charge for entry is 120 Dhs or 100 Dhs. Other conferences are by invitation only.

The Marrakech International Magic Festival has been favourably reviewed in the local newspapers and visitors to Morocco during March 2011 should try to see at least some of the acts taking part in this event. The Royal Theatre itself is an important architectural site and has an open-air amphitheatre that seats 1,200 as well as an 800-seat concert hall/opera house.

Fez Riads has a range of beautiful Marrakech riads to stay in.

Morocco in last ditch effort to secure 2015 Africa Nations Cup

In four days time South Africa will attempt to derail Morocco for the third time in a decade. Next Friday, January 28, in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the hosts for the 2015 Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) will be decided. It's a two-horse race between South Africa and Morocco with the former in possession of the upper hand. Experience will hand the tournament to the south but in interests of fairness the continental championship should be played in the north.

South Africa's case to host AFCON writes itself: they have ten world-class stadiums that successfully hosted the world's biggest football tournament; they did so with almost no glitches and offered top-notch security and impressive facilities all round.

It is also a Mecca for sporting events, having also hosted a cricket and rugby World Cup, various other international tournaments and even AFCON in 1996. There's almost no argument that can be made against South Africa and it's not difficult to see why Morocco face an uphill battle in securing the bid, especially since they've been pipped at the post by South Africa before.

Morocco have long wanted to host a major tournament and have competed with South Africa on the biggest stage for that right, having bid for both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. At the turn of the millennium, the race for the 2006 World Cup was hotting up, particularly because there was expectation that an African country would finally be trusted to become FIFA-land for a month.

Morocco are putting forward a comprehensive package to support their bid and sports minister Moncef Belkhayat is confident that his country has done enough to secure hosting rights this time. "We have submitted a balanced file. A committee of CAF visited the Moroccan infrastructure and submitted a positive report."

The last time Morocco hosted the tournament was in 1988 and not only are they hungry to do so again, but they seem to have a proper plan in place. A neutral observer can only hope it comes off.

Self-immolation case in Morocco

Tunisia's first serious social unrest in 23 years was sparked off on December 17, when a jobless youth identified as Muhammad Bouazizi, set himself ablaze in the city of Sidi Bouzid after police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he was selling without a permit. Fears that the Tunisia-style self immolation attempts might spread to other regions is sadly looking to be the case with reports of similar episodes elsewhere in Arab North Africa have been borne out.

In Egypt an unemployed man died from severe burns after setting himself alight on the roof of his house in Alexandria.

In Mauritania, after informing the media, a 42-year-old businessman drenched himself with petrol and set himself alight in his car which was parked outside the Senate.

According to press reports there have been at least 8 more self-immolation attempts in Algeria and Mauritania. And now Maghreb Arabe Presse reports the first case in Morocco.

The incident took place in Casablanca. According to MAP sources, The first case of self-immolation in the country was motivated by inheritance problems. The man is being treated in a hospital, MAP reported, citing a person from the medical profession.

A close relative told the country's official news agency that the deceased had doused himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze in Dar El Beida (Casablanca) after becoming totally disillusioned by his family problems.

The Agora Gallery in Marrakech

If you have never visited the Agora gallery in Marrakech, now would be a good time. Emarrakech informs us that they have a new exhibition by Amine El Gotaibi that is worth checking out.

An earlier work by Amine El Gotaibi

La galerie Agora commence cette saison avec un nouveau souffle celui des ‘’Projets de la Galerie in-situ’’ qui révèle la relation intime entre l'artiste et l’espace. C’est l’artiste-plasticien Amine El Gotaibi lauréat de l’Institut National des Beaux Arts de Tétouan qui ouvre le bal avec une exposition solo intitulée ’’ Expérimental’’ du samedi 12 février au 3 mars 2011. Amine el Gotaïbi expose dans des galeries au Maroc et en Europe. En septembre 2010, il est invité à la prestigieuse résidence de la Cité des arts à Paris.

The gallery can be found just behind the Hotel Agdal. The exact address is 9, Bd Mansour Dahbi Residence Jaafar, RC Building C, Gueliz.

For those unfamiliar with Amine's work, he has a fine reputation across a wide range of the visual arts from sculpture to installation, video and photography.

The works in this exhibition combine smal amounts of colour with a more general black and white. It opened on the 12th and runs through until the 3rd of March.

Opinion: The Tunisian Revolt - is it contagious?

Events in Tunisia have prompted a mixed reaction in Morocco. While the overthrowing of the corrupt dictatorship has brought smiles to many faces, there are some who express concern that the troubles of Tunisia might be contagious. Even more mixed has been the reporting by the international media. Ibn Warraq investigates.

For the first time in the month of protests, the demonstration on Friday also included large numbers of women — almost none wearing veils — and many snapping cellphone pictures of the crowd to post on the Internet. - The New York Times

For the New York Times, the notable thing was that many female demonstrators were not wearing veils. Really? Haroon Moghul, Executive Director of The Maydan Institute, a consulting and communications project devoted to enhancing understanding between Muslims and the West, writing in Religion Dispatches, takes issue...If, instead, it had been veiled women calling for democracy, would their protests have been any less meaningful? If so, we’d probably make this calculation: If their governments had stifled their society, that’s the fair trade we make to keep the bearded barbarians and headscarved hordes in check. I say “probably” because indeed we did: Tunisia was a close American ally in the war on terror, much as we cozy up, time and time again, to vile leaders who use the Islamist bogeyman to crack down on human rights for those human types.

And while on "the veil", it is interesting that Tunisia always pointed to the fact that Tunisia was "modern" because women were not ordered to cover their heads and that it was not the case in neighbouring countries. That is simply nonsense. The fact that in most "modern" Muslim countries choice of wearing a head covering is the norm. For the record the countries where head covering is optional include; Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, and Bahrain.

Many media outlets have noted the lack of "Islamist fundamentalists" in Tunisia, without also pointing out that the Ben Ali regime had cracked down on Islamists to the point where many fled overseas. It was not simply that women were not required to cover their heads, but that observing the fasting month of Ramadan could bring the forces of the state down upon you. Observing Ramadan is not "fundamentalist".

Middle East expert and correspondent for ‘The Independent’ newspaper in Britain, Robert Fisk, was asked by Euronews journalist Seamus Kearney for his thoughts about the wider implications of the crisis in Tunisia. While discounting any flow over effects, he went on to say' “Well it should be a warning, particularly to Egypt, to Jordan, it should be a warning to Morocco, which has been clapping its hands at the departure of Mr Ben Ali a bit late in the day."

“But the idea that these manifestations against dictatorship and corruption and so on are going to flip flop across borders I cannot believe." Robert Fisk

“The fear of “Islamism” is so great that the European Union, individual Western Countries, America will not want this to contaminate other countries in the region. But the leaders – they’re shaking in their boots all right, and good for them.”

While I generally agree with Fisk and have great admiration for his understanding of the Muslim world, I take issue that our leaders are "shaking in their boots".

The Moroccan government, by contrast, has welcomed developments and issued the following statement - The Kingdom of Morocco, which has followed with great concern the major tragic events that took place in brotherly Tunisia, expresses "feelings of deep solidarity" with the Tunisian people as a whole in this delicate and crucial period of its history.

Recalling the brotherly and historical ties between the Moroccan and Tunisian peoples and their particular attachment to their common Maghreban destiny, the Kingdom of Morocco expresses hope that the different political constituents and all Tunisian active and creative forces will find through the required serenity and the fruitful national dialogue "the paths to peace, stability and harmony that will ensure individual and collective tranquility and progress to the Tunisian brothers," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In this respect, adds the statement, the Kingdom of Morocco calls on the international community to bring as soon as possible its support to the efforts deployed in Tunisia with a view to meeting the legitimate aspirations of the great brotherly Tunisian people.

"The stability of this country is essential and fundamental to regional security and stability, particularly in the Maghreb," underlined the statement.

INSIDE TUNISIA

Tunisia's interim president, Foued Mebazaa, yesterday vowed "a complete break with the past" to calm fears that the revolution was being hijacked by the presence of the dictatorship's ruling party in the interim government.

In his first televised speech, Mebazaa promised a "revolution of dignity and freedom" following the ousting of Tunisia's dictator president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, after four weeks of street protests. Mebazaa promised to honour "all the legitimate aspirations of the uprising".

Yesterday, as the interim cabinet held its first meeting, around 500 protestors, mostly the radical left and trade unions, took to the streets in central Tunis demanding that the ruling RCD party be excluded. But the mood in the capital was lightening.

Unlike previous days, the protesters on Bourguiba Avenue were not teargassed or beaten but were instead allowed to stand peacefully protesting until nightfall. Political prisoners, including a key dissident journalist, began to be released, the curfew was shortened, cafes reopened and people milled to work. In the narrow streets of the old medina, tourists were bartering over bags.

Other developments inside Tunisia are also hopeful. Only last week, the dissident blogger Slim Amamou was handcuffed to a chair in the notorious interrogation rooms of Tunisia's interior ministry being psychologically tormented by the dictator's henchmen and led to believe that the screams he could hear from neighbouring rooms was his family members being tortured.

It's a sign of the dizzying speed of change in Tunisia that today he was being sworn in by the prime minister as minister for youth and sport, live-tweeting that the first clash between members of the ruling RCD party was over the fact that "I'm not wearing a tie.".

Amamou is the CEO of a web development company and calls himself a "partisan of the neutrality of the net". A member of the Pirate party, inspired by the Swedish movement, he has been active on the underground blogger's circuit for many years. In a brutally repressive dictatorship, with the world's most advanced internet censorship technology, rivalling that of China or north Korea, Amamou and his fellow bloggers circulated news and videos in the name of protesting against the repressive regime.

An activist in the once banned Islamist Ennahda party, Azizi Tej stood in the crowd of demonstrators chanting "Tunisia is free". Tej had been imprisoned three times, tortured, had staged a series of hunger strikes, and had now taken to the streets with the secular radical left. He wanted the remnants of Tunisia's old regime, the RCD party, to be excluded from the temporary caretaker government.

"The Islamists want democracy," Tej said. "Lots of us were tortured, it was our Guantánamo Bay. We've paid a high price and now some people want to paint us as monsters, we're not. My religion teaches that I must accept others. We're proud to share the same God, Jews and Christians are our brothers. We don't refuse women's freedoms, we don't refuse tourism – people would die of hunger if we didn't have tourism."

At least on that final point almost all Moroccans would agree.

ONCF -Moroccan Railway - Environmental Awareness.

Morocco’s national railway carrier, ONCF operates around 1,150 miles of train tracks throughout Morocco and carries some 30 million passengers annually. So anything it does to lessen environmental impacts can have a huge effect. A recent news release from Axiom International announced the completion of its first project with ONCF as part of Morocco’s efforts to use cleaner energy for larger projects across the country.

According to the statement, Axiom was paid some $100,000 by ONCF for the patented recycled plastic composite crossties, or sleepers.

“Today’s announcement signifies a major win for Axion as we complete this initial contract with Morocco’s national railway,” said Steve Silverman, Axion’s President and Chief Operating Officer, at a press conference.

“Not only does the completion of our initial contract with ONCF represent an opportunity to expand our relationship with the railway in Morocco, it provides a key validator for Axion as we look to expand the sales initiatives for our innovative thermoplastic technology to international markets around the globe,” he added. “We have reached the point where customers have completed various projects and tested our plastic building materials and railroad ties, seeing for themselves the value our products offer. We’re grateful for our relationship with the ONCF and to be able to provide a product that is tailored to their exact specifications. We look forward to expanding upon this relationship and working with our clients to develop superior rail and building products.”

Marrakech Marathon attracts 2000 runners.

Marrakech hosts its 22nd marathon on the 30th of January 2011. About 2000 athletes, most of them foreigners are expected to try to unseat the Ethiopian champions, Yared Dagnaw and Gelaw Tsega. Last year Yared Dagnaw won with a time of 2:10:20. Retain his title will not be an easy task in view of the group of opponents who will attend.

The Kenyan Elias Kitum, double winner of the marathon of Linz (France) in 2008 (2:10:18) and 2009 (2:11.22) and the Ethiopian Shumi Gerbaba, winner of the 3rd marathon of Casablanca in 2010 (2:09:03) will attend with the same ambition of succeeding to Yared and holding the record of the marathon of Marrakech.

The Moroccan, Khalid Boumlili, winner in San Diego in 2009 (2:11:16), Benazzouz Slimani, who won in Miami in 2009 (2:14.55) and Ridouane Harroufi, twice winner of the Colorado road race (10 km) in 2007 and 2008, will carry the local hopes.

More than 2000 athletes are expected. Among them are the Ethiopians Haile Haja (2:09:24) and Mesfin Admasu (2:09:41), the Norwegian Urige Arado (2:09.27) and the Kenyans Cosmas Koech (2:09.25) and Hillary Kipchumba (2:10.02) are part of the foreign armada.

In the women’s category, in addition to the champion Gelaw Tsega (2:29.14), are her mates Bruftawit Degefa (2:29.48), Zahera Kedir (2h35min), Desta Girma winner of the marathon of Madrid in 2010. There is also the Russian Oskana Kuzmicheva (2:37.10) and the American Mary Akor (2:36.44) who will also try to better the record (2:29.21) held by the Romanian Adriana Barbu since 1994.

Fes Festival programme announced

The View from Fez is delighted to bring you the Fes Festival of World Music programme for 2011.

There are some old favourites as this year's Festival, as well as some very interesting new additions. Youssou N'dour returns with a tribute to his Sheikh Ahmed Tijani; Francoise Atlan will again delight at the Batha Museum.

The good news, too, is that Ben Harper will top the bill on the last night, 12 June. The festival has been extended by one night to accommodate him. He was to appear in 2010, but had to cancel due to a skateboard accident. Rapper Abd el Malik will no doubt prove very popular, too. Concerts by Javanese and Peruvian musicans are wild cards for most of us - and are sure to enthrall.

The opening night promises to be very interesting with a production composed for the Festival of the opera Majnun & Leila (see our article here) involving a huge cast of musicians from Japanese Drums to Shanghai Percussion, from the London Symphony Orchestra's Sarah Nemtanu to Epi, qawwali, Iranian song and more. It promises to be an exciting opening night!

Last year, the Night in the Medina proved extremely popular. This year, there will be two Nights in the Medina with some very interesting concerts. Dar Adiyel, the music conservatory, Dar Tazi, the Batha Museum and Dar Mokri will again be used as venues.

Please note that this is a provisional programme.

The View from Fez will bring you, as usual, articles about the musicians in the run-up to the Festival, and complete coverage during the event. See details about and photos of last year's Festival here.

FRIDAY 3 JUNE:
20h30 Bab al Makina A seats: €46; B seats: €23
Opera: Majnûn & Leïla
artistic direction Armand Amar, libretto Leili Anvar, with Percussion of Shanghai; Drums of Japan; Sarah Nemtanu, solo violinist, London Symphony Orchestra; Grégoire Korneliu, cello; Ibrahim Maalouf, trumpet; Levon Minassian, duduk; Seye Mohamed, ney; Zaim Abdou, oud; Guo Gan, erhu; Mara Dubrescu, piano, Mathias Duplessy, guitar; Salah Aguili, Iranian song; Sandrine Piau and Adele Carlier, classical song; Epi, tone chant from Mongolia, Asif Ali Khan, qawwali.

SATURDAY 4 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €19
Cantendi a Deus (Songs for God)
Elena Ledda and her quartet with the Polyphonic Choir Su Cuncordu 'E Su Rosario de Santu Lusurgiu, Sardinia, Italy

20h30 Bab al Makina A: €56; B: €28
Julia Boutrous, Lebanon

SUNDAY 5 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €19
Sephardic songs of Palestine
Françoise Atlan and Moneim Adwan, Morocco and Palestine

20h30 Bab al Makina A: €46; B: €23
Tribute to Sheikh Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani
Youssou N'dour and the Super Etoile de Dakar, Senegal

MONDAY 6 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €14
Sacred Music
Classical Orchestra of the Ducci Founation, directed by Marcello Panni, Italy

Night in the Medina 1 €28
Dar Mokri, 20h00 & 22h00: Jesus Corbacho: Saetas, songs of worship, Spain
Dar Tazi, 20h30: Salah Arhili: Poetry of Djalal ad-Din Rumi , Iran
Batha Museum, 21h00: Prem Sanyas: Light of Asia, North India
Dar Adiyel: 21h00 & 22h30: Alèmu Aga: Sacred song & Beguena lute, Ethiopia
Dar Tazi, 23h00 Sheikh Taha: Sufi songs, Upper Egypt

TUESDAY 7 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €14
Sacred Art of Dhrupad
Gundecha Brothers, North India

Night in the Medina II €28
Dar Mokri, 20h00 Andalous music from Tetouan: Mohamed Amin el Akrami and his orchestra, Morocco
Batha Museum, 21h00 18th century Peruvian music Ensemble Paraguay Barroco d'Asuncion, Latin America
Dar Mokri, 22h00 Birds' Conference, by Farid Naha Tajddod & Jean-Claude Attar Carriere
Dar Adiyel, 21h00 & 22h30 Art of Rabab Homayoun Sakhi, Afghanistan
Dar Tazi, 23h00 Sufi chants of the Thar Desert, Divana, Rajasthan, India

WEDNESDAY 8 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €14
Art of Matrouz
Kinor David Choir, directed by Michel Abittan, Morocco

20h30 Bab al Makina A: €28; B: €14
Abd al Malik, France

THURSDAY 9 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €14
Ensemble Baroque: Il Concerto di Arianna, Italy

20h30 Bab al Makina A: €28; B: €14
Farid Ayyaz & ensemble, with the great voices of Sama'a, accompanied by the Arabo- Andalous Orchestra of Fez directed by Mohamed Briouel, Pakistan & Morocco

FRIDAY 10 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €14
Doudou Ndiaye Rose & his ensemble of sabar drums, with the chorale St Joseph of Medina directed by Ambouras, Senegal

20h30 Bab al Makina A: €56; B: €28
Kazem el Saher & Asma Lmnawar, with artistic collaboration of Aziz Lachhab, Iraq & Morocco

SATURDAY 11 JUNE:
16h00 Batha Museum €19
Songs & music Hajir Marawis of Cirebon
Ensemble Syubbanul Akhyar, Java, Indonesia

20h30 Bab al Makina A: €56; B: €28
Maria Bethania: Songs and prayers, Brazil

SUNDAY 12 June
20h30 Bab al Makina (price not known)
Ben Harper, USA

FES FORUM
09h00 to noon, Saturday 4 - Wednesday 8 June, at Batha Museum
FESTIVAL IN THE CITY (free)
18h30 Place Boujloud, daily
23h00 Dar Tazi, daily

PASS TO ALL CONCERTS (A seats): €260
PASS TO CONCERTS & FES FORUM: €300
PASS TO FORUM ONLY: €45
FORUM MORNINGS: €9 each

FESTIVAL ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation is already filling up, with some guesthouses already full for the whole Festival. Contact Fez Riads for a wide selection of guesthouses in the medina at all prices.

FESTIVAL TICKETS

Tickets will soon be available and as always, tickets will be available from the agency Objectif Maroc. Fez Riads has a ticket collection service - your tickets delivered to your guesthouse in time for your first concert.

See you in Fez!

Casablanca's architectural heritage in the balance

There's an outcry in Casablanca over the fact that the Piot-Templier building is about to be demolished.



In September, The View from Fez published a story on the architectural heritage of Casablanca (see the story here), where we drew attention to the fact that the city has a wealth of Mauresque and art deco buildings. We're now informed by the heritage association, Casamemoire, that the administrative Tribunal of Casablanca has just authorised the demolition of the beautiful Piot-Templier building situated on the corner on Boulevard Mohamed V and Rue Chaouia, opposite the Marche Central. The puzzling fact is that the very same building has recently been placed on the Historical Monument list by the Minister of Culture.

The Piot-Templier building was constructed in 1925 by architect Pierre Ancelle and is alongside the Hotel Lincoln. It housed the well-known Templier china shop and upstairs, the restaurant Etoile de Marrakech.

Casamemoire reports that many culturally-important buildings are being destroyed to make way for yet another concrete block, and that this is a very short-term view. Many buildings have met this fate - schools like the Ibn Tofail college, villas such as the important Villa Cadet in Oasis, and factories such as Hamelle, while others are in danger of imminent destruction.

It seems odd that on the one hand, the authorities seem to recognise the importance of the rich cultural heritage of Casablanca by deciding to retain the Bessoneau building (Hotel Lincoln) and yet on the other, approve such a demolition. And all this while the application for recognition of Casablanca as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is being considered.

Casamemoire has started a petition to help save the building: you can sign it here.

www.casamemoire.org

Cheese in Fez

While the cuisine of Morocco is justifiably world-renowned, it has to be said that Morocco is not a cheese-producing nation. Yes, there is the soft cottage cheese known as jebli, and rather poor copies of French cheeses are produced in Casablanca, but generally, if you want good cheese, you have to buy imported products. Now, however, superb cheeses are being produced in Immouzer in the Middle Atlas, not far from Fez.

Jean-Yves and Driss

Jean-Yves Moine and his friend Driss Aoudi discovered the perfect underground cellar for maturing cheese that lay beneath the house of Driss' father in Immouzer. Now that Jean-Yves has retired from teaching in Fez, he has the time to devote to perfecting the cheeses.

Driss and Jean-Yves are using cheese-making recipes from the French Alps. Starting with raw cows milk, they mould, press, turn and salt their cheese wheels with great care. After three weeks of maturing, the cheese they have produced is a reblochon, a semi-soft, flavourful Savoy-style cheese.

the maturation cellar

If left for five or six weeks, the cheese becomes a tomme with a gentler flavour. They're also producing a soft ricotta-style cheese from an ancient Italian recipe that's perfect on pasta, salads, and for cooking both sweet and savoury.

Driss perfects the cheeses

Jean-Yves can be contacted at fromagerieimmouzer@laposte.net or by phone at 06 74 79 79 83. You can visit him at home in the Ville Nouvelle, or he'll deliver.

Fes Festival of World Sacred Music 2011

The 17th World Sacred Music Festival will take place in Fez from 3-11 June this year. The theme is Wisdoms of the World.

While we can't bring the programme yet, we can tell you that the organisers, the Spirit of Fes Foundation, invite you "on a quest to explore beauty and your senses through diverse wisdoms, philosophies, arts and cultures of the world from Ethiopia to Afghanistan, from North India to Morocco, from Brazil to Senegal, from Spain, France and Italy to the United States".

"The quest for knowledge and the secret of love is expressed by the opening opera Majnoun and Layla, then carried on through the resonance of Samaa of Morocco, the percussions of Shanghai, the drums of Japan, the lyric voices of Paris or London operas and by the ecstatic reverberations of Qawwali".

MAJNOUN & LAYLA
The story of Majnoun and Layla can be found all over the Arab world, into India, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Persia. The story is one of unconsummated, or virgin, love, not dissimilar to the much later Romeo and Juliet. The story, dating from the 7th century, concerns the Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah from Najd in the northern Arabian Peninsula. There are various versions of the story, in which Qays falls in love with Layla but is prevented from marrying her by her father, and goes mad with grief (majnoun meaning madman in Arabic).

In 12th century Persia, the poet Nezami Ganjavi embellished the story, which became very popular. The Festival banner is a Persian depiction of Qays in the wilderness.

I pass by these walls, the walls of Layla

And I kiss this wall and that wall

It’s not Love of the houses that has taken my heart

But of the One who dwells in those houses

poem attributed to Qays ibn al-Mulawwah

Photographs of Fez in the 1920s

Fez photographer, Gérard Chemit, presents an exhibition of photographs of Fez in the 1920s that opens at 18h30 on Friday 14 January at the Institut Francais exhibition hall in Gueliz, Marrakech.

These are not, of course, Gerard's own photographs (he's too young for that!). But there's an interesting story behind them. The exhibition is called 'Pierre du Maroc', or 'Pierre of Morocco' and Pierre Déjardins was the photographer.

"Pierre Déjardins was my great-uncle," explains Gérard. "He was a photographer in Fez in the 1920s. He was a true chronicler of everyday life in Fez, and was also in contact with the big names of the day, people like Lyautey (the French Resident General), Abd el Krim el Khettabi and Moulay Youssef."

"The family back in France gave him the nickname Pierre of Morocco", continues Gerard, "and for me as a child, he was the stuff of heroes from the novels of writers like Stevenson, Conrad or Melville. We've recently published a book of the photos called On l'appelait Pierre du Maroc but it's been so successful that it's currently sold out."

Gérard at work

We hope the exhibition will come to Fez!

Moroccan News Briefs

Morocco's Medical Support Programme

Two years ago Morocco began a pilot project for a medical support programme for the poor.. The project was held in Tadla Azilal. Next month, the programme, called "RAMED", will finally go nationwide.

"To ensure the scheme is successfully rolled out, the health ministry has made a lot of changes, including increasing the drugs purchasing budget to 1.4 billion dirhams in 2010, compared with 50 million dirhams in 2008," Health Minister Yasmina Baddou said.

Health Minister Yasmina Baddou is facing criticism for delays in broadening the medical aid programme.

Despite some delays, she said the programme has been a success.

RAMED will release many people from the obligation of presenting a certificate to prove poverty before receiving free treatment at state-run health centres.

The medical assistance is aimed at 8.5 million Moroccans, 4.5 million of whom are in relative poverty, with the remaining 4 million in absolute poverty. Among the beneficiaries are 100,000 prison inmates, orphans and homeless.

Australia says Morocco is important.

Morocco is the most important country in North Africa with which Australia ought to develop economic and political relationships, "The Australian" says.

"If ever there were a state in North Africa that Australia ought to be developing an economic and political relationship with, it's Morocco," foreign editor Greg Sheridan underlines, highlighting the relevance of Morocco's innovative approach in the religious field.

"Morocco is determinedly on the side of the friendship with the West, and on the side of moderation. It co-operates closely on security with the US and the European Union," he adds.

On the other hand, Sheridan says that since the terrorist bombings that rocked Casablanca in 2003 "Al-Qaida in the Maghreb has tried hard to infiltrate Morocco, but without great success."

Greg Sheridan was part of an Australian parliamentary delegation, who paid a four-day visit to Morocco to inquire about the local development process in the southern city of Dakhla.

The members of the delegation also held a series of talks with several Moroccan officials and businessmen on ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Facebook First?

In a first of its kind, Moroccan minister for Youth Affairs and Sports offers to publicly exchange thoughts on his Facebook page, once every week, with fellow netizens. And he is doing well with over 21,000 friends and his tone is very laid back. "Moncef Belkhayat Chers amis, tous mes voeux de bonheur, de santé et de prospérité pour cette nouvelle année 2011!". Expect him on Twitter soon. You will find him here

Politics and Religion

The idea of separating politics and religion is stirring up fresh controversy in Morocco, following a debate hosted last week-end by students at Casablanca's Institut des Hautes Etudes de Management (Institute of Higher Management Studies).

Mohamed Sghir Janjar, anthropologist and publication director of academic journal Prologues, was very blunt about the subject. "Morocco is experiencing secularisation at a faster pace than was seen in European countries. This is due to colonisation, changes in the nuclear family and urbanisation," he said.

In his view, there has been a change in the role of religion and the religious era. He called this "latent secularisation".

"There is a gap between what is said and the situation in reality," Sghir Janjar said. "While religious ideas are promoted, there is latent secularisation which is experienced but not consciously thought about. This is why when you ask people if they are in favour of adopting a degree of secularism, they reject it, even though they are experiencing it."

Ali Bouabid, a politician and member of the USFP (Social Union of Popular Forces) central office, asked several questions. "Is the separation of religion and politics beneficial for a country such as Morocco? Might this not be divisive?

Korean Contract

South Korea's Daewoo Engineering and Construction last week announced it has signed a 1.2 trillion won ($1.04 billion) deal to build a thermal power plant in Morocco.

Daewoo said in a statement it will complete construction by April 28, 2014, under the deal signed with a company called Jorf Lasfar energy company

Cyber Terrorism Thwarted

Moroccan authorities have announced that they recently arrested six extremists suspected of using the Internet to plan acts of sabotage involving the use of car bombs both inside and outside the country.

"Ring members developed considerable expertise in bomb-making" through the Internet and planned to "carry out acts of sabotage involving the use of car bombs," according to a statement issued by the interior ministry.

It said the suspects were targetting "some foreign interests in the kingdom as well as several key national installations and security posts."

Authorities did not say exactly when the ring was dismantled, but an official speaking on condition of anonymity said the six were arrested around December 10 in the northeastern towns of Oujda and Nador as well as in Casablanca.

He said this marked the first time a cell "specializing in terrorism via the Internet is hunted down and arrested" by Moroccan security.

Marrakesh Marathon

Over 5,000 marathon runners will meet in the stunning city Marrakech, where they will race around the 42,195 kilometre circuit on 30 January 2010. The marathon is famous for being one of the prestigious marathons in the world and most of the world’s top international marathon runners will be in attendance.

The event is a good occasion for runners and non-runners alike as thousands of visitors head to Marrakech to take in the palm filled city and enjoy the temperate winter climate. Temperatures average around 20 degrees centigrade during the winter months so January is a good time for an event like this.

The festivities will take place over three days with the opening ceremony kicking off the event on 28 January 2010. Youngsters can take part in the children’s race on 29 January 2010 with the full marathon taking place on 30 January 2010.

Visitors are likely to check into Marrakech hotels for the entire weekend, which means that hotels will be at full capacity.

Lek Boonlert, marketing head at DirectRooms.com commented: “The event is one of the prestigious marathon’s across the world and many famous names will travel to the city to run in it. Runners and non-runners can soak up the beautiful setting but are advised to book hotels in advance as the best ones will fill up quickly.”

Algerian Singer Causes Unrest

French-born Algerian singer Faudel stirred controversy during a concert in Morocco after refusing to hold the Moroccan flag on stage and raised speculations about the role of politics in a cultural event.

While singing at the Festival International Rawafid Azawane in the southern city of Laayoune, Faudel angered audience and officials by repeatedly refusing to hold the Moroccan flag.
When one of the audience lifted a little girl who carries the Moroccan flag to the stage, Faudel’s manager did not allow the girl to advance towards the singer except after taking the flag from her.

In another incident, an elderly man went up the stage with the Moroccan flag and started dancing while trying to put the flag on Faudel’s shoulder. Faudel, however, kept evading the man politely and resumed singing. After a few minutes, the man withdrew with his flag.

The majority of the attendees, whose numbers reached 25,000, were indignant at Faudel’s reaction, which was captured by several journalists and witnessed by several officials present at the event. According to them, Faudel should have held the flag since Morocco is the host of the festival.

Chess comes to Marrakech – for a second time

Originally the Arabs brought chess to Europe – now France is paying back the debt with a pilot project in Morocco. The French Chess Federation President and vice-President went to Marrakech to distribute 200,000 pamphlets to school children. Their enthusiasm moved the visitors to tears. Jean-Michel Péchiné, editor of Europe Echecs, reports:

We were taken to see an orphanage and a college in Aït-Ourir, around 40 kilometers outside of Marrakech. It was a pilot project. They are distributing 200,000 chessboards, with the rules of the games printed as a pamphlet, to the pupils of the "South League of Morocco". Together with that was distributed a text I wrote, which was published in French and Arabic, on the subject of what chess owes to the Arabs.

The visit was incredibly emotional. Just take a look on the photo below and try to picture all these young the boys and girls shouting like the crowd in a football stadium. Just because we were there and Larbi Houari and his team were distributing a small pamphlet. Jean-Claude Moingt, Joanna Pomian and myself, we just cried. The smile and joy of little children is sacred!

Maimonides in Fez

Next time you pop in to Cafe Clock, pause a moment at the beginning of the street, Derb Margana. On the right-hand side as you walk off the Tala'a Kebira towards the Cafe, is a small marble plaque denoting the house as that of Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher, who lived in Fez in the 12th century.


December marked the anniversary of the death of Maimonides, or Moshe Ben Maimon, in 1204 in Egypt. The Chabad website reports that Maimonides was born in 1135 during what some scholars consider to be the end of the golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, after the first centuries of the Moorish rule. At an early age, he developed an interest in the exact sciences and philosophy.

Revered for his saintly personality as well as for his writings, he led an unquiet life, and wrote many of his works while traveling or in temporary accommodation. The Almohads conquered Córdoba in 1148, and threatened the Jewish community with the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile.

Maimonides's family, along with most other Jews, chose exile. For the next ten years they moved about in southern Spain, avoiding the conquering Almohades, but eventually settled in Fez, where he studied at the Karaouine University. During this time, he composed his acclaimed commentary on the Mishnah in the years 1166–1168.

Maimonides' house in Derb Margana, Fez

Following this sojourn in Morocco, he and his family briefly lived in the Holy Land, before settling in Fostat, Egypt around 1168. While in Cairo he studied in Yeshiva attached to a small synagogue that still bears his name.

Maimonides was trained as a physician in Córdoba and in Fes. He gained widespread recognition and became a court physician to the Grand Vezier Alfadil, then to Sultan Saladin, after whose death he remained a physician to the royal family.

In his writings he described many conditions including asthma, diabetes, hepatitis, and pneumonia, and emphasized moderation and a healthy life style. His work was influential for generations of physicians.

In a famous letter, he describes his daily routine: After visiting the Sultan’s palace, he would arrive home exhausted and hungry, where "I would find the antechambers filled with gentiles and Jews ... I would go to heal them, and write prescriptions for their illnesses ... until the evening ... and I would be extremely weak."

Maimonides died on December 12, 1204 in Fustat, Egypt where it is believed that he was shortly buried before being reinterred in Tiberias, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. However, the location of Maimonides' grave is not without controversy and in the Jewish Cairene community there is tradition that maintains that his grave has remained in Egypt.

Maimonides and his wife had one child, Avraham, who was recognized as a great scholar, and who succeeded him as Nagid and as court physician at the age of eighteen. The office of Nagid was held by the Maimonides family for four successive generations until the end of the 14th century.

He is widely respected in Spain and a statue of him was erected in Córdoba in the only synagogue in that city which escaped destruction. Although no longer functioning as a Jewish house of worship, it is open to the public.