Best Moroccan Blog 2010?

The voting has begun for The Best of Moroccan Blog Awards. There are five categories: Best Overall, Travel, News, Culture, and Personal.

Who will win the first annual BOMBies? Are you the BOMB?

The View from Fez has been nominated in two categories of news blogs and best overall blog. We would like to thank whoever was kind enough to nominate us and would urge our readers to vote by going to the Moroccan Blog Awards homepage. The voting form is on the left of the main page. The page is here: http://moroccoblogs.com/ And remember we are nominated in two categories.

Moroccan News Briefs

More than 8.3 Million Tourists visit Morocco in '09

According to the newly appointed Tourism Minister, Yassir Znagui, the number of tourists that visited Morocco in 2009 reached 8.35 million, registering an increase of 6% relative to 2008.

However, in spite of this increase in the number of tourists, tourism revenues stood at MAD 52.4 billion (about USD 6.7 billion), dropping 5.7% compared to the previous year, said Znagui at the opening session of the third Moroccan Travel Market held in Marrakech.

"The tourist sector has showed resilience through realizing a more than honorable performance in such a year as 2009, marked by a difficult economic context," the minister boasted.

He also pointed out that the sector, accounting for 9% of GDP and employing over 420,000 people, attracted investments of MAD 10.8 billion, which are expected to create up to 8,840 more job opportunities.

Speaking about last year's achievements, Znagui added that 13,000 new beds were created, 40% of them in the red city of Marrakech.

"These results are the fruit of cooperation between the public and the private sectors, as well as good anticipation and innovation capacity," stressed the Moroccan minister, adding that they also show that the right strategic choices have been made.

According to organizers, the Moroccan travel Market, to continue till January 17, is expected to receive up to 13,000 national and international professional visitors and decision makers.

The Market, whose program features business meetings and thematic conferences, mainly aims to be a platform for the development of the sector in Morocco.

Last year, Morocco's king, Mohammed VI, had called on the government to prepare a new tourist vision for the year 2020, building on the achievement of the '2010 Vision'.

"Before the end of the year, the government should therefore seek to develop a tourist vision for the future, up to the year 2020," the king had said in a message to the participants in the ninth National Tourism Forum, held in the Mediterranean town of Saidia.

The new vision "must be both flexible and sustainable and should take into account international tourism trends, the challenges of globalization and likely developments in the world economy," he had specified.


Over 5,000 athletes enter Marrakech International Marathon

Over 5,000 athletes will leave the start line of the Marrakech International
Marathon, slated for January 31, the organising association said.

In addition to the best marathon runners in Morocco, some 2,000 foreign athletes from 25 countries will hit the road in Marrakech, chairperson of the association "Grand Atlas" Mohamed Knidiri said in a press conference in Casablanca.

The organising association has offered, besides the winner's prize, to grant prizes to the athletes who will run the marathon distance in less than 2h:10min and those who will break the marathon record (2h 8 min 15sec) for men and (2h 29 min 21s) for women, held by Moroccan Abdelkader El Mouaziz and Romanian Adriana Barbu since 1999 and 1994 respectively.

Kenyan David Rutoh (pictured above) won the 2009 marathon in a time of 2h 10 min 31 sec for men and Ethiopian Yeshi Esayias (2h 29 min 52 sec) for women.


Moroccan Oil Exploration - Update

International oil and gas exploration company Circle Oil has begun extended test production at a well in Morocco.

Engineering works and construction of surface facilities at the KSR-8 well, which Limerick-based Circle Oil said was the most promising of the 2008/09 Moroccan drilling campaign in its Sebou Permit, have already been completed.

In line with expectations, the prognosed winter rainfall and associated flooding in the Rharb Basin has occurred and work on the new drill sites has been temporarily curtailed, the company added. However, civil engineering work and drilling will recommence when conditions permit.

"We are pleased to have KSR-8 in production which sets the stage to increase production significantly once the new trunkline is installed,” said CEO of Circle Oil, David Hough.“The last year has been transformational for Circle and this new production starts 2010 on the right note with much to look forward to this year.”

Other producing wells in the area will be periodically shut in for pressure build up tests.

Morocco extends tax breaks to strengthen stock exchange

According to a number of sources including Reuters, Morocco has given a three year extension of tax breaks for companies on the Casablanca bourse for three years to back its drive for more listings.

Business leaders and market analysts doubted the incentive would be extended beyond last December because the government needs cash to plug a widening budget deficit.

The government expects the economy to grow by 3.5 percent this year from an estimated 5 percent last year.

Morocco wants to double company listings over the next four years to 150 and lift the number of individual investors to 500,000 from about 120,000 to become Africa's second ranked stock market hub after South Africa.

"The government has renewed the tax incentives for listed companies for three years. As a result listed firms will pay upto 50 percent less tax on profit," exchange head Karim Hajji.

Hajji said average annual investor returns on the Casablanca bourse were 15 percent over the 10 years to 2009 and market capitalisation grew five times.

The benchamrk MASI index is up 3.74 percent so far this year after losing 4.92 percent last year and 19.95 percent in 2007.

NEW LISTINGS

Hajji said the exchange expects to list its first foreign company next year.

"We are working on that with Moroccan banks with operations in West Africa. We plan to list the first company from that region in 2011. It would be the first foreign firm to be listed on our bourse," Hajji said but gave no details.

He said he expected one or two firms would be listed this year. No new firms were listed on the bourse last year because of the economic downturn.

Air Arabia expands despite aviation downturn

Cut-price airline Air Arabia has ordered 44 more Airbus planes to be delivered over the next five years, a senior executive said yesterday.
Air Arabia's chief operating officer for Morocco, Rohit Ramachandran told Reuters that the firm's expansion plans might even warrant a further investment on top of this, despite 2009 being a very difficult year for the airline industry.

"At our parent company in Sharjah, we regularly exceed 82 to 83 per cent seat factor even in a difficult year like 2009," said Ramachandran.

"I think it was in the early 80s [for the full year] but the final figure will be released later," he added.

Air Arabia opened up its second hub in Morocco last year and it also has plans to establish a third hub in Egypt this year, as well as collaborating with an Egyptian partner to launch another low cost airline.

"If anything [the Airbus deliveries] won't be able to keep up with our requirements for the three hubs, at least in the next couple of years we see our demand for airplanes outstripping the schedule," Ramachandran said at a recent industry event.

"We might even have to go outside. But we are in a good position right now because good airplanes are available cheap," he added.

Morocco donates $1 million aid to Haiti

Morocco will send relief aid worth $1 million to Haitians who are suffering from a devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

"This national emergency aid, worth one million dollar, includes medical and pharmaceutical supplies and will be airlifted as soon as possible," the Foreign ministry said in statement. "In these painful times, the Moroccan people offer their heartfelt condolences and feelings of sincere compassion to the Haitian people and hope that they will overcome this hard ordeal and promptly resume a normal life."

Governments and aid groups from around the world rushed to dispatch relief workers and supplies to Haiti, where the devastating quake is feared to have killed thousands - perhaps as many as 100,000 -, but there are no firm numbers yet.



In addition, Morocco's Red Crescent granted the Haitian quake-stricken population a donation of 250,000 Moroccan dirhams ($32,000).

The donation comes in response to the call made by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to raise $10 million in order to assist some 20,000 families affected by the 7.0-magnitude quake.

The aid, which includes medical and pharmaceutical supplies, will be airlifted as soon as possible.

Moroccan King pardons 450 prisoners on Independence Manifesto Day

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has granted pardons to 450 prisoners on the occasion of the Independence Manifesto Day, celebrated each year to mark the signing on Jan 11, 1944, of the country’s declaration of independence.

The Justice Ministry said in a statement here over the weekned that five inmates benefited from the pardon over their remaining prison term, while 346 others had their prison terms reduced.

Twenty-four prisoners were granted pardons over their prison sentences. Five inmates benefited from a pardon of imprisonment terms while fines against them were maintained, the same source said.

A prisoner had his imprisonment term and fine annulled, and 69 others had their fines suspended.

A House in Fez ~ Korean edition now available!

After months of waiting, a fabulous translation of Suzanna Clarke's worldwide bestseller "A House in Fez" is now out in a new edition ~ in Korean.

The book, which has been published in several editions in the UK, USA , Australia and New Zealand, is continuing to be a must-read book for those interested in Morocco, Islamic architecture and every day life in the Fez Medina.

There have been a large number of requests for a French and German translation, but so far a translator and publisher remains to be found.

A House in Fez has had a marked inpact on visitor numbers to the Medina, with many guest house owners reporting their clients have read the book. Hopefully now there will be an influx of Koreans!

Sadly, a lot of us do not read Korean with any great fluency, so, if you would like to purchase the English language edition, go here: A House in Fez

Spirit of Africa at the Fez Festival 2010

Fes Festival of World Sacred Music concerts on Sunday 6 June will feature artists from Tanzania, Zanzibar and Burundi.

Rajab Suleiman plays the qanun

First up is the Rajab Suleiman Trio with vocalist Shakila Saidi at the Batha Museum. Hailing from Tanzania, these artists will perform taraab in the Swahili tradition. Taraab is an intoxicating Afro-Arab-Indian tradition from the east African coast, particularly Tanga in Tanzania and Mombasa in Kenya. The women vocalists sing in Swahili about the problems and joys of everyday life - the Arabic tarabun means joy, pleasure, rapture, entertainment and music. Songs are often commentaries on class, gender and social relations, and can be protests against or affirmation of social behaviours. But they are also expressions of joy and elation.

Shakila Saida record cover, 1989

Shakila Saida is a well-known and well-loved performer of taraab. She and her husband performed in the Black Star Musical Club in Tanga, then left to form the Lucky Star Musical Club in the early 70s. The amalgamation of traditional taraab with dance music such as samba and rumba, and the addition of guitar and bass guitar, was introduced by Black Star and became a more modern interpretation of taraab.

The Sunday evening concert at Bab al Makina will feature the Sufi Ensemble Mtendeni Maulid from Zanzibar, and les Maitres Tambours from Burundi in a rendition of Sufi ritual and sacred rhythm. And a spectacular evening it should prove to be.

Zanzibaris Mtendeni Maulid

The Mtendeni Maulid provide a visually spectacular and spiritually uplifting experience. There are only three remaining groups in the world still practising this religious artform – all based in Zanzibar. The Maulid comes from a centuries-old tradition with roots in the Arab World. Ustadh Majid Said Mansour founded the group in the mid-1960s after learning the traditions from his grandfather. The people of Zanzibar clearly hold this tradition close to their hearts and turn out in thousands to witness the shows when they perform at Islamic religious festivals.

The musicians play percussion instruments only. They are arranged on the floor with the dancers who are kneeling in one line. Starting very softly and almost motionless, the music and singing slowly unfolds and encapsulates, weaving its spell among both artists and audience. Slowly the rhythm and music build in intensity, until the right moment, when the musicians seem to move to another, completely higher, level.

Joining them will be the athletic drummers from Burundi.

Les Maitres Tambours from Burundi

The drummers work themselves into a trance-like state with great exuberance and joy. In Burundi, they signify ingoma, meaning both 'drum' and 'kingdom'.

The Festival's day devoted to African artists promises to be spiritually charged and spectacular.

National Film Festival in Tangier

The 11th Moroccan National Film Festival will be held between 23 and 30 January in Tangier.


This festival became an annual event in 2007 and is held under the auspices of the Moroccan Centre for Cinematography. It's the largest national film festival in the country. As many as fourteen full-length films will be shown, which proves the robust health of the country's film industry. Pioneer film-makers such as Latef Lahlou will present 'La Grande Villa', Abdelkrim Derkaoui his 'Chroniques Blanches', as well as Mohamed Ismail with 'Oulad Lblad'.

This is a great opportunity, too, for new film-makers who are showing what could be their very first full-length feature. In this category is Mohamed Lyounssi with his 'Allo 15'.

The film that wowed Marrakech, 'The Man who sold the World' by the Noury brothers will also be screened.

Heading the panel assessing the feature-length films will be Ivory Coast film-maker Timité Bassoré, accompanied by Nezha Drissi, director of the festival, photographic artist Ytto Berrada who is also director of cinematography at the Rif Cinema in Tanger, Mohamed Dahan, lecturer and cinema critic, Boualem Lahmene of Disney France, Hassan Nraiss, journalist, and Meneme Richa, from the Europa Cinema in Lebanon.

Short films are not forgotten. These will be judged by Martine Zevort of the Ecole Superieure des Arts Visuels in Marrakech, aided by Souad Hossein, head of the cinema project at the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie in Djibouti, along with Mohamed Sekkat, Allal Sahbi and Brahim Akhyate of the same organisation.

For more information, see Centre Cinematographique Marocain.

Quirky Fez Medina shop

Visitors to Morocco will notice that in Marrakech, medina shops are almost entirely aimed at tourists. In the Fez medina, however, most shops are for the benefit of local residents. The View from Fez visits one such shop

...

On a dog-leg down Derb el Horra between Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira, you can't miss the plastic flower shop. Firstly, the street corner is usually adorned with all sorts of trees, bouquets and baskets. On the day of our visit, it was wet and windy so these wares were not displayed, except for a fetching cascade of wisteria attached to the doors.

Secondly, the shop is well-known for its music that blares out down the street. Bob Marley is a favourite, though it is just as likely to be Andalusian or Gnawa music. The owner has been known to make tapes for people who like the music.

Venture inside, and you can choose from just about any type of plastic plant that takes your fancy. Also available are flower collages, framed in gold, and various vases and potplants. Now and again, there are some real plants like cactuses. At the back of the shop, there's a tatty but comfortable-looking brown armchair where you can sometimes spot a local policeman having a teabreak during his shift, specially at night.

This is not a shop aimed at tourists, but it does raise a smile and is a musical landmark. Unfortunately, it might well disappear when Dar Mohamed Ba Chergui and the Ouezzani palace in Derb el Horra are eventually restored to become a fancy hotel.

Morocco launches Amazigh TV channel

It has been a long time coming but finally on Wednesday Morocco launched the first Amazigh TV channel.

There has been radio coverage for Amazigh speakers for some time, with RTM Chaîne Amazigh catering for Tachelhit, Tamazight and Tarifit speakers. These are all derivations of the Berber language. Tachelhit is spoken in south-west Morocco, in an area between Sidi Ifni in the south,Agadir in the north and Marrakech and the Draa/Sous valleys in the east. Tamazight is spoken in the Middle Atlas, between Taza, Khemisset, Azilal and Errachidia. Tarifit (or Rifia) is spoken in the Rifarea of northern Morocco. A small number of programmes are broadcast in Hassaniya, which is widely spoken in Western Sahara.

As we reported two years ago, the road to Amazigh tv has been a rocky one

There are an estimated 23 million Amazigh, the majority of whom are Sunni Muslim . The largest populations are in Morocco and Algeria, in addition to smaller numbers in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. The Amazigh have been living in North Africa for nearly 4,000 years. Some 75 percent of the Moroccan population is Amazigh who say their language and culture are not properly acknowledged by the authorities and this has caused friction with the Moroccan government.

They were named Berber by the Arab invaders, but this is perceived as a derogatory term.

Back in 2008 a joint statement from several rights organizations said they were protesting against what they called a perpetual policy of discrimination and marginalization from the government. According to the statement, “Officials are insisting on not fulfilling their obligations as far as the existing television station programming is concerned.”

Morocco’s Ministry of Communication promised that an Amazigh television channel could be set up during 2007 but several obstacles have prevented this plan from being realized. Moroccan authorities say the money allocated for this purpose, some 160 million dirhams ($21 million) is not enough to establish a professional high-quality channel.

Officials, they say, maintain the programming is of low quality, that there is a shortage of journalistic staff and that there is no agreement on the language that will be applied in this programming. The Amazigh say all these reasons are baseless.

Now it is a reality and we await a reaction from those who have struggled so long to make it happen. The Amazigh TV will air for six hours each day during the week and ten hours on the week-ends.