Moroccan News Briefs #111

Fez Court of Appeals acquits Christian convert

On Thursday the Court of Appeals in Fez acquitted Mohamed El Baladi, 31, who was sentenced on September 3rd by the Trial Court in Taounate to thirty months in prison for converting to Christianity and inducing young Muslims to convert.

“The judge has just acquitted this Moroccan who converted to Christianity,” said Mohamed Oulad Ayad, president of the regional branch of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) in Fez.

On August 27th, the police of Aïn Aicha, a rural town in the Taounate province, arrested Mohamed El Baladi on charges of converting to Christianity and attempting to spread the Christian faith among young people in his village of Aïn Aicha.

Since the beginning of the trial, El Baladi had always defended his right to embrace the Christian faith.

The Moroccan constitution guarantees religious freedom, but any attempt to shake the faith of Muslims by proselytising is punished according to the Moroccan Penal Code.

In accordance with Article 220 of the Moroccan Penal Code, a proselytizer may face “six months to three years prison and a fine of 100 to 500 Dirhams” for using the “means of seduction in order to convert” a Muslim “to another religion, either by exploiting his/her weakness or his/her needs, or using for these purposes education, health, asylums and orphanage institutions.”

According to AFP, Morocco’s higher council of religious scholars (CSO), the only institution entitled to issue fatwas in the kingdom, “called for the death penalty for Muslims who renounce their faith.”

After admitting their failure to spread what they call “the message of Christ” in the Kingdom, Christian missionaries have used Facebook to distribute more than 30,000 Bibles translated into “Darija,” Moroccan Arabic, in an attempt to entice Moroccans to convert to Christianity.

According to the 2012 International Religious Freedom Report of the U.S. Department of State, the predominantly Roman Catholic and Protestant Christian expat community in Morocco “consists of approximately 5,000 practicing members, although some Protestant and Catholic clergy estimate the number to be as high as 25,000”.

Story thanks to Morocco World News

French firm lights up Rabat

The French Company LEC Lyon has announced an LED lighting project in the historic city of Rabat.

LED-based lighting is increasingly finding use in UNESCO sites in part because of concerns over light pollution and the need for low-energy usage in older structures with dated infrastructure.

Lighting of the walls of Rabat was undertaken along with restructuring of the Hassan II roadway that runs alongside the old-town area of the city. The walls protect the south and west sides of the city and were built in the late twelfth century. The walls stand 8m high and the 1.5-km lit section features architectural elements that the city chose to preserve and highlight with the dual-color project.

"The walls encircle the old city of Rabat, the ones that are illuminated today are the one that are the most visible," said Fouad Bahechar, president of Electrimar. "Every 30m, the turrets project over the street. We thought that this rhythm was interesting to explore; that’s the reason why we chose to use two colors, warm white for continuity and red for relief."


German programme will restore second Moroccan synagogue

The historic Essaouira synagogue in Morocco will be refurbished in a joint project with the German Foreign Ministry. This will be the second that has been restored under the scheme.

Tuesday’s announcement came as the Moroccan ambassador in Berlin, Omar Zniber, launched an exhibit at the embassy’s cultural center of photographs of Moroccan Jews from the 1960s as well as new photos of synagogues in the country, both pre- and post-renovation.

At the time of the photos, there were still tens of thousands of Jews in Morocco. Today the population is estimated at about 2,500.

In addition, a conference on Moroccan Jewish cultural patrimony was hosted at Berlin’s Pergamon Museum this week.

A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said that the restoration of the 19th century Simon Attias Synagogue in Essaouira is to be completed in 2015. It is a joint effort with the Foundation of Jewish-Moroccan Cultural Heritage.

“With this project, the Federal Foreign Office supports the preservation of Jewish heritage in Morocco, thereby helping to strengthen the national identity of the country,” he said.

The programme already completed the restoration of the 17th century Slat al Fassiyin synagogue in Fez, which had been used as a carpet factory and then a boxing ring. It was rededicated in ceremonies last year.

At that ceremony, Moroccan King Mohammed IV called for the restoration of all synagogues in the country “so that they may serve not only as places of worship, but also as forums for cultural dialogue and for the promotion of our cultural values.”

Moroccan Writers on Booker Shortlist

Two Moroccan novelists are on the short list of six finalists vying for the 2014 Booker Prize for Arab novels, organizers announced Monday in Amman.

Youssef Fadel on Booker shortlist

“Tayer Azraq Nader Youhalliq Mai” (A rare blue bird flies with me) by Youssef Fadel and “Taghribat al Abdi al Machhour bi Ould al Hamriyya” by Abderrahim Habibi, are the shortlisted novelists, organizers said during a press conference in the presence of the jury chaired by Saudi critic and scholar, Saad El Bazi.

The shortlist also includes the works by Khaled Khalifa (Syria), Ahmed Saadawi and In’am Kajaji (Irak), and Ahmed Mourad (Egypt).


Valentine's Day in Morocco - the Eid I Love you!

According to Larbi Arbaoui, writing for Morocco World News, Moroccans are generally either sceptical or ignorant about Valentines Day. When The View from Fez toured Fez's Ville Nouvelle we discovered a fair amount of Valentine's advertising and so we asked shoppers what they thought it was all about. "It is like Eid," one woman told us, "It is the Eid I love you." Cute.

Larbi Arbaoui writes, St Valentine is a special day in Morocco. When you go downtown, you see hundreds of teenagers buying St Valentine gifts sold in most shopping malls in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.

Morocco’s new generation is more influenced today than its precedents by foreign cultures, traditions, and celebrations.

However, Morocco’s old generation is more reluctant to change, and preserve its own values and traditions. We can say that not a great majority of Moroccans celebrate Valentine; some do not even know about it; others neglect it or simply don't believe in it.

According to Rachid Jankari writing for Zawaya, Valentine’s Day is not an Islamic tradition. Muslims in general, including Moroccans, believe that this expression of love is an “imported” tradition, and an expression of cultural alienation vis-à-vis the Western social model.

On the economic field, however, the “rejection” or “refusal” of this Western celebration of love do not stop stores and brands from decorating their shop windows predominantly in red in honor of this holiday.

Franchises of large brands have also “relocated” the European offers dedicated to Valentine’s Day in their parent companies, to the major shopping areas of Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech, to name these large cities only.

Restaurants and cafés do not skimp on possible means to adapt their menus and services to the traditions of this annual emotional event.

An online travel agency was even more creative this year, as it launched a quiz in partnership with an airline operator. The proposed prize was a round-trip fare to many European capitals with free accommodation for two people, in order to celebrate this unbreakable love tie.


Morocco's changing attitudes towards unmarried couples

Due to the internet, television and Facebook, a change is taking place among young Moroccans. As a society, Morocco is the 4th highest user of social media in Africa and the effect of open communication is affecting every facet of their lives from fashion and diet to sex am=nd marriage. An interesting article appeared recently in the Malaysian Chronicle which took a look at the way a younger generation is breaking from ways of the past when it comes to couples living together.

When Moroccan divorcee Soumaya moved in with her new French boyfriend she was hoping to forget the unhappiness of her marriage. Instead, she lost her children.

It's a crime in Muslim Morocco to live together out of wedlock, and unmarried couples not only face police harassment but also the prying eyes of disapproving neighbours.
Soumaya, a mother of two, says her jealous ex-husband ratted on her to the police when she started living with her boyfriend in Marrakech, accusing her of prostitution and finding 12 witnesses to support his story.

"I didn't want to make the same mistake twice," she said of her decision not to remarry. But the boyfriend eventually left her and she lost custody of the kids.

Cohabitation may be relatively common in Morocco's swish urban districts, but conservative religious attitudes can be stifling, especially for young couples living in downscale, traditional neighbourhoods

Ibtissam Lachgar, an activist and co-founder of a campaign group to promote individual liberties, says she lives happily with her boyfriend in her apartment in the centre of the capital, Rabat. "I don't feel my sexual freedom is restricted, even though we're not married. The neighbours don't bother me, probably because I own my apartment," she says. The problem begins, she says, when they travel to the country's hinterland and try to stay in a hotel. "It's impossible; the law forbids it. They ask to see a marriage certificate. So we're forced to seek alternative arrangements, like staying with friends."

Lachgar's boyfriend Soufiane Fares, who studies law in Rabat's twin city of Sale, said "consensual sex between adults is a personal decision which others have no right to interfere with. "But living together outside of marriage is very difficult in a conservative society."

Ghassan Hakam, in his 30s, has his own experience of this, living in Casablanca with his French girlfriend for three years. Originally from Fez, the theatre director says that even in Morocco's largest city, they are constantly aware of their neighbours' displeasure. "I try to be discreet, avoiding kissing or touching my girlfriend in the area where we live. But I feel we are being watched, even if they don't say anything," he notes.

His girlfriend Fanny is sure that her life would be a lot more difficult if she were Moroccan.
"I would definitely have suffered even more from the hostile looks and prejudices I encounter," she says.

Hakam, who lived in Paris for six years, doesn't believe he needs to get married to prove his love, and questions the reason for criminalising cohabitation.

"Are two people who love each other harming society or committing a crime by living together under one roof," he asks.

Article 490 of Morocco's penal code states that sex outside marriage is punishable by up to one year in jail. In December 2012, 22 feminist organisations called for it to be repealed. Justice Minister Mustafa Ramid, who belongs to Morocco's ruling Islamist party, declared his opposition to that. "These sexual relationships undermine the foundations of our society," he insisted.

Karim, a young entrepreneur who recently moved into a crowded neighbourhood of Rabat, no longer lives with his girlfriend. "She used to come round to my house, but she couldn't stand the looks of the neighbours, especially the men sitting in the cafe opposite. Sometimes we were forced to return late at night to avoid the intrusive looks, which made us feel we'd committed a crime."

A study conducted by the health ministry in 2007 indicated that 36 percent of young Moroccan men had had sex outside marriage, while the proportion of unmarried young women who had lost their virginity was much lower, at 15%.

Full article 

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The Season of Women in White ~ Reflections on Mourning in Fez

It is the season of the women in white and the mat man is dead. Up on the roof a man is calling out to Lalla Malika. He has been calling for weeks, hour after hour. It is the season of the women in white. Their men are gone, taken by the cold, or heartbreak or poverty. For forty days they wear no colour, no makeup, no perfume. Their hands have no trace of henna. Their men are gone, just like the mat man. He was the last

Hidden away behind his door of rough-hewn planks the mat man dried the grasses he had harvested in summer. Patiently he wove the mats for the mosques until the Chinese stole the market, bringing in their container loads of plastic mats. The effect was toxic. The mat man fell to making placemats for tourists. He is gone. He was the last.

Up on the roof the madman still calls to Malika; the female djinn who seduces married men. There is only one thing sadder than a man possessed by a djinn and that is one abandoned by her. Malika, he calls, Malika, come now. There is no response. A rooster crows on a nearby terrace. The cats fight and overhead the falcons soar on the thermals. It is the season of the women in white.

Downward now, into the streets. In the alleyways the wafting smells of hammam smoke, hot bread from a firane, kefta cooking, tagine magic and spices, charcoal braziers and incense. Luban jawi - the black Javanese incense for the djinn who is not Malika. She, they say, not mentioning her name, she, who lives in water. She who comes at night and claims the men Malika has not caught.

Malika, come now. The call is fainter here, down on the cobbled street, darker too, here where the sun has averted its eye as if to shade the fact that Malika is not coming.

The cry of Malika fades away, replaced by the shuttle clicking of a loom behind a windowless wall. Children’s fingers hard at work. In dark spaces, gloom and cold surround the bucket maker amidst his cedar shavings and chips. And to the other side a man, face locked in a perpetual squint, embroidering sequins on a wedding dress for a woman whose destiny, like all her sisters, is to cast the garment aside and dress in white and walk the street alone.

Outside his door. The mat man no longer works here, squatting over his ancient wooden loom. He is gone, like Malika, and somewhere, walking in the alleyways amidst the noise and smoke and heady odours, is another woman dressed in white.

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The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music Turns Twenty!

The 20th edition of the Festival will run from 13 to 21 June 2014, with: The Conference of the Birds, "Journey of Cultures" as its theme

This is just a gentle reminder to those of of readers who are intending to visit Fez for the festival - make sure you have booked your accommodation! Several riad owners report that they are already full. The festival programme looks great and the festival should be a major success, once again.

This year sees the twentieth edition of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. To celebrate, The View from Fez takes a look back at some of the images from previous festivals

The Festival's first Artistic Director Gerard Kurdjian with announcer Nadia Lazrak in 2009

The present Fez Festival Artistic Director, Alain Weber 

See the provisional programme here.

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Photography and Food - Slideluck in Fez

Peace Corps worker Amoy Barnes

Want to see your photos on show? Then submit them to Slideluck Fez - a public slideshow and pot-luck meal to be held on April 6

The photographic work of 10 emerging and established Fez photographers and artists and 10 youth photographer students from the local Dar Chabab (youth center) will be on public display at Slideluck, an event at the ALIF Riad. The deadline is March 2 for submissions.

Peace Corps worker, Amoy Barnes, who is co-ordinating the local version of Slideluck, says that, "We are looking for creative, thought-provoking submissions, but are open to a variety of images."

Slideluck has been held in more than 75 cities around the world. It is run by a non profit organisation which is dedicated to building and strengthening community through food and art.

The idea is to bring together diverse groups of people, artwork, food, ideas and perspectives under one roof - with the aim of creating a unique and magical event.

Amoy Barnes, who comes from New York, knew about Slideluck. "I think, I believe and I know it will work very well in Fez," she says. She has been working with the local Dar Chabab, or youth centre, for the past two years, and is almost at the end of her stay in Morocco.

"Dar Chababs are youth centres are run by the government, in partnership with the Peace Corps," she explains. "They focus on offering life skills necessary for development, encouraging young people to be active citizens in today's economy."

She points out that, with a massive proportion of the Moroccan population being young, (29% are under 14), that unemployment is a significant and growing problem. "Young people need to understand various things to do with getting a job and work. To do that they need to have things like English language skills, computer skills and be able to write a resume and a cover letter."

"I have been working at a Dar Chabab at Merja, a suburb in the Ville Novelle," Amoy says. "It's in one of the outlying suburbs, with a lot of unfinished buildings and not much infra-structure. When I went there, I wanted to offer activities that would interest them. I found these kids are very creative. They love theatre, and did a lot of art. I introduced photography, because it forces them to really look at things; to critically analyse. I wanted them to understand not just to jump in front of a camera, but to understand the meaning of taking a picture - to create something and look at what it represents."

Amoy Barnes, right, with children from the Merja Dar Chabab

Amoy enlisted the help of local photographer Omar Chennafi, the co-ordinator of the ALC-ALIF Photography Club, who held workshops and classes in how to look at and analyse photos. He also took the children to a photographic exhibition held by the French Institute. "Omar got them to look at what photography is and how they could be creative with it," she says. "The kids had an outing in the medina with members of the ALC-ALIF Photography Club. All the kids got to use Omar's camera and another student's camera. Having 12 kids (from the Dar Chabab) in the Medina was an adventure for sure. Even I was surprised by how well it went."

Amoy says that above all, what she wanted to do was to encourage the children she was working with to "think for themselves, be active citizens. To ask how can you better yourself and your community?"

Photography, she feels, gives them exposure to the wider world. For this reason, Amoy thought holding a Slideluck event in Fez would be a good fit. "So the idea is that the kids are given 10 - 12 disposable cameras and their work is shown alongside emerging and established photographers."

She approached the American Language Center director David Amster, who agreed to sponsor Slideluck at the ALIF Riad.

As well as a slideshow, to be held at 4 PM, an essential part of the event is the pot-luck meal at 2 PM, where everyone attending brings a plate of food to share. "Food is probably the most ancient way of sharing. It brings communities together; it connects people, no matter what their background."

To find out more about Slideluck and how to submit your photos, CLICK HERE. The deadline for submissions is March 2. 

When: Sunday April 6 at 2 PM Pot-luck meal (bring a plate of food to share), 4 PM Slideshow
Where: ALIF Riad, 6 Derb Drissi, Fez. 0535624850. If you don't know the way, meet at 1.45 PM at the Batha Fountain
Info: amoybarnes@gmail.com 

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The Marrakech Hell's Angels ~ Guardian Photos.

The British The Guardian newspaper just published some interesting photographs of Marrakech women and motorbikes. Although the setup and execution of the photographs is contrived and highly stylised, they are worth a look

The Guardian reports that "British-Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj has been out on the open road with Marrakech's bike gangs, who come prepared with polka dot veils, Nike djellabah and heart-shaped sunnies. Here's the best of his series Kesh Angels, on view at the Taymour Grahne gallery in New York City until 7 March".

See the full gallery of photos here:  The Guardian 

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An American perspective on Moroccan Arabic

Darija (Arabic: الدارجة‎), means "everyday/colloquial language"and is spoken by around 30 million people in Morocco. For visitors Darija may seem difficult at first, but more and more expats and students are studying Darija in preference to French

Darija shares the majority of its vocabulary with standard Arabic, but it also includes significant borrowings from Berber (Tamazight) as well as extensive borrowings from French, and to a lesser extent Castilian Spanish and even Italian.

Darija is spoken and to various extents mutually understood in the Maghreb countries, especially Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, but can often be unintelligible to speakers of other Arabic dialects. Darija continues to evolve by integrating new French or English words, notably in technical fields, or by replacing old French and Spanish ones with Standard Arabic words within some circles.

Recently the Morocco World News ran an interesting article by an American on the Moroccan dialect.

Katrina Bushko writes...

I love the Arabic that is spoken here in Morocco, which is interesting because not very many people do. I remember when I was here over the summer that many of my friends did not like the darija class that we took for an hour a day in June. Some complained that it was too hard; others, that it was useless (indeed, native speakers of Egyptian or Levantine Arabic usually find it impossible to understand Moroccan Arabic).

But not me. I loved that class because I found it not only easier than Modern Standard Arabic (MSA, fusha), but also useful. The other dialects are closer to fusha, so if I were to go to Egypt or Syria or Lebanon, many people would be able to understand me if I spoke in MSA. In Morocco, however, there are few similarities with the classical Arabic, and so it is in a sense its very own language.

I will be the first to say that initially, darija is not a pretty language. It’s difficult to understand because of the lack of vowel pronunciation, the difference in verb conjugation, and the frequent use of the harsh consonant “?” that is absent in most other dialects. But after being in Morocco for a total of 3.5 months already (non-consecutive, of course), my ear has slowly been fine-tuning itself to understanding more and more of this language. And the more that I understand, the more beautiful it becomes to me.

I have grown to appreciate the way that Moroccans speak, as well. Last semester, I took an Egyptian Colloquial Arabic class that greatly improved my overall speaking skills. I noticed that the manner in which we were trained to speak is very different from the Moroccan style.

For example, the word (yaa-nee) is frequently used in Egyptian to indicate the common English word “like” (as in, the “like” that teenagers often use as a sentence filler); however, I have barely noticed this word being used in the Moroccan dialect. I recently asked my roommate what the Moroccan equivalent would be, and she said that it was (zaa-ma). And although they both have the same purpose, I hear (zaa-ma) used much less frequently than my Egyptian Colloquial professor used (yaa-nee). Of course, this is only one of the many, many differences between the dialects.

As for my own speaking and understanding, I think that by now I have a basic grasp of Moroccan Arabic. I can get around pretty easily by myself without relying on French (indeed, my grasp of French pretty much boils down to, je ne comprends pas français.). I can order food, buy bus or train tickets, converse with hostel owners about myself and what I would like from the hostel, among other vital things that are important to know for everyday life (for example, whenever I’m asked if I know Arabic, my automatic response is (shwii-ya), or, “a little”). As for understanding, I can understand a lot of what shopkeepers say to me regarding price and their wares, and I can pick up bits and pieces of everyday conversation. But the most useful tool in understanding something in a language that you don’t know well is body language.

There have been many a time where I have had to rely mostly on the point of a finger or a gesture of a hand. For example, when my friends and I went to Meknes and stayed in a hostel deep in the heart of the medina, I had to continuously stop and ask for directions to Bab Mansour, a well-known gate that faces the main entrance to the souq. In order to understand what these temporary guides were saying, I had to piece together my knowledge of darija with their hand movements.

The great thing about asking for directions is that it is universal to respond with hand motions, meaning that when someone says that you must turn left, they usually give you a signal pointing left. So as I watched their body language and listened carefully for words I knew (i.e. take the SECOND left after the green door, not the first), I was able to lead us out of the maze that is the medina of Meknes.

Although I will be in Morocco for four months this semester, I know that I will not be going back to the United States fluent in either fusha or darija. I will, however, become more familiar with the dialect here and (inshallah) be able to hold some type of conversation for a good amount of time. And of course, having a Moroccan boyfriend was a great advantage in this area.

Katrina Bushko

Katrina Bushko is a senior at Princeton University majoring in Political Philosophy with minors in Arabic and Near Eastern Studies. Her love for Morocco came about in the summer 2012, when she attended the ARANAS program at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane.

Reprinted from Morocco World News with permission.

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The 5th Marrakech Biennale ~ February 26 - March 2, 2014

Higher Atlas, by Hadley Maxwell - SKIES OF THE HEART 2012, photo by Alia Radman

The Marrakech Biennale is a festival that was founded in 2001 with the mission to build bridges between the cultures through the arts. One of the main features of the festival is its aim to inspire outstanding artists from all over the world to create work that responds to the the magical environment of Marrakech

The Marrakech Biennale is a celebration of creativity in a city that has been the focus of artistic exploration for centuries; a gathering of arts enthusiasts who organize stimulating conferences, interactive events and world-class exhibitions.

5TH MARRAKECH BIENNALE - Where are we now?

For the fifth edition of Marrakech Biennale it was decided to set up a dialogue between four disciplines: visual arts, cinema and video, literature and the performing arts. The dialogue will attempt to answer the question - where are we now?

Curators from each discipline consider the theme, "Where are we now?" and respond through their own perspectives inviting participants to bring individual frameworks into this question.

The curator Hicham Khalidi will create the main exhibition where the vast majority of the artworks will be site specific, produced in and inspired by the context of Marrakech. The artworks will housed in several venues including the 16th century Palais Badii, the Dar Si Said, which houses the Museum of Moroccan Arts, and the former Bank Al Maghrib in the middle of the Jemaa El Fna square, which remains the spiritual heart of Marrakech and primary site of transmission of its intangible heritage.

Led by the writer and theater author Driss Ksikès, the Literary discipline will promote access to public space through a series of roundtables as well as performance lectures, connecting performing art and literature, but also through comics as an articulation between visual art and literature. These events will take place in the Royal Theatre, a contested theatre and opera house built in the late 70s yet never used as such. The exhibition will also open onto the most public space of the city as it merges with the visual art exhibition in the main square Jemaa El Fna.

Performing Arts is organized by Khalid Tamer, the founder of Alwaln'art, the public space festival in Marrakech.  He will create a circulation that reimagines the relationships of public space between several venues of the Biennale, connecting the two areas where the Biennale will take place: the more traditional space of the Medina and the modern area of Gueliz, the first area built outside of the Medina fortification starting in 1913. The main purpose of this circulation in the public space is to invite the immediate and spontaneous audience to participate in the Biennale by interconnecting the main venues.

Cinema and Video will consider contemporary creations from North Africa in dialogue with other regions, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. With the participation of the founder of the festival of video installation Casaprojecta, Jamal Abdenassar, video installation as a hyphen between film, visual art, and performing art will be a strong part of this edition.

In addition the Biennale Fringe is creating pop-up projects everywhere in the city during Biennale.

For tickets and more information visit the Biennale site

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The Cervantes Theatre in Tangiers ~ Can it be Restored?

The Cervantes Theatre in Tangier is considered to be a masterpiece of Spanish architecture - sadly, a hundred years after it was built it is in danger of crumbling into nothing.

The cost of restoration and the question of who should pay for it has left the building in limbo. Nearby the port of Tanger is getting a facelift and a new marina, but the historical building seems forgotten.

The theatre is accessible via the Avenue Pasteur and Rue du Prince Moulay Abdallah

Yet, there are those who value its history. According to historian Bernabe Lopez Garcia the city was very different back in 1919. "The population was around 40,000," he says, "with around 7,000 Spaniards, 5000 Jews and 26,000 Muslims."

The history of the building dates back to 1911, when a rich Spanish merchant, Manuel Pena, decided to erect the theatre and dedicate it to his wife Esperanza Orellana, who was a passionate theatre lover.

The theatre opened in December 1913 and its history is closely linked to the Spanish presence.in Tangier.  During the Second World War, Franco's troops who occupied the city considered the building to be too modernist and wanted to convert the theatre in the neoclassical style fascist. The building was saved that fate. "Fortunately, the fascists did not have the money," said Mr. Lopez Garcia.

In December 2013, Lopez Garcia staged a major exhibition devoted to the centenary of the theatre. A celebration was subdued because as observers commented, a monument, reduced to a wreck, is painful to see.

Photo credit: Fadel Senna

Outside the yellow and blue ceramic decorating its facade is fading. And the inside, that once saw magnificent performances, is a wreck beneath a dilapidated ceiling - the remaining seats are covered with dust.

"Its current state is a bit pathetic, to be honest," admits Cecilia Fernandez Suzor, director of the Cervantes Institute in Tangier. "It looks like a shadow of a theater " sighs the writer Rachid Taferssiti, president of the Al Boughaz Association for the Safeguarding of Tangier. "I find it sad that a multicultural space like that is degraded as it is."


The theatre was the venue for the famous tenor Antonio Caruso, singer Patti Adeline and many Flamenco performances early last century. "My father played roles there," Rachid Taferssiti says, "The Al Hilal troupe, composed of Moroccans from Tangier, gave a noted performance of Othello in the theatre in 1929."

Closed since 1974, the Cervantes Theatre has long been praised as symbolic of Morocco, while remaining the property of Spain. The two countries still do not reach an agreement for its restoration.

" I think that the Spanish government would like nothing better than to restore it, but with the current crisis it is impossible to approach the subject ," says Ms. Fernandez Suzor, who said that" if we want to do it it would costs 1913 million - hello!"

Besides the cost, estimated at €4-5 million, the location in a run down neighbourhood is a weak point. "But there are some examples everywhere, where with the restoration of a cultural site, the environment transforms itself," argues the director of the Cervantes Institute, suggesting that the theatre could be reborn" as training center for crafts scene . "

"The city has a lot of changes to make, but should advance its share of the cost," Mr. Taferssiti claims. "We have our role to play, but the solution belongs to the Spanish and Moroccan governments."

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Mixed Results For Moroccan Tourism in 2013

At first glance 2013 appeared to be a great year for tourism in Morocco, with large numbers of visitors. The down side, according to to Ministry of Tourism, is that the visitors spent considerably less money than in the previous year

The same observation is made by riad owners in Fez. Sue Bail, from Riad Rcif, says "There is a huge difference now. Before visitors would return to the riad with bags of shopping. These day, however, they appear to be limiting themselves to cultural rather than shopping trips."

Many more tourists - spending less

Morocco welcomed 10.5 million tourists last year, a gain of seven percent, but the money they spent in a country whose cash-strapped government relies on them actually dipped.

Tourism Minister Lahcen Haddad confirmed the trend when speaking to the media recently. "The number of tourists who went to Morocco in 2013 reached 10,046,000," he said on Friday.

Ministry figures showed that revenues from non-resident tourists eased 0.5 percent to 57.5 billion dirhams (5.1 billion euros/6.9 billion).

Morocco was badly affected by the financial crisis in Europe, its top trade partner, aggravating the economic challenges facing the government of Islamist premier Abdelilah Benkirane.

The rise in arrivals last year was due, notably, to an influx of tourists from Italy, Germany and England, with the number of holidaymakers from those countries rising by between 12 and 15 percent.

By contrast, tourist arrivals from France and Spain grew by just four percent.

Marrakech and the coastal city of Agadir were the most popular destinations, receiving two-thirds of the visitors.

Tourism is the second-largest economic sector in Morocco. It accounts for around eight percent of GDP, employing some 500,000 people, and the government hopes to see the number of visitors rise to 20 million by 2022.

Haddad said in November that the government planned to levy a small tax on all flights out of the country, which he said would be used to promote it as a holiday destination.


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