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Le
Maroc a été depuis la Chute du Temple une terre de Judaïsme et
d'Islam cultivés
MOROCCAN JEWISH HERITAGE
Hiloula of Sidi Rabbi
HABIB MIZRAHI in Marrakech,
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Some of the more important saints include:
Ksar El Kbir - Rabbi Yehuda Jabali
Ouezzane - R. Amran Bendiwane
(18th century - Moulay Ali, head of Ouezzanines,
religious brotherhood, brought in Jews to improve
commerce and improve the prosperity of the city, which
up to then had been considered off-limits to Jews)
Fez
- Lalla Solica
Tasadika and R. Haim Cohen, Yhouda Ben Attar, Clock
Tower of Maimonides
Sefrou - R. Moshe Elbaz and the
masters of the Cave, Eliahou Harraoch, David Arazil,
Rabat - Sale R. Eliezer de Avila
and Raphael Encaoua, Mohammed V, Chalom Zaoui
Ben Ahmed - Yahia Elkhder
Settat - Abraham Awriwel
Essaouira region (Ait Bouyoud 40
kms.) - Nessim Ben Nessim
Essaouira - Chaim Pinto
Demnate - David Eldrah Halevy
Ourika - Saloman Ben Elhans
Marrakech region (40 kms. on Route
de Ouarzazate) Moulay Iggy (David Laskar)
Marrakech - Hanania Cohen
Ouarzazate region - David Oumouchy
Taroudant - David Ben Baruk Cohen
Azog
Ifrane Anti-Atlas - 50 Nesrafimes
or Jewish martyrs
Casablanca
- Eliahou, Sidi Belyout (Muslim)
El Jadida - Yahia Assouline
Azemmour - Abrahma Moul Niss
Meknes
- Haim Messas, David Boussidan, Raphael
Berdugo
Tangier - Mordehai Bengio
Beni
Mellal - Chlomo Amar, David
Benyamine,
Bzou - Sidi Moul El Berj
Antifa - Youssef Abajayou
Sidi Rahal - Yaacob Nahamias (Moul
Lma)
Tetouan - Isaac Benoualide
Safi
- Ben Zmero brothers, Abraham Soultan,
Youssef Dalili, Messod Mimoua, Mimoun Benouaich
Debdou - Youssef Bensimon, Jacob
Cohen, Ishak Ben Moche Cohen, Mardochee Ben Moche Cohen,
Moche Ben Sultan
Source:
Rick Gold |
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Marrakech: the
Ocre
Amber of the South |
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Morocco
has originally its
name from Marrakech.
In the old Arabic
chronicles Marrakech
is named Marrakesch
("the town"). The
name has been
changed over the
decades to Morocco
and would taken as
name for the whole
country.
Marrakech,
called also the red
town, because of the
red wall surround
the old town, the
medina.
First
Marrakech was just
an resting-place for
the caravans, but
the leader of the
Almoravids Abou Bekr
recognized, that
this place is a
fantastic place for
his troops. His
cousin Youssuf Ibn
Taschfin constructed
the first mosque and
the first houses.
In 1062, he also is
responsible for the
great palm groves (Palmeraie),
which can be still
admired today in the
northeast of the
town.
This
was starting-point
to conquer the whole
country just to
Andalusia. Marrakech
became his capital
town of his empire.
The
town is built
little by little by
the Almoravids
(under Ali Ihn
Yousuf), by the
Almohads (under Abd
el Moumen, in the 12
century) and
extended by Abou
Yakoub Youssuff and
Yakoub el Mansour.
Just the 9km long
red earth wall is
preserved from the
Almoravid Empire
The
following sultans
destructed the
palaces of their
predecessors, there
are only some
monuments of the
Almohad Empire. So
the gates of the
town and the popular
Minaret of the
Koutoubia Mosque are
their heritage.
Until
the
decline of the
Almohad empire
Marrakech rested the
capital. But the
following dynasty of
the Merenids rested
just a little while
in the town and
chase
Fes
to their capital.
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In
the Saadian
Empire under
the reign of
Ahmed El Arj
Marrakech
became again
capital in
the 16.
century. The
Saadians
constructed
a lot of
buildings,
like the
wonderful
Saadian
tombs, which
are still
preserved.
The Saadian
tombs are
redeveloped
in 1917,
because the
main
entrance was
bricked up
by an order
of the
Sultan of
the Alaouites
Moulay
Ismail
Just
the
Bahia-Palace
is preserved
of the
Alouit
Empire. But
this palace
gives an
excellent
impression
of the
luxury life
of the then
sultans.
After
the French
invasion in
1917 Morocco
was governed
by the Pasha
EL Glaoui,
who was near
to the
France. He
got a lot of
advantages
because of
the
cooperation
with them.
With French
help he was
victorious
over the
revolts of
the Berber
tribes. He
became one
of the
richest and
influential
men of
Morocco.
As
1956 King
Mohammed V.
ascended the
throne, his
power was
terminated.
Three years
later he
died and the
state
confiscated
his fortune.
The Pasha
constructed
a lot of
buildings,
for example
the Dar
Glaoui in
Telouèt,
where the
ancestral
place of
Glaoui-Family
was. Here
you can get
a stunning
impression
of the
former power
of the
Pasha.
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Marrakech
Traversing the alleyways and souks
of Marrakech, particularly in the
Medina (Old City), it is easy to
believe you have been transported
back in time or stumbled onto a
movie set for a medieval 'Arabian
nights' production. It is this
enchanting fairy tale quality that
brings thousands of sightseers to
the most visited of Morocco's three
Imperial Cities. The heart of the
Medina is Djemaa el-Fna, an
irregular 'square' where everything
seems to happen and the place to
which tourists are drawn again and
again to soak up the carnival-like
environment. Tourism, though, has
not spoilt
the atmosphere, but seemingly rather
added to it. The modern side of
Marrakech with its luxury hotels,
banks and streets bursting with
motor scooters, blends well with the
past in a metropolis made up of the
peoples of the Berber Atlas tribes,
Mahgrebis from the plains, and
Saharan nomads.
Marrakech was founded in 1062 by
Youssef bin Tachfine of the
Almoravide dynasty, and his son
perfected the city by bringing in
architects and craftsmen from
Cordoba to build palaces, baths,
mosques and a subterranean water
system. The city walls were raised
from the red mud of the plains, with
the snow-covered peaks of the High
Atlas Mountains forming a backdrop
for the city, although they are
often hidden by the heat haze.
Marrakesh is Morocco's
most exotic and vibrant city, with its
ochre-and-rose-hued buildings and monuments and
labyrinth of souks, set against the snow-capped
Atlas Mountains. The pink-walled Medina, 'Old City',
boasts a greater density of chic boutique lodgings 'riads'
than possibly anywhere else in the world and the
multitude of emporia will keep shoppers busy for
days. Even non-shoppers will be amazed by the
sights, sounds and scents around the souks.
Marrakech is more or less where
bohemian chic began.
One of the many ways to soak up the
sights and sounds of Marrakech is in
one of the hundreds of horse-drawn
carriages, known as caleches and
Koutchies in local language,
that are for hire, but it is also
necessary to take in the Medina's
souks on foot, plunging into the
hurly burly maelstrom of passages
where tradesmen ply various crafts,
from cloth dying, copper beating,
and leather working to herbalists,
perfumers and slipper makers, and
where shopkeepers cajole passing
tourists into taking a look at their
glorious array of colorful crafts.
Getting Around: Driving in
the city of Marrakech is difficult
unless you know your way around; the
narrow alleyways of the central
urban medina area are a confusing
warren of one-way streets. Public
buses are a bit of a free-for-all,
but they are cheap, frequent and
cover the entire city. Beige-colored
'petites taxis' are cheap with
metered fares and can be hailed on
the streets; Mercedes Benz sedans
are called 'grand taxis' and also
cover routes between cities and
towns.
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People
 Nationality:
Noun and adjective--Moroccan(s).
Morocco Berber Heritage -
Tamazight
MARRAKECH Adopted by the hippies in the 1960s, the city was
soon converged on by writers, artists and high
fashion world in search of sensory inspiration. Yves
Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier and the Hermès
family are among the European beau monde with homes
here. The delightful riad-style, boutique hotels are
a welcome respite from the hive of activity outside.
Indulge in a relaxing hammam after a day of
exploring.
MARRAKECH ATTRACTIONS
BAHIA PALACE -
Riad Zitoun El Jedid (00 212 44 389 221). A
19th-century palace with lush decoration so highly
worked that it verges on kitsch. Open daily from
8.45am to 11.45am, 2.45pm to 5.45pm.
BEN YOUSSEF MEDERSA - Place Ben Youssef (00
212 44 39 09 11). This is also worth a visit for its
pools and arches, its carved cedarwood doorways and tranquil patios that
bring to mind all the glories of Andalucian
architecture. Visit the Ben Youseef Medersa for
its spectacular interiors, so striking that it
upstaged Kate Winslet in the scenes they shared in
the film Hideous Kinky. The Ben Youssef Medersa is a
16th-century Koranic school that was lovingly
restored and buffed up to perfection in the late
1990s. The serene courtyard has a central
water-filled basin and façades enhanced with tiling,
stucco and carved cedar. Open daily except Fri, 9am to noon,
2.30pm to 6pm.
CITY WALLS - Hop into a horse-drawn calèche
for a tour around the outside of the city walls.
First constructed in the 12th century, these form a
neat circuit of six miles punctuated by about 200
towers and 20 gates. Made of pisé, the
fortifications possess a pinkish tinge and glow
beautifully in the setting sun. A complete whirl
around takes the best part of an hou; prices are
fixed by the municipality and are posted beside the
carriages, which wait in line on the north side of
place de Foucauld (just follow your nose).
DAR CHERIFA - 8 Derb Charfa Lakbir Mouassine,
off Rue Mouassine (00 212 44 42 64 63): Dar Cherifa
is a restored townhouse among the souks. Owner
Abdelatif Ben Abdellah is a leading light in the
rejuvenation of the old city. Here he has taken
great pains to expose carved beams and stucco work
while leaving walls and floors bare and free of
distraction, all the better to enhance the hanging
of regular exhibitions by resident local and foreign
artists. The venue also hosts occasional
performances by gnawa and Sufi musicians and
incorporates a small library. Anybody is free to
drop by, and tea and coffee are served.
DJEMAA EL-FNA SQUARE - Djemaa el-Fna, the
main open space in Marrakech, is as old as the city
itself. It is thronged day and night with a carnival
of local life, including snake-charmers (a few
dirhams for a photograph with a snake draped over
your shoulders, and a few more to have it removed);
dentists (teeth pulled on the spot); scribes
(letters written to order); herbalists (cures for
everything and nothing); and beggars (to whom
Moroccans give generously). In the evenings, the
square becomes a venue for alfresco eating and
entertainment of a bizarre nature with troupes of
costumed acrobats, storytellers, magicians,
transvestite dancers and semi-mystical gnawa
musicians attended by small knots of wild-eyed
devotees giddy on the repetitive rhythms. Tourists
are welcome to watch but nothing here is staged for
their benefit.
KOUTOUBIA MOSQUE - The centrepiece of
Marrakech is the square tower of the Koutoubia
minaret, attached to the Koutoubia Mosque, built in
the early 1100s. It's not particularly high but it
towers over the Medina thanks to a long-standing
planning ordinance that forbids any other building
in the old city to rise above the height of a palm
tree.
LES BAINS DE MARRAKECH - Riad Mehdi, 2 Derb
Sedra, Bab Agnaou (00 212 44 38 14 28;
www.riadmehdi.com). Les Bains de Marrakech is an
elegant spa centre, occupying one half of an old
townhouse pressed up against the 12th-century city
walls in the southern kasbah quarter. A full range
of treatments, from water massage to shiatsu, plus
steam-cleaning in a traditional hammam, are on
offer. You can have a whole day of treatment then
finish off with cocktails at the bar of Riad Mehdi,
the boutique hotel that occupies the other half of
the townhouse.
MAJORELLE GARDENS - Avenue Yacoub el-Mansour.
Privately owned by fashion designer and long-time
Marrakech resident Yves Saint Laurent, the Majorelle
Garden was created in the 1930s by two generations
of French artists, Louis Majorelle and his son
Jacques. The former's speciality was furniture, the
latter's Orientalism, but the enduring Majorelle
legacy is a virulent shade of powder-blue that
carries their name. It colours the water channels,
urns and the artists' former studio (now a museum of
Islamic art), making a striking contrast with bamboo
groves, cacti, great palms and pools floating with
water lilies. The effect is like walking through a
Gauguin painting.
MUSEE D'ART REGIONAL DAR SI SAID - Riad
Zitoun El Jedid (00 212 44 389 564). Open Wed to
Mon, 9am to noon, 3pm to 6pm.
MUSEE DE MARRAKECH - Place Ben Youssef (00
212 44 39 09 11). At the heart of the Medina, the
Musée de Marrakech is a conversion of an opulent,
early 20th-century house formerly belonging to a
local grandee. Exhibits rotate but concentrate on
Moroccan and/or Islamic arts and crafts such as
court ceramics and tribal textiles. The star
attraction is the building itself, particularly the
polychromic-tiled central court. There's a pleasant
courtyard café and a very good bookshop. Crucially,
the museum is one of the very few air-conditioned
buildings in the old city - worth the price of
admission alone during the hot summer months. Open
9.30am to 6pm daily.
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