64 Interesting Facts about Morocco

posted on: Aug 17, 2017

Source: Fact Retriever
By: Jill Bartholomew

• An Arabic name for Morocco, al-Magrib al-Aqsa, means “the extreme west” and attests to Morocco’s place as the westernmost country in the Arab world._[7]
• Morocco is one of the world’s largest producers of illicit hashish._[7]
• Oukaïmeden, in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains is the highest ski resort in Africa; however, snowfall rarely exceeds 7.87 inches (20 cm) annually._[4]
• In Morocco, it is considered impolite to handle food with the left hand and to say no to meat if it is offered at a meal._[3]
• Moroccan Berber women still have tattoos in geometric designs on their faces, sometimes covering much of their forehead, cheeks, and necks. These are marks of tribal identification and date from a time when it was necessary to be able to spot women of one’s tribe who had been carried off in raids._[3]
• Morocco’s national animal is the Barbary lion. DNA evidence from two lion skulls found in the Tower of London prove that English royalty owned at least two Barbary lions sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries._[4]

• White is the color of mourning in Morocco. A Moroccan widow wears white for 40 days after the death of her husband._[3]
• Dubbed Moroccan, or Berber, “whiskey,” tea has become the national drink of Morocco. It was introduced to Morocco in 1854 when blockaded British merchants uploaded large quantities of tea at major Moroccan ports, Thé à la Menthe (Green Mint Tea) is Chinese green tea brewed with a handful of mint leaves and liberally loaded up with sugar._[3]
• In Morocco, it is estimated that there is one dentist for every 800,000 residents, and the standard treatment for a toothache is extraction. At country souks (markets), tooth-extraction specialists are identified by their set of pliers and small carpets littered with bloody molars._[3]
• Moroccans jokingly call their tap water Sidi Robinet (Sir, or Lord, Tap), and it is drinkable in most parts of the country._[3]
• One of the major sources of income for families in Morocco’s Northern Rif region is cannabis (marijuana) cultivation. In fact, the word “reefer” derives from the word rif. The cannabis, known in Arabic as kif, is then processed and sold as hashish._[3]
• The word kasbah probably derives from the Turkish kasabe, meaning small town. In contemporary Morocco and all of North Africa, it is generally used to refer to the fortified strong point in a city._[5]
• Often called the “Red City,” Marrakech, Morocco, requires sun protection and headgear of some kind all year-round, even during winter._[8]
• Morocco is the largest processor and exporter of sardines in the world._[1]
• The English word “genie” comes directly from the Arabic word djinn, denoting a spiritual being that may play some part in human affairs if called upon. In Morocco, djinns are believed to frequent places associated with water: public baths, drains, sinks, and even pots and pans._[3]
• The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the world’s seventh largest mosque and took five years of intensive labor by over 30,000 workers and craftsman to complete in 1993. The mosque’s minaret at 689 feet (210 m) high is the world’s tallest, and it is Casablanca’s chief landmark. In terms of covered area, the Hassan II Mosque is the largest in the world and has space for 80,000 worshippers._[5]
• Morocco is only 8 miles (13 km) from Europe, across the Strait of Gibraltar._[3]

• Morocco’s current royal family, the Alaouites, dates from the 17th century. Sultan Mohammed V, the current monarch’s grandfather, organized Morocco as a constitutional monarchy and assumed the title of King in 1957. Mohamed VI has been King of Morocco since July 30, 1999._[7]
• Morocco’s flag is red with a green pentacle (five-pointed linear star) known as Sulayman’s (Solomon’s) seal in the center of the flag. Red and green are traditional colors in Arab flags, and the pentacle represents the five pillars of Islam and signifies the association between God and the nation. Its design dates to 1912._[7]
• The Kairaouine Mosque became the world’s first university and the world’s foremost center of learning at the beginning of the second millennium. Built in A.D. 857 by Fatima al-Fihri, the daughter of a wealthy Kairaouine refugee, the Kairaouine Mosque was Morocco’s largest mosque until Casablanca’s Hassan II Mosque was built in the early 1990s. The Kairaouine Mosque became part of Morocco’s state educational system in 1963, and today it is known as the University of al-Kairaouine._[8]
• The Moroccan national costume is called the djellaba, a one-piece unisex, hooded, coverall garment. Those of the highest quality have the most ornate needlework lining the seams. Wealthy Moroccans have their djellabas tailor-made. Djellabas are indicative of conservative politics and values._[3]
• Women’s rights in Morocco achieved a major step forward in 2004 with the reform of the country’s personal status code, the Moudawana. With the reform, women in Morocco can now have custody of their children, the unilateral repudiation of a wife is abolished, and a man’s taking of a second wife is subject to the approval of his first wife._[5]

• Casablanca, the film named after the Moroccan city, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture in 1942 and is considered one of the best films of all time._[5]
• Any Moroccan man or woman who is sherfa (believed to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad) is given the titleLalla, Sidi, or Moulay, as a matter of course._[3]
• Traditionally the liver, not the heart, is considered to be the symbol of love in Morocco._[2]
• At most country markets (souqs) in Morocco, sehirras(witches) can be found who dispense the peculiar ingredients of their trade (curses and potions) and offer advice on their use. Most towns, villages, and medina neighborhoods also have a resident fortune teller (shuwaf for male, shuwaffa for female) who can, for a fee—using cards and other prognostic devices— reveal the unknown or the future._[3]
• One of the words for “money” in Morocco is wusakh d-dunya, or “dirt of the world.” Moroccan money is formally called the dirham (abbreviated DH), but it is commonly referred to as flous._[3]
• In the 1950s, Orson Welles stayed at the Hôtel des Îles in Essaouira, Morocco, while he was filming the movie Othello. Legend has it that he met Winston Churchill there. Essaouira also became famous as a hangout for singers Cat Stevens and Jimi Hendrix in the 1960s._[5]
• In Morocco, very few citizens have private baths, and a ritual purification of the body is essential before Muslims can perform prayers, so many Moroccans bath at the public hamman (bath). The hammam is segregated and, along with the local zaouia (saints’ shrine), is an important place for women to socialize._[5]
• Seksou (couscous) is the Moroccan national dish. It is granules of semolina that are steamed over a pot filled with a rich meat and vegetable stew._[5]
• The town of Moulay Idriss is an alternative in Morocco for those Muslims unable to do the ultimate pilgrimage, or hajj. The city is named for the Arab ruler who came to Morocco from Arabia after defeat in the Battle of Fakh in A.D. 786. In Morocco, he won over the loyalty of the native tribes and brought Islam to the country. The cities of Moulay Idriss and Fez are his two major legacies._[5]
• Tangier is the oldest city in Morocco. It was inhabited by the Phoenicians as early as 1600 B.C. It was an International City from 1922 to 1956, having been ruled by representatives of eight European countries at that time._[1]
• Moroccans have been writing about the world since the 14th century, beginning with Moroccan Islamic scholar Ibn Battuta, who traveled an astounding 5,000 miles over 30 years, recounting his story in the Rihla (The Journey)._[8]

• Morocco is the only African country that is not a member of the African Union._[7]
• The tomb of John the Baptist is said to reside in the shrine of Sidi Yahia ben Younes, situated in the Moroccan city of Oujda._[5]
• The inventor of the first pedestrian crossing light, Leslie Hore-Belisha, is buried in the Jewish cemetery of Essaouira._[5]
• Morocco has 172,395 square miles (446,550 square km) and is slightly larger than California._[7]
• Morocco’s highest point is Jebel Toubkal at 13,665 feet (4,165 m); its lowest point is Sebkha Tah at -180 feet (-55 m) below sea level._[7]
• Bou Hamra, “the Man on the She Donkey,” proclaimed himself Sultan of Morocco in the city of Taza in 1902 and controlled most of eastern Morocco until 1912, when he was caught and killed. He was known as a wandering miracle maker, travelling Morocco on his faithful beast._[5]
• Casablanca, or Dar el Beïda (White House), is Morocco’s largest city. One version of how the city got its name states it was named after Caid’s house, a large, white building that is visible from a distance. Another version states that Sidi Allal el-Kairouani named the city ad-Dār al-Bāyda (House of the White Princess), after his daughter, Lalla Beida. The city changed its name to the Spanish translation “Casa Blanca” in 1770._[5]
• The Venus of Tan-Tan, a 2.36 inch (6 cm) stone carving found in a nearby river bed in 1999 in Morocco, is alleged to be between 300,000 and 500,000 years old and may be the earliest artistic representation of the human form._[5]
• Rabat was made the capital city of Morocco in 1913 by the French because Morocco had no fixed capital at the time._[5]

• The name of Jemaa el Fna, the vast market square in Marrakech, Morocco, literally means “assembly of the dead” and may refer to the traditional display of the heads of criminals executed there until the 19th century._[5]
• In the 17th century, the Moroccan city Rabat was, for a time, the center of the notorious Sallee Rovers, who were corsairs, or pirates. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe was a fictional captive of a “Turkish rover of Sallee.”_[5]
• The médersa, an Islamic college of higher education, originated in Persia and was developed in the Islamic west in the 13th century. The largest Moroccan médersa is the 16th century Médersa Ben Youssef in Marrakesh, which is also the largest médersa in North Africa._[5]
• Camille Saint-Saëns drew on Moroccan Issaoua (Sufi) trance music for his tone poem for orchestra Danse Macabre._[5]
• Referred to as the “Poor Little Rich Girl,” American Woolworth-heiress Barbara Hutton owned the palace Sidi Hosni in Tangiers, Morocco._[5]
• York Castle, in Tangier’s kasbah, was the 17th century Moroccan home of the English governor, the Duke of York._[5]
• Morocco was the first nation to sign a treaty with the United States in 1786._[8]
• Prior to 1920, only three Christians had braved the walls of the northwestern city of Chefchaouen: the French vicomte Charles de Foucauld disguised as a rabbi in 1883; Walter Harris, New York Times Correspondent and author of Morocco That Was, in 1889; and American William Summers, poisoned in Chefchaouen in 1892. They found Jews there still speaking 15th century Andalusian Spanish. They were thrown out from 1924–1926 by Abd el Karim’s Rif resistance movement but returned to stay until Independence in 1956._[5]
• The Tangiers American Legation building was given as a gift to the American government by the Moroccan sultan in 1821, and it was used as a consulate until 1961. The Old American Legation, as it is known by the locals, is the first building outside of the U.S. to be registered under the National Historic Landmarks program._[5]
• Koura, or soccer, is Morocco’s most popular sport. The national team is called the Lions of Atlas. In 2011, the 45,000-seat Stade de Marrakech was completed, allowing Morocco to host World Cup-type football events._[5]

• In 1984, Moroccan Saïd Aouita won the 5000m event at the Los Angeles Olympic Games and went on to set five world records, ranging from the 1500m to the 5000 m. Other Moroccan athletes went on to imitate his success, including Brahim Boutayeb, Khalid Skah, and Hichem Guerouj._[5]
• Morocco is second only to Egypt in the Arab world for encouraging friendly relations with Israel. At the end of 1993, a number of measures to improve relations between the two countries were announced by the king, specifically including the opening of direct air, telephone, and postal links._[3]
• Äid al-Kebir (Big Festival) is the biggest holiday in Morocco, and elsewhere in the Muslim world it is called Eid al-Adha. It is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Dhu al-hijja, the month during which Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca._[3]
• In the Vallée des Roses, local legend states that pilgrims returning from Mecca brought with them the “Mother of all flowers,” the Damascus rose, initiating the rose industry in Morocco. In 1912, French parfumiers realized that the Vallée des Roses would be an ideal place to mass cultivate the bushy Rosa centifolia. Today, there are hundreds of kilometers of rose bush hedges and two factories in the valley, distilling rose essence._[5]
• Romans began making wine in Morocco over 2,000 years ago. However, with the establishment of Islam in the 7th century A.D., Moroccan vineyards were not kept up. Under the French Protectorate, the Moroccan vineyards were revived and, in 1956, passed into state control. The French company Castel retook control of Moroccan wine production in the 1990s. The Gris de Boulaouane, a rosé with an orange tint, is one of the best Moroccan wines._[1]
• At the 1984 Olympic Games, Nawal el Moutawakel unexpectedly won the inaugural running of the 400m hurdles, the first major title won by an Arab woman in an international competition. She is now a cabinet member._[5]
• During the 1950s and 60s, Morocco served as a literary sanctuary for many foreign writers, including Americans William S. Burroughs, Paul Bowles, Brion Gysin, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, and Tennessee Williams. Perhaps the most famous of them, Paul Bowles made his home in Morocco for more than 50 years._[8]

• Founded on the banks of the Fez River by Moulay Idriss, Fez remains Morocco’s grandest and oldest imperial city. Fez el-bali (Old Fez) is the world’s largest active medieval city._[8]
• A ruler of Morocco for 55 years, Moulay Ismail was a contemporary of Louis XIV. To strengthen relations with Europe, he sent a request to Louis XIV for the hand of the French king’s cousin, Princess Anne de Bourbon. His request was denied._[1]
• Morroco’s formal name is Al Mamlakah al Magribiyah, or Kingdom of Morocco._[7]
• Coveted since Roman times, Morocco’s rare and beautiful thuya wood can be found only in the western foothills of the Atlas Mountains. In modern times, this material is synonymous with wealth, being the first burled wood used for luxury dashboards in the Rolls Royce._[8]
• The Atlas film studios, 4 miles (6 km) outside of Ouarzazate, are known as Morocco’s Hollywood. For a century, hundreds of films have been shot in this region, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky, and Scorsese’s Kundun, among others._[1]