| Morocco - Agadir - TV Traveller |
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Agadir is a city in southwest Morocco. The
city is located on the shore of the Atlantic
Ocean. Agadir is an important fishing and
commercial port. It is also a famous seaside
resort with a long sandy beach.
Algeria borders Morocco to the east and
southeast though the border between the two
countries has been closed since 1994. There
are also four Spanish enclaves on the
Mediterranean coast: Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón
de Vélez de la Gomera, Peñón de Alhucemas,
and the Chafarinas islands, as well as the
disputed islet Perejil. Off the Atlantic
coast the Canary Islands belong to Spain,
whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese.
To the north, Morocco is bordered by and
controls part of the Strait of Gibraltar,
giving it power over the waterways in and out
of the Mediterranean sea. The Rif mountains
occupy the region bordering the Mediterranean
from the north-west to the north-east. The
Atlas Mountains run down the backbone of the
country, from the south west to the north
east. Most of the south east portion of the
country is in the Sahara Desert and as such
is generally sparsely populated and
unproductive economically. Most of the
population lives to the north of these
mountains, while to the south is the desert.
To the south, lies the Western Sahara, a
former Spanish colony that was annexed by
Morocco in 1975 (see Green March). Morocco
claims that the Western Sahara is part of its
territory and refers to that as its Southern
Provinces.
Tags : Agadir Morocco Travel Tourist Tourism Beach Relax bbtv resort vacation holiday culture historical broadbandtv |
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Affichage : 312874
Durée : 131 s |
| MOROCCO THE MAGIC LAND |
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MOROCCO THE MAGIC LAND
The full Arabic name of Morocco, Al-Mamlaka
al-Maghribiya, translates to "The Western
Kingdom". Al Maghrib (meaning "The West") is
commonly used. For historical references,
historians used to refer to Morocco as Al
Maghrib al Aqşá ("The Farthest West"),
disambiguating it from the historical region
called the Maghreb. The name "Morocco" in
many other languages originates from the name
of the former capital, Marrakech.
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco
(Arabic: المملكة المغربية), is
a country in North Africa with a population
of 33,241,259. It has a coast on the Atlantic
Ocean that reaches past the Strait of
Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco
has international borders with Algeria to the
east, Spain to the north (a water border
through the Strait and land borders with two
small Spanish colonies, Ceuta and Melilla),
and Mauritania to the south.[1]
Morocco is the only African country that is
not currently a member of the African Union.
However, it is a member of the Arab League,
Arab Maghreb Union, Organization of the
Islamic Conference, Mediterranean Dialogue
group, and Group of 77, and is a major
non-NATO ally of the United States.
Morocco is an ethnically diverse country with
a rich culture and civilization. Through
Moroccan history, Morocco hosted many people
coming from East (Phoenicians, Carthaginians,
Jews and Arabs), South (Sub-Saharan Africans)
and North (Romans, Vandals, Andalusians
(including Moors and Jews)). All those
civilizations have had an impact on the
social structure of Morocco. It conceived
various forms of beliefs, from paganism,
Judaism, and Christianity to Islam.
Each region possesses its own specificities,
thus contributing to the national culture and
to the legacy of civilization. Morocco has
set among its top priorities the protection
of its legacy and the preservation of its
cultural identity.
Culturally speaking, Morocco has always been
successful in combining its Berber, Jewish
and Arabic cultural heritage with external
influences such as the French and the Spanish
and, during the last decades, the
Anglo-American lifestyles.
Gradual political reforms in the 1990s
resulted in the establishment of a bicameral
legislature in 1997, and with the death of
King Hassan II of Morocco in 1999, the more
liberal-minded Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed,
who assumed the title of Mohammed VI, took
the throne. He has since enacted successive
reforms to modernize Morocco, and the country
has seen a marked improvement in its human
rights record. One of the new king's first
acts was to free some 8,000 political
prisoners and reduce the sentences of another
30,000. He also established a commission to
compensate families of missing political
activists and others subjected to arbitrary
detention. In September 2002, new legislative
elections were held, and the Socialist Union
of Popular Forces (Union Socialiste des
Forces Populaires—USFP) led all other
parties in the voting. International
observers regarded the elections as free and
fair, noting the lack of irregularities that
had plagued the 1997 elections. Under
Muhammad VI, Morocco has continued down a
path toward economic, political, and social
reform and modernization. In May 2003, in
honor of the birth of a son and heir to the
throne, the king ordered the release of 9,000
prisoners and the reduction of 38,000
sentences. Also in 2003, Berber-language
instruction was introduced in primary
schools, prior to introducing it at all
educational levels. In 2004, the government
implemented reforms of the family code
improving the status of women—first
proposed in 2000—despite the objections of
traditionalists.[1]
In March 2000, women's groups organised
demonstrations in Casablanca proposing
reforms to the legal status of women in the
country. 40,000 women attended, calling for a
ban on polygamy and the introduction of civil
divorce law (divorce being a purely religious
procedure at that time). Although a
counter-demonstration attracted half a
million participants, the movement for change
started in 2000 was influential on King
Mohammed, and he enacted a new Mudawana, or
family law, in early 2004, meeting some of
the demands of women's rights activists.
In July 2002, a crisis broke with Spain over
an uninhabited small island lying just less
than 200 meters from the Moroccan coast,
named Toura or Leila by Moroccans, and Isla
Perejil by Spain. After mediation by the
United States, Both Morocco and Spain agreed
to return to the status quo by which the
Island remains deserted and almost a no man's
land.
Internationally, Morocco has maintained a
moderate stance, with strong ties to the
West. It was one of the first Arab and
Islamic states to denounce the 9/11 terrorist
attacks on the United States. In May 2003,
Morocco itself was subjected to the more
radical forces at work in the Arab world when
Islamist suicide bombers simultaneously
struck a series of sites in Casablanca,
killing 45 and injuring more than 100 others.
The Moroccan government responded with a
crackdown against Islamist extremists,
ultimately arresting several thousand,
prosecuting 1,200, and sentencing about 900.
Additional arrests followed in June 2004.
That same month, the United States designated
Morocco a major non-North Atlantic Treaty
Organization ally in recognition of its
efforts to thwart international terrorism. On
January 1, 2006, a comprehensive bilateral
free trade agreement between the United
States and Morocco took effect.[1] The
agreement had been signed in 2004 along with
a similar agreement with the European Union,
its main trade partner.
In 2005, demonstrations and riots in support
of independence for Western Sahara broke out
in Moroccan-controlled El-Aaiun. Criticism
from groups such as Amnesty International,
Freedom House and Human Rights Watch has
resulted from perceived police abuse of
demonstrators and independence advocates. The
demonstrations are labeled the "Independence
Intifada" by its participants and are
supported by the Polisario Front. Sporadic
unrest is still occurring in January 2007.
The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south
became part of the new Morocco in 1969, but
other Spanish possessions in the north
(Ceuta, Melilla and some small islands)
remain under Madrid's control, with Morocco
viewing them as occupied territory.
A defining theme of Moroccan history and
foreign policy is the bitter struggle over
Western Sahara. Moroccan claims to Western
Sahara date to the 11th century. However, in
August 1974, Spain formally acknowledged the
1966 United Nations (UN) resolution calling
for a referendum on the future status of
Western Sahara and requested that a
plebiscite be conducted under UN supervision.
A UN visiting mission reported in October
1975 that an overwhelming majority of the
Saharan people desired independence. Morocco
protested the proposed referendum and took
its case to the International Court of
Justice at The Hague, which ruled that
despite historical "ties of allegiance"
between Morocco and the tribes of Western
Sahara, there was no legal justification for
departing from the UN position on
self-determination. Spain, meanwhile, had
declared that even in the absence of a
referendum, it intended to surrender
political control of Western Sahara, and
Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania convened a
tripartite conference to resolve the
territory's future. But Madrid also announced
that it was opening independence talks with
the Algerian-backed Saharan independence
movement known as the Polisario Front.[1]
In early 1976, Spain ceded Western Sahara
administration's to Morocco and Mauritania.
Morocco assumed control over the northern
two-thirds of the territory and conceded the
remaining portion in the south to Mauritania.
An assembly of Saharan tribal leaders duly
acknowledged Moroccan sovereignty. However,
buoyed by the increasing defection of the
chiefs to its cause, the Polisario drew up a
constitution and announced the formation of
the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
A new dimension was thereby added to the
dispute because the liberation movement could
now present its claims as a
government-in-exile.[1]
Morocco eventually sent a large portion of
its combat forces into Western Sahara to
confront the Polisario's forces, which were
relatively small but well-equipped, highly
mobile, and resourceful, using Algerian bases
for quick strikes against targets deep inside
Morocco and Mauritania as well as for
operations in Western Sahara. In August 1979,
after suffering military losses, Mauritania
renounced its claim to Western Sahara and
signed a peace treaty with the Polisario.
Morocco then annexed the entire territory
and, in 1985, built a 2,500-kilometer sand
berm around three-quarters of it. In 1988,
Morocco and the Polisario Front finally
agreed on a United Nations (UN) peace plan,
and a cease-fire and settlement plan went
into effect in 1991. Even though the UN
Security Council created a peacekeeping force
to implement a referendum on
self-determination for Western Sahara, it has
yet to be held, periodic negotiations have
failed, and the status of the territory
remains unresolved.[1]
More than any other issue since independence,
the objective of securing Western Sahara had
unified the Moroccan nation. Because of the
firm stand the king had taken, it also
enhanced his popularity in the country. But
the war against the Polisario guerrillas put
severe strains on the economy, and Morocco
found itself increasingly isolated
diplomatically. Successive governments showed
little inclination to move seriously against
pressing economic and social issues. As a
result, popular discontent with social and
economic conditions persisted. Political
parties continued to proliferate but produced
only a divided and weakly organized
opposition or were suppressed. Through the
force of his strong personality, the legacy
of the monarchy, and the application of
political repression, the king succeeded in
asserting his authority and controlling the
forces threatening the existing social order.
Gradual political reforms in the 1990s
culminated in the constitutional reform of
1996, which created a new bicameral
legislature with expanded, although still
limited, powers. Although reportedly marred
by irregularities, elections for the Chamber
of Representatives were held in 1997.[1]
The reign of Hassan II
Hassan II became King of Morocco on March 3,
1961. His rule would be marked by political
unrest, and the ruthless government response
earned the period the name "the years of
lead". The new king took personal control of
the government as prime minister and named a
new cabinet. Aided by an advisory council, he
drew up a new constitution, which was
approved overwhelmingly in a December 1962
referendum. Under its provisions, the king
remained the central figure in the executive
branch of the government, but legislative
power was vested in a bicameral parliament,
and an independent judiciary was guaranteed.
In May 1963, legislative elections took place
for the first time, and the royalist
coalition secured a small plurality of seats.
However, following a period of political
upheaval in June 1965, Hassan II assumed full
legislative and executive powers under a
"state of exception," which remained in
effect until 1970. Subsequently, a reform
constitution was approved, restoring limited
parliamentary government, and new elections
were held. However, dissent remained,
revolving around complaints of widespread
corruption and malfeasance in government. In
July 1971 and again in August 1972, the
regime was challenged by two attempted
military coups. The atmosphere in the country
remained tense.[1]
After neighbouring Algeria's 1962
independence from France, border skirmishes
in the Tindouf area of south-western Algeria,
escalated in 1963 into what is known as the
Sand War. Morocco invaded to claim the areas
for Greater Morocco, but the fighting
stalemated within weeks, and Morocco was
forced to retreat with no border adjustments.
The border remained a contentious issue, but
was later demarcated, and Morocco no longer
makes any formals claim on Algerian
territory.
Despite serious domestic turmoil, the
patriotism engendered by Morocco's
participation in the Middle East conflict and
by the events in Western Sahara contributed
to Hassan's popularity and strengthened his
hand politically. The king had dispatched
Moroccan troops to the Sinai front after the
outbreak of Arab-Israeli War in October 1973.
Although they arrived too late to engage in
hostilities, the action won Morocco goodwill
among other Arab states. Shortly thereafter,
the attention of the government turned to the
acquisition of Western Sahara from Spain, an
issue on which all major domestic parties
agreed.[1]
Arabs conquered the region in the 7th
century, bringing their civilization and
Islam, to which most of the Berbers
converted. While part of the larger Islamic
Empire, client states were formed such as the
Kingdom of Nekor. Arab conquerors converted
the indigenous Berber population to Islam,
but Berber tribes retained their customary
laws. The Arabs abhorred the Berbers as
barbarians, while the Berbers often saw the
Arabs as only an arrogant and brutal soldiery
bent on collecting taxes. Once established as
Muslims, the Berbers shaped Islam in their
own image and embraced schismatic Muslim
sects, which, in many cases, were simply folk
religion barely disguised as Islam, as their
way of breaking from Arab control.[1] The
region soon broke away from the control of
the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad under
Idris ibn Abdallah who founded the Idrisid
Dynasty. Morocco became a centre of learning
and a major power.
Morocco reached its height under a series of
Berber dynasties, Queen Saida Zahira, that
arose south of the Atlas Mountains and
expanded their rule northwards, replacing the
Arab Idrisids. The 11th and 12th centuries
witnessed the founding of several great
Berber dynasties led by religious reformers
and each based on a tribal confederation that
dominated the Maghrib (also seen as Maghreb;
refers to North Africa west of Egypt) and
Al-Andalus for more than 200 years. The
Berber dynasties (Almoravids, Almohads, and
Marinids) gave the Berber people some measure
of collective identity and political unity
under a native regime for the first time in
their history, and they created the idea of
an "imperial Maghrib" under Berber aegis that
survived in some form from dynasty to
dynasty. But ultimately each of the Berber
dynasties proved to be a political failure
because none managed to create an integrated
society out of a social landscape dominated
by tribes that prized their autonomy and
individual identity. In 1559, the region fell
to successive Arab tribes claiming descent
from the Prophet Muhammad: first the Saadi
Dynasty who ruled from 1511 to 1659 and then
the Alaouites, who founded a dynasty that has
remained in power since the 17th century.
The Republic of Bou Regreg (1627-1666) was a
shortlived republic based in Rabat and Salé
Arabs conquered the region in the 7th
century, bringing their civilization and
Islam, to which most of the Berbers
converted. While part of the larger Islamic
Empire, client states were formed such as the
Kingdom of Nekor. Arab conquerors converted
the indigenous Berber population to Islam,
but Berber tribes retained their customary
laws. The Arabs abhorred the Berbers as
barbarians, while the Berbers often saw the
Arabs as only an arrogant and brutal soldiery
bent on collecting taxes. Once established as
Muslims, the Berbers shaped Islam in their
own image and embraced schismatic Muslim
sects, which, in many cases, were simply folk
religion barely disguised as Islam, as their
way of breaking from Arab control.[1] The
region soon broke away from the control of
the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad under
Idris ibn Abdallah who founded the Idrisid
Dynasty. Morocco became a centre of learning
and a major power.
Morocco reached its height under a series of
Berber dynasties, Queen Saida Zahira, that
arose south of the Atlas Mountains and
expanded their rule northwards, replacing the
Arab Idrisids. The 11th and 12th centuries
witnessed the founding of several great
Berber dynasties led by religious reformers
and each based on a tribal confederation that
dominated the Maghrib (also seen as Maghreb;
refers to North Africa west of Egypt) and
Al-Andalus for more than 200 years. The
Berber dynasties (Almoravids, Almohads, and
Marinids) gave the Berber people some measure
of collective identity and political unity
under a native regime for the first time in
their history, and they created the idea of
an "imperial Maghrib" under Berber aegis that
survived in some form from dynasty to
dynasty. But ultimately each of the Berber
dynasties proved to be a political failure
because none managed to create an integrated
society out of a social landscape dominated
by tribes that prized their autonomy and
individual identity. In 1559, the region fell
to successive Arab tribes claiming descent
from the Prophet Muhammad: first the Saadi
Dynasty who ruled from 1511 to 1659 and then
the Alaouites, who founded a dynasty that has
remained in power since the 17th century.
The Republic of Bou Regreg (1627-1666) was a
shortlived republic based in Rabat and Salé
Tags : MAROC MOROCCO MAGHRIB VEDIO LOVE MOHAMMED SIX 6 VI FOOTTBALL SAHARA IMAGE LIFE SUN TOURISM ICE MUSIC FOOD COMMEDY HINDI |
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Affichage : 71477
Durée : 327 s |
| Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich, Kiss Scene, Complete. |
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...Whatever other reason you might have to
watch MOROCCO, there's no denying that
Marlene Dietrich is very clearly the star of
the entire enterprise. The way von Sternberg
photographs and captures her makes her appear
mysterious, beautiful and yet achingly
vulnerable at the same time. You couldn't
talk about Dietrich in this film without also
mentioning von Sternberg in the same breath,
since she is so very evidently portrayed in
the way he sees her at her best. Some shots
of Dietrich, more than others, are
breathtaking.
Even if her character isn't particularly
well-fleshed-out and her lines not too great
(von Sternberg fed her most of her lines
during filming, partly because that's how he
works and partly because Dietrich apparently
knew very little English), Amy/Dietrich--both
creations of the same directorial genius--is
a fine work of art.
Whether it's Dietrich creating a furor of
gasps when she emerges in her tux, or when
she plants a firm kiss on another lady's
mouth (this film was made in *1930*!), she is
a simply captivating screen presence--Cooper
seems bland in his role in comparison, and
Menjou is adequate but certainly doesn't
steal the picture. The sound for the whole
film isn't that great, and Dietrich does have
to sing over the noise of the crowd so you
really have to struggle to make out what
she's saying... but just looking at her
really is enough in this film.
..............From IMDB
The Foreign Legion marches in to Mogador with
booze and women in mind just as singer Amy
Jolly arrives from Paris to work at Lo
Tinto's cabaret. That night, insouciant
legionnaire Tom Brown catches her inimitably
seductive, tuxedo-clad act. Both bruised by
their past lives, the two edge cautiously
into a no-strings relationship while being
pursued by others. But Tom must leave on a
perilous mission: is it too late for them?
Tags : Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich The Kiss Scene (complete) |
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Affichage : 64514
Durée : 233 s |
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