A JOURNEY THROUGH

MOROCCO

Where is Morocco?

• Morocco is located in the

northwest corner of Africa and is

bordered by the North Atlantic

Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

• Algeria and Western Sahara are the

land borders to the south and east.

What is the capital city of Morocco?

• The capital city of Morocco is

Rabat, although the largest city is Casablanca with nearly 4 million people.

• Other major cities in Morocco include Marrakech, Tangier, Tetouan, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.

Can you find Morocco on

the map?

HISTORY

• Morocco is just across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. From 1912 to 1956 the country was divided into French and Spanish zones—two small Spanish-controlled areas, Ceuta and Melilla still remain today.

• King Mohammed VI, who has ruled since 1999.

• Morocco is one of only three kingdoms left on the continent of Africa.

What do we know about Morocco?

• OFFICIAL NAME: Kingdom of Morocco

• FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy

• CAPITAL: Rabat

• POPULATION: 31,968,361

• OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Arabic, Berber dialects, French

• MONEY: Moroccan Dirham

• AREA: 172 square miles (447 square kilometers)

• MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Atlas, Rif

• MAJOR RIVERS: Draa

People and culture Moroccan cities commonly have mosques with beautiful towers called minarets, market areas called bazaars, old medieval sections called medinas and old fortresses called kasbahs.

• Mosques with beautiful

towers called minarets, and

bazaars are common in

Morocco.

• Medinas are the old medieval

section of cities.

• Old fortresses called kasbahs

are strong buildings built

from palm-tree fibers and

mud from the riverbanks.

MEDINAS old medieval city KASBAHS old fortressess

What can we buy in a Bazaar?

• Market areas called Bazaars.

• We can find lots of hand made moroccon art work: rugs, pottery, music instruments, jewelry,etc.

people

• Ethnically, Moroccans are predominately of Berber (North African

indigenous) and Arabic decent.

• The Berber people have been living in North Africa for centuries,

historically living in the mountainous areas but in more recent

times moving to the cities for work.

• The official languages of Morocco are Berber and Arabic.

FOOD AND DRINK

• Green tea with mint and sweetened with sugar is a popular Morocco drink..

• The most famous of Moroccan dishes is couscous, kebab etc. The food is very spicy and tasty.

• Desserts are usually fruits or pastries, which are often filled with almond/ marzipan.

MOROCCON ART

MOROCCON ART

MOSAICS

• The arts practiced in Morocco are identifiable by the bold geometric patterns and rich colors.

• The colors and patterns are seen in handmade carpets, ceramics, mosaics and fabric. These traditions have been practiced for centuries with the artisans.

MOROCCON GATES • The gates are the

offical entrance to the cities, also most of them are royal entrances.

• The gates have got a horseshoe shape arch.

• They are very decorative with floral inscriptions etc.

• The gates are made of stones.

FATIMA’S HAND • Fatima’s hand is a talisman

for good luck and protection.

• It is hung of the walls of the houses.

• It is engraving in silver or gold or it is painted in red.

Moroccon rugs and fabrics

NOW THAT WE KNOW ABOUT MOROCCO. Let’s start our art and crafts activities:

Let’s create our own moroccon mosaic.

• Have a look to the following website:.https://www.google.es/search?q=mor

occan+sweets&client=firefox-a&hs=fET&rls=org.mozilla:ca:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=st0GVOmfOYPV0QXQzYCwDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=657#channel=sb&q=morocco+geometricals+patterns&rls=org.mozilla:ca:official&tbm=isch&imgdii=_

• Draw your mosaic using differents geometrical patterns .

• Colour it with different colours.