Gathered in Casablanca in 1943 to discuss how they would defeat the Axis powers, Churchill and Roosevelt enjoyed their stay in North Africa. In a panel discussion organized by the American and British embassies, we discovered the love the British Prime minister had for Morocco.
125 Moroccan soldiers deserted during the Indochina War. They escaped death seeking refuge in Vietnam to lead a miserable life away from their country for several years after being repatriated in January 1972. Flashback.
On the 11th of January 1944, the Istiqlal party, recently formed, wrote a Manifesto demanding Morocco’s full independence. The party’s struggle against the French protectorate was carried out throughout the years even after the exile of Sultan Mohammed ben Youssef. Flash back.
Named Pasha of Marrakech, Thami El Glaoui was fascinated by the Western culture and lived his life, throwing extravagant parties in his Marrakech residence. He treated his European guests to lavish banquets and offered them expensive gifts.
In 1943, a British bank in Tangier spotted, for the first time, samples of counterfeits, putting an end to the mass forgery of Sterling currency. The operation was initiated by Nazi Germany to destroy the British economy during World War II.
French electrician Emile Leray is known to the rest of the world as the man who turned his car into a motorcycle to survive hunger and thirst in the Moroccan Sahara. In 1993, his car broke near Tan Tan after he was on a solo trip to the desert.
In the 1590s, Saadi sultan Ahmad al-Mansur appointed Spanish military leader Judar Pasha to lead a campaign, conquering the Songhai empire in West Africa. Thanks to his army, Morocco took control of gold and salt trade routes.
In 1200s, a royal zoo in London housed Barbary lions among other exotic wild animals. The skulls of these lions were discovered centuries later by scientists who suggested that they belong to Atlas Lions that lived between Morocco and Egypt.
«Morocco» is one of the first American movies to shed light on Morocco. Nominated for four Academy Awards, the film’s events took place in the North African kingdom during the Rif War, showcasing the situation of the country under the French protectorate and Spanish control. History.
In 1962, Morocco delivered weapons for the ANC fighters. Nelson Mandela had even spent a few months in the Kingdom. Abdelkrim El Khatib played a crucial role in bringing both Hassan II and Mandela together. The two men met, for the second time, in 1994 in Rabat. While in prison for 27 years, Morocco moved away from the ANC and stood closer next to the South African regime.