Bassmat Tourath is a new animated series on Moroccan history and intangible heritage that tries to debunk historical misconceptions in an academic yet entertaining way.
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 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.
In 1891, Queen Victoria decided to present Sultan Hassan I of Morocco with a precious present. She sent him an Indian elephant called Stoke, leaving Moroccans in awe.
Iconic actor Charlie Chaplin visited Morocco in the 50s meeting the country’s most powerful Pasha, Thami El Glaoui. In Tangier, the comic actor has attended a slapstick performance.
In 1839, sultan Abd al-Rahman ibn Hisham of Morocco sent a pair of lions to the US consulate in Tangier as a present for President Martin Van Buren. The gift was impossible to refuse and was shipped to the US by 1840.
In 1627, the newly founded Republic of Salé sent two ambassadors to London to negotiate a treaty. England was planning to turn the republic into a military base for a joint action against Spain.