In times of droughts and famines, Moroccans ate pork, cats and human flesh

Throughout the last centuries, Moroccans adapted their eating habits to the harsh events they had to go through. During famines and droughts, they considered extreme food choices including cat meat, human flesh and venomous insects.

The oldest known doctor of medicine degree was awarded to a Moroccan in Fez

The oldest known doctor of medicine degree was granted in Fez to Moroccan student Abdellah Ben Saleh Al Koutami. The latter studied at the Univesity of al-Qarawiyyin and was the disciple of prestigious Muslim scientists, including Al Baytar and Annabati.

The Ra expeditions, when a Moroccan sailed from Safi to Barbados on a reed boat

In 1969 and 1970, the Ra expeditions were launched in Morocco by a Norwegian adventurer to prove that prehistoric civilizations from both sides of the ocean were in contact with each other. The second part of the expedition included a Moroccan man who sailed from Safi to Barbados.

The 16th century cough, a mysterious respiratory disease that ravaged Morocco

By the end of the 16th century, a mysterious respiratory disease that killed hundreds of people hit Morocco. The illness was called «K’hikiha», in reference to coughing that was one of its annoying and persistent symptoms.

Ahmed al-Mansur, the sixteenth century Moroccan sultan who died of the plague

He fled his beautiful palace in Marrakech and spent months in the countryside to avoid contagion. Saadi sultan Ahmed al-Mansur ended up dying of the plague despite the preventive measures he had taken.

Poisoned cooking oil, Morocco’s most tragic sanitary catastrophe

In 1959, Morocco witnessed one of the most tragic sanitary catastrophes, with hundreds of people suffering from a mystifying paralysis. The crisis was managed a year later when the source of the disabling disease was finally revealed.

Moroccans and their first experience of quarantine during an epidemic

On Friday, Morocco declared a state of heath emergency to deal with the spread of coronavirus. The decsion is not the first of its kind as in the 18th and 19th centuries, the plague forced the Kingdom to impose a nationwide quarantine.

Jewish pilgrimage in Morocco #33 : Eliezer Davila, the Rabbi who saved Rabat

Eliezer Davila is a chief rabbi who reportedly saved Rabat from a tsunami caused by the Lisbon earthquake in 1755.

Jewish pilgrimage in Morocco #32 : Pinhas Ha-Cohen, the holy savior of Pasha El Glaoui

Rabbi Pinhas Ha-Cohen was born in Souss and lived in Marrakech. In the city, he saved the Pasha’s life twice and brought about many miracles in his lifetime.

Jewish pilgrimage in Morocco #31 : Haim Messas, a Meknes dedicated Rabbi

Rabbi Haim Messas is a Jewish saint who lived in the city of Meknes. He was the master of several known disciples and was known for helping the city’s poor.