Venerated by both Muslims and Jews, Rabbi Shlomo Bel Hench is the saint of Ourika. The Rabbi is known for the many legends that have been associated to his life and death throughout the years.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Salé pirates were so famous among Europeans that their activities inspired writers and journalists. The novel, Robinson Crusoe, was one of the books that portrayed some of the atrocities Christian slaves endured in Morocco.
Colonel William Eddy was an Arabic-speaking missionary, who studied the Quran and knew much about the Muslim world. During World War II, he was recruited by the United States to lead covert operations in Tangier.
Drinking coffee in Morocco, is a privilege, according to those who think of the days when caffeine consumers were considered outsiders and criminals. History books recall the era when Muslim scholars forbade drinking coffee.
In 1981, King Hassan II of Morocco flew to the Kenyan capital to participate in an Organization of African Unity summit. In Nairobi, he announced that Morocco is ready to agree to a referendum on the self-determination of the Sahara. Three years later, the continental organization said yes to the «Sahrawi Republic’s», bid to join it as a full member.
Just like Romeo and Juliet, Ahmed Hantout and Erna Else Hildegard Seidel fought for their love until the end, leaving Nazi Germany to settle down in Tangier and then Tetouan. Yabiladi traced back this love story, born in Berlin in the 30's, at a time when mixed marriages were forbidden.
Since the 19th century, tea has become an important ritual to Moroccans. But the emergence of this drink was not well received by Moroccan scholars. Some of them led fierce banning campaign against «Atay», this sweet British gift.
Rabbi Mordekhay Bengio, buried in the Jewish cemetery of Tangier, is the descendant of two distinguished Jewish families: the Bengios and the Toledanos. He spent sixty years of his life as the chief rabbi of Tangier.
Visited yearly by thousands of Jewish Moroccans, Daoud Boussidan is the saint of Meknes. Born in Tamelelt and buried in Meknes, the rabbi was a Jewish scholar who lived during the eighteenth century in Morocco.
The child-sized replica of the Bugatti Type 35 racecar, or Bugatti Baby, has a shared story with the childhood of King Hassan II. The car originally designed by Ettore Bugatti for his son Roland, was offered a few years later to the five-year-old prince.