Throughout the long centuries of history, the ancient city of Anfa survived foreign conquests. The coastal town known now as Casablanca was part of North Africa’s ancient history. Controlled by Berbers, Romans, and destroyed by the Portuguese, Anfa just like a phoenix, rose from its ashes to become Dar el Beida later on.
Ancient Mauretania, which refers to present-day Maghreb, was ruled for centuries by powerful Berber Kings who played a crucial role in writing the Roman and Greek history. Baga, Bocchus, Juba and Bogud, were kings who fought some of the greatest wars of the ancient times and left their footprint in Africa and Europe’s shared history.
Linguists believe that Darija is a lingua franca that helps Moroccans, with different cultural backgrounds, understand each other. The origins of this dialect, however, are influenced by Tamazight, Classical Arabic, and other sub-dialects that were once spoken in the Kingdom.
Berber mythology ruled the lives of Moroccans and neighboring Amazighs that inhabited North Africa. They had their heroes, gods and demigods that they worshipped and cherished. Three of these figures made it to history books and their myths and legends can still be heard of.