Morocco (Arabic: المغرب‎, al-Maġrib), officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية, al-Mamlakah al-Maġribiyya), is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 34 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara. It is a part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with whom it shares cultural, historical, and linguistic ties. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament.

The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including dissolving parliament at will. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law.

Parliamentary elections were held in Morocco on 7 September 2007, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair; although voter turnout was estimated to be 37%, the lowest in decades. The political capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca; other large cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes and Oujda.

The population speak either Darija and/or Berber of Morocco with many regional dialects. Berber-speaking Moroccans can be divided in three main dialectal groups: Riffians, Shlouh Berbers and Middle-Atlas Berbers.

The full Arabic name al-Mamlaka al-Maġribiyya (المملكة المغربية) translates to "The Western Kingdom". Al-Maġrib (meaning "The West") is commonly used.

For historical references, medieval Arab historians and geographers used to refer to Morocco as Al-Maghrib al Aqşá ("The Farthest West"), disambiguating it from neighboring historical regions called al-Maghrib al Awsat ("The Middle West", Algeria) and al-Maghrib al Adna ("The Nearest West", Tunisia).

The English name "Marocco" originates from Spanish "Marruecos" or the Portuguese "Marrocos", from medieval Latin "Morroch", which referred to the name of the former Almoravid and Almohad capital, Marrakesh.[8] In Persian and Urdu, Morocco is still called "Marrakesh". Until recent decades, Morocco was called "Marrakesh" in Middle Eastern Arabic. In Turkish, Morocco is called "Fas" which comes from the ancient Idrisid and Marinid capital, Fez. The word "Marrakesh" is made of the Berber word combination Murt n Akush, meaning Land of God.

The earliest well-known Moroccan independent state was the Berber kingdom of Mauretania under king Bocchus I. This Berber Kingdom of Mauretania (current northern Morocco) dates at least to 110 BC.[9] Umayyad Arabs conquered the region in the 7th century, bringing their language, their system of government, and Islam, to which many of the Berbers slowly converted, mostly after the Arab rule receded.

In the Islamic era the first Moroccan Muslim state, independent from the Arab Empire, was The Kingdom of Nekor, an emirate in the Rif area. It was founded by an immigrant from Yemen, Salih I ibn Mansur in 710 AD, as a client state to Caliphal grant. Idris I fled to Morocco from the Abbasids' massacre against his tribe in Iraq and managed to convince the Awraba Berber tribes to break allegiance to the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. He founded the Idrisid Dynasty in 780 AD.

Morocco became later a center of learning and a major power. From the 11th century onwards, a series of powerful Berber dynasties arose. Under the Almoravid dynasty and the Almohad dynasty, Morocco dominated the Maghreb, Muslim Spain, and the western Mediterranean region. In the 13th century the Merinids gained power over Morocco and strove to replicate the successes of the Almohads. In the 15th century the Reconquista ended Islamic rule in Iberia and many Muslims and Jews fled to Morocco. Under the Saadi Dynasty, the first Moroccan dynasty initiated by ethnic Arabs since the Idrisids, the country would consolidate power and fight off Portuguese and Ottoman invaders, as in the battle of Ksar el Kebir.

The reign of Ahmad al-Mansur brought new wealth and prestige to the Sultanate, and a massive Berber invasion of the Songhay Empire was initiated. However, managing the territories across the Sahara proved too difficult. After the death of al-Mansur the country was divided among his sons. In 1666 the sultanate was reunited by the Alaouite dynasty, who have since been the ruling house in Morocco. The organization of the state developed with Ismail Ibn Sharif. With his Black Guard he drove the British from Tangier (1684) and the Spanish from Larache (1689). In 1912, after the First Moroccan Crisis and the Agadir Crisis, the Treaty of Fez was signed, effectively dividing Morocco into a French and Spanish protectorate. In 1956, after 44 years of occupation, Morocco regained independence from France and Spain as the "Kingdom of Morocco".

The area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since Paleolithic times (at least since 200,000 BC, as attested by signs of the Aterian culture), a period when the Maghreb was less arid than it is today. In Paleolithic ages, the geography of Morocco resembled a savanna more than the present-day arid landscape.In the classical period, Morocco was known as Mauretania, although this should not be confused with the modern-day nation of Mauritania. The suggested skeletal similarities between the robust Iberomaurusian "Mechta-Afalou" burials and European Cro-Magnon remains, as well as the case for continuity of the bearers of the Iberomaurusian industry from Morocco with later northwest African populations suggested by the dental evidence should be considered. Current scientific debate is concerned with determining the relative contributions of different periods of gene flow to the current gene pool of North Africans.

Anatomically modern humans are known to have been present in North Africa during the Upper Paleolithic 175,000 years ago as attested by the Aterian culture. With apparent continuity, 22,000 years ago, the Aterian was succeeded by the Iberomaurusian culture which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. The Iberomaurusian was succeeded by the The Bell-Beaker culture in Morocco.

Additionally, recent studies have discovered a close mitochondrial link between Berbers and the Saami of Scandinavia which confirms that the Franco-Cantabrian refuge area of southwestern Europe was the source of late-glacial expansions of hunter-gatherers that repopulated northern Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum and reveals a direct maternal link between those European hunter-gatherer populations and the Berbers. A Jewish community historically lived in Morocco. In any case, over the centuries, nearly all Berbers were Islamicized. Still, many Jews lived amongst, and in proximity to Berber communities, mostly in Morocco, and in some areas of Algeria and Tunisia. In the early 20th century, numerous Maghrebim Moroccan Jews emigrated to the United States and Italy, after Italian Jews established study centers and schools to bring the Enlightenment to Moroccan Jews.

In 1948, before the creation of Israel, they numbered approximately 265,000. The hostilities and disruption of the war of independence and other wars in the Mideast caused more Jews to leave for Israel, Europe and the United States. 7,000 live there now (mostly in a few major cities). In relation to the commemoration of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World, numerous academic studies were undertaken about the Maghrebim Maroccan Jews of Morocco. The late king Hassan II reached out internationally to descendants of Jews who had lived in the country and encouraged returns and visits, with recognition of their contributions to the nation, but there has not been markedly increased immigration.

Islamic expansion began in the 7th century. In 670 AD, the first Islamic conquest of the North African coastal plain took place under Uqba ibn Nafi, a general serving under the Umayyads of Damascus. Arabs brought their language and Islam, to which most of the Berbers converted. After the outbreak of the Great Berber Revolt in 739, the region's Berber population asserted its independence, forming states and kingdoms such as the Miknasa of Sijilmasa and the Barghawata. Under Idris ibn Abdallah, who was appointed by the Awraba Berbers of Volubilis to be their representative, the country soon cut ties and broke away from the control of the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad and the Umayyad rule in Al-Andalus. The Idrisids established Fes as their capital and Morocco became a centre of Jewish learning and a major regional power.

Morocco would reach its height under a series of Jewish-Berber dynasties that replaced the Idrisids after the 11th century. From the 13th century onwards the country has seen a massive migration of Banu Hilal Arab tribes. Their arrival was to have a critical effect on the nation: due to them nomadism returned, urban civilization fell and the country's inhabitants were quickly becoming Arabized. The Maghrawa, the Almoravids, the Almohads, the Marinids, the Wattasids and finally the Saadi dynasty would see Morocco rule most of Northwest Africa, as well as large sections of Islamic Iberia, or Al-Andalus. Following the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, large numbers of Muslims and Jews were forced to flee to Morocco.

After the Saadi, the Alaouite Dynasty eventually gained control. Morocco was facing aggression from Spain and the Ottoman Empire that was sweeping westward. The Alaouites succeeded in stabilizing their position, and while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region, it remained quite wealthy. In 1684, they annexed Tangier. The organization of the kingdom developed under Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672–1727), who, against the opposition of local tribes began to create a unified state. According to Elizabeth Allo Isichei, "In 1520, there was a famine in Morocco so terrible that for a long time other events were dated by it. It has been suggested that the population of Morocco fell from 5 to under 3 million between the early sixteenth and nineteenth centuries."

Morocco was one of the first nations to recognize the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1787. In the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships were subject to attack by the Barbary Pirates while sailing the Atlantic Ocean. On December 20, 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that the American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage. The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty.

On November 18, 2006, Morocco celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence. Morocco recovered its political independence from France on March 2, 1956, and on April 7, France officially relinquished its protectorate. Through agreements with Spain in 1956 and 1958, Moroccan control over certain Spanish-ruled areas was restored, though attempts to claim other Spanish colonial possessions through military action were less successful. The internationalized city of Tangier was reintegrated with the signing of the Tangier Protocol on October 29, 1956 (see Tangier Crisis). Hassan II became King of Morocco on March 3, 1961.

His early years of rule would be marked by political unrest. The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south was reintegrated to the country in 1969. Morocco annexed the Western Sahara during the 1970s ("Marcha Verde", Green March) after demanding its reintegration from Spain since independence, but final resolution on the status of the territory remains unresolved.

Political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature in 1997. Morocco was granted Major non-NATO ally status by the United States in June 2004 and has signed free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union. Morocco has always been known for its islamic liberalism and openness towards the Western world. King Mohammed VI of Morocco with his ruling elite are democratically minded, showing tolerance within the limits of territorial integrity and traditional laws and customs.

Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with three small Spanish-controlled exclaves, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera), Algeria to the east, and Western Sahara to the south. Since Morocco controls most of Western Sahara, its de facto southern boundary is with Mauritania.

Essaouira Beach The internationally recognized borders of the country lie between latitudes 27° and 36°N, and longitudes 1° and 14°W. Adding Western Sahara, Morocco lies mostly between 21° and 36°N, and 1° and 17°W (the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula is slightly south of 21° and west of 17°). The geography of Morocco spans from the Atlantic Ocean, to mountainous areas, to the Sahara (desert). Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and the annexed Western Sahara.

Bin el Ouidane river, Beni-Mellal A large part of Morocco is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains are located mainly in the center and the south of the country. The Rif Mountains are located in the north of the country. Both ranges are mainly inhabited by the Berber people. At 172,402 sq mi (446,519 km2), Morocco is the fifty-seventh largest country in the world (after Uzbekistan). Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast though the border between the two countries has been closed since 1994.
Spanish territory in Morocco comprises four enclaves on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Peñón de Alhucemas, the Chafarinas islands, and the disputed islet Perejil. Off the Atlantic coast the Canary Islands belong to Spain, whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese. To the north, Morocco is bordered by and controls part of the Strait of Gibraltar, giving it power over the waterways in and out of the Mediterranean sea.

Essaouira's coast at sunset. The Rif mountains occupy the region bordering the Mediterranean from the north-west to the north-east. The Atlas Mountains run down the backbone of the country, from the south west to the north east. Most of the south east portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and as such is generally sparsely populated and unproductive economically. Most of the population lives to the north of these mountains, while to the south is the desert.

Rif mountains To the south, lies the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco in 1975 (see Green March). Morocco claims that the Western Sahara is part of its territory and refers to that as its Southern Provinces. Morocco's capital city is Rabat; its largest city is its main port, Casablanca. Other cities include Agadir, Essaouira, Fes, Marrakech, Meknes, Mohammadia, Oujda, Ouarzazat, Safi, Salé, Tangier and Tétouan. Morocco is represented in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 geographical encoding standard by the symbol MA. This code was used as the basis for Morocco's internet domain, .ma.

The climate is Mediterranean in the North and in some mountains (West of Atlas), which becomes more extreme towards the interior regions. The terrain is such that the coastal plains are rich and accordingly, they comprise the backbone for agriculture, especially in the North. Forests cover about 12% of the land while arable land accounts for 18%. 5% is irrigated. In the Atlas (Middle Atlas), there are several different climates: Mediterranean (with some more humid and fresher variants), Maritime Temperate (with some humid and fresher variants too) that allow different species of oaks, moss carpets, junipers, atlantic cedars and many other plants, to form extensive and very rich humid cloud forests.

In the highest peaks a different climate may occur. On the other side of Atlas mountains (East Atlas), the climate changes, due to the barrier/shelter effect of these mountainous system, turning it very dry and extremely warm during the summer (that can last several months), especially on the lowlands and on the valleys faced to the Sahara. Here it starts the big Desert Sahara and it is perfectly visible, for example, on the Draa Valley, on which it is possible to find oases, sand dunes and rocky desert landscapes. So the climate in this region is desert.

The most represented religion is Islam, which comprises 98.7% of believers. Islam is the official religion, but the coexistence with other religions is effective (the practice of other revealed religions is also guaranteed by the Constitution). The day is punctuated by five calls to prayer. Religious life follows the Muslim calendar. He began in 622, the year the prophet of Islam Muhammad left Mecca to Medina to settle where he had many more followers. Hegira year, lunar year, consists of 12 months, but is shorter than the solar year. The month of Ramadan and important religious holidays vary in relation to the Gregorian calendar. Civilian life is governed by the Gregorian calendar. Unlike other Muslim countries, the weekend consists of Saturday and Sunday.

Friday is not a holiday, but government and public services extend their lunch break to allow the faithful to go to the prière87. Judaism and Christianity (the latter is mainly represented by the European residents) follow with respectively 0.2% and 1.1% 88. Morocco is also the Arab country with the most Jews, there were approximately 280,000, now about one million Jews of Moroccan origin and native living in Israel.

The Neolithic period is a milestone in building the Kingdom of Morocco. In fact, during this time that migration from the north and east settled, bringing with them their traditions and arts. Today, the past, old traditions and the diversity of its people and its culture have forged the richness of this craft which has more than 70 trades and surprised by the variety of designs and materials used: wood, copper , stone, iron ... This craft continues to grow, meeting the daily needs of the population, those foreigners through exports, but also satisfies many tourists. It is essential to safeguard this heritage which is part of the history of Morocco. Without this craft for thousands of families would be condemned to poverty and it would mean the end of this extraordinary bustle of the souks that provides walkers with all the senses are awakened dizziness and the feeling of diving into the past of the Kingdom.

The earliest known inhabitants of Morocco, the Berbers were the forerunners in the field of crafts especially in the processing of wool (carpet), iron and silver (jewelry), various utensils and clay (pottery) . After the arrival of Islam and Arabs, other crafts were developed: copper work (various utensils, tables), wood sorrel, the alfa and clay (pottery ). The craft covers virtually all of Morocco and each region has its own specialties, from raw materials found there in abundance. But the cities are known for their crafts Fez (leather, copper, silver, gold, fabric), Marrakech (leather, brass, carpets), Essaouira (wood, carpets, silver) and Rabat-Sale (pottery). The regions of Agadir and also have a craft Tafilalet value.

Moreover, it is in the city of Meknes which can meet the artisans who practice damasquinerie (art of engraving on steel can make vases, jewelry ...) One of the great pottery craft specialties of Morocco is the work of ceramics. The potters, many of which occur in the region of Safi (west of Morocco), using the technique of "double cooking": the clay is first molded and then fired a first time. It is then painted and the "cookie" password a second time in the oven which gives a colored varnish. The product's most famous and best-selling is the tajine. While most tagines are sold to Western painted and are of a purely decorative purpose, almost all of Moroccan families own and use daily a tajine "beldi," that is to say not decorated for food. The potters also produce Moroccan ashtrays, vases, plates, bowls ... Woodworking The art of leather work belt production of silver metal work The work of the land The work of textile

Moroccan agriculture is in the form of small-scale food production archaic one hand, and secondly, the large citrus plantations specializing in export crops. It is very dependent on climatic conditions and has had two successive years of drought in 1992 and 1993, which increased the deficit in the trade balance. In contrast, the 1994 is a year of exceptional grain crops. Agriculture accounts for 35% of the labor force and contributes 11% of gross national product (GNP). Cultivated lands account for 19% of the area (France: 35%). The two main crops in the area are barley and wheat (30 and 27 ° / O of arable land), followed by citrus and winter vegetables, much of which is exported. Export crops are suffering from competition, but in Spanish and Portuguese. Areas unsuitable for cuiture are used for livestock, particularly sheep (18.3 million head in 1991) and goats (6.3 million head). Fishing is an important resource (565,520 tonnes in 1989).

The industry and mining accounted for 24% of the workforce and contribute 33% to the GNP of the basement has significant mineral resources: phosphates (the third largest producer and exporter 1), silver (12th place ), copper, coal. Some natural gas deposits were discovered in the region of Essaouira and a huge deposit of oil shale in the area of ​​Meknes. Hydropower produces 15% of the electricity consumed in Morocco. The industry is actively developing and covers many sectors (clothing mesh and exports of -15.9% in 1991 - the transformation and production of phosphate fertilizers). Services occupy 41% of the workforce and contribute 56% to GNP currency transferred by migrant workers and tourism receipts represent the balance of payments an appreciable gain. The Moroccan economy is changing.

The currency became convertible because the country in the group of countries with strong currencies. Privatisation is the order of the day. The Moroccan government wants to privatize half of its industrial park in 1995. A strict policy of restructuratjon and economic development, in agreement with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, placing Morocco among the most dynamic countries in Africa. France, which is its main economic and trade partner, is also the first investor. Other trading partners are Spain, the United States, I'Italie, I'Allemagne. Main Economic Indicators • Inflation of 5.2% in 1993 • Unemployment Rate • 16% annual growth rate of the economy by 4.2% in 1992, close to 0 in 1993.