Morocco
- For other uses, see Morocco (disambiguation).
Morocco claims ownership of Western Sahara and has administered most of the territory since 1975. The status of Western Sahara is disputed, pending a United Nations referendum.
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| Table of contents |
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2 History 3 Politics 4 Provinces 5 Geography 6 Economy 7 Demographics 8 Culture 9 Miscellaneous topics 10 See also 11 External links |
Name
The full Arabic name of the country translates to The Western Kingdom. Al-Maghreb (meaning The West) is commonly used in Arabic. The name Morocco in most other languages originates from the name of the former capital, Marrakech (meaning "Country of God" in the Berber language).History
Main article: History of MoroccoMorocco became a French protectorate by the signing of the Treaty of Fez on March 30, 1912. It remained a Kingdom until it achieved independence in 1956. It then recovered Tangier, formerly an international city. The northern area of Morocco was under a Spanish protectorate concurrently. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in the 1970s, which had been a colony under the Spaniards since the 19th century. Previous to that it had been an area of Moroccan influence, but this annexation has not been recognized by any nation.
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledging United States in 1777 and has the oldest non-broken friendship treaty with the country, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship, which has been in effect since 1783. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the American signatories. The United States legation (consulate) in Tangier, is the first property the U.S. owned abroad. It now houses the Tangier American Legation Museum. Morocco was granted Major Non-Nato Ally status in June 2004 and signed with the United States and the European Union free trade agreements.
Politics
Main article: Politics of MoroccoThe King of Morocco is an active leader, although decreasingly so. Political parties are legal and a plethora of them exist.
See also: List of political parties in Morocco
Provinces
, and reflects the U.S. State Deparment's neutral position concerning the status of Western Sahara. Maps published in Morocco include Western Sahara as part of the national territory.Main article: Provinces of Morocco
Morocco is divided into 37 provinces and 2 wilayas:
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Three additional provinces, Ad Dakhla (Oued Eddahab), Boujdour, and Es Smara, as well as parts of Tan-Tan and Laayoune, primarily fall within Moroccan-claimed Western Sahara.
As part of a 1997 decentralization/regionalization law passed by the legislature, 16 new regions were created, although the full details and scope of the reorganization are limited. These 16 regions are:
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Geography
Main article: Geography of MoroccoAlgeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast. There are also four Spanish enclaves on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta (or Sebta), Melilla Peñon Velez de la Gomera and Peñon de Alhucemas, as well as several islands including Perejil (status disputed) and Chafarinas. 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 Straits of Gibraltar, giving it power over the waterways in and out of the Mediterranean sea. Most of the South East portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and as such is generally sparsely populated and unproductive economically. The High Atlas Mountains run down the backbone of the country, from the south west to the north east. Most of the population lives to the north of these mountains, while to the south is the desert.
Morocco's capital city is Rabat, and its largest city is the modern port of Casablanca.
Other cities include Agadir, Essaouira, Fes, Marrakech, Meknes, Oujda, Ouarzazat, Safi, Tangier, Tiznit, Salè and Tan-Tan.
Economy
Main article: Economy of MoroccoMorocco has signed Free Trade Agreements with the European Union (to take effect 2010) and the United States of America. The United States Senate approved by a vote of 85 to 13 on July 22, 2004 the Free Trade Agreement with Morocco, which, as soon as it goes into effect, will allow for 95% of the two-way trade of consumer and industrial products to be without tariffs.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of MoroccoCulture
Main article: Culture of Morocco
- Cuisine of Morocco
- List of writers from Morocco
- Music of Morocco
Miscellaneous topics
- Communications in Morocco
- Transportation in Morocco
- Military of Morocco
- Foreign relations of Morocco
- Grands Caids
- Moroccan Wall
- List of newspapers#Morocco Moroccan newspapers
See also
Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2002 U.S. Department of State website.
External links
| 'Morocco portal |
Government
- Kingdom of Morocco official portal
- Parliament of Morocco official site (Arabic)
News
- allAfrica - Morocco news headline links
- Maghreb Arabe Presse government news agency
- The North Africa Journal financial news
Overviews
- Arab Gateway – Morocco
- BBC News – Country Profile: Morocco
- CIA World Factbook – Morocco
- Background note of the US Dept. of State on Morocco, Oct. 2004.
- GlobalAdrenaline – Morocco
Directories
- LookSmart – Morocco
- MoroccoLinks.com directory
- Open Directory Project – Morocco
- University of Pennsylvania – African Studies Center: Morocco
- Yahoo! – Morocco
Tourism
Other
- Morocco365 portal
- Moroccans on the world portal (French)
- Portal of Moroccans in the U.S.
- Higher education and professional training in Morocco (in French)
- The EU's relations with Morocco
- The American Legation in Tangier
- Moroccan American Trade Council
- Description of the Moroccan-American FTA and components
- Final text of the Moroccan-American FTA
- Description of benefits of the Moroccan-American FTA
- Moroccousafta a site about the Morocco/US Free Trade Agrement
- Map: [1] (pdf); links to more: [1]
- Guest houses Guide of Morocco travel guide
- Lexicorient – Morocco travel site
- The Magic Morocco travel site
- Moroccan Culture Series – observations by an American woman living in Morocco
- Pictures from a backpacker's trip through Morocco in 2000
