Walking through History

Yesterday we went to Chellah and walked right into history.  Outside the reconstructed walls, there was a warm welcome with energetic drumming and dancing.  But inside, all was calm and quiet.  Look at me - the past seemed to say.  Bricks, stones, sculptures, columns, inscriptions beckoned. It all started here.  We gasped, gaped and groped with our imagination to recreate the glory of the Roman Empire with it's majestic forums, temples, gods, and courts.  Standing there, was a tablet with roman letters dating from the first century!  How amazing that I'm still teaching the very same letters to my students in 2018!





One civilization after another has fought for control of this strategic part of the globe.  Beginning with the Phoenicians, and the Romans, and many Islamic dynasties have ruled Morocco.  It's Arabic name is Al Maghreb which means the west part of the Arab Empire. From the Roman ruins, we crossed dynasties and walked into an ancient mosque.  The minaret upheld the glory of a bygone empire.  The geometric symmetric patterns in the brick and tile work were still glorious.  Abu Yusuf Yakub's mosque dating back to 1284 still stands gracefully among the ruins.


Morocco is a wonderful confluence of Native Amazigh, Saharan, Phoenician, Arab, and French cultures.  Just like in Chellah, they juxtapose and transpose, creating people and languages that absolutely Moroccan in nature.



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