Fez, MoroccoFez or Fes (fɛz; fās; fizaz; Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 million according to the 2014 census. Located to the northwest of the Atlas Mountains, it is surrounded by hills and the old city is centered around the Fez River (Oued Fes) flowing from west to east. Fez was founded under Idrisid rule during the 8th–9th centuries CE. It initially consisted of two autonomous and competing settlements.
MeknesMeknes (maknās, maknaːs; amknas; Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravids as a military settlement, Meknes became the capital of Morocco under the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismaïl (1672–1727), son of the founder of the Alaouite dynasty. Moulay Ismaïl created a massive imperial palace complex and endowed the city with extensive fortifications and monumental gates.
GibraltarGibraltar (dʒᵻˈbrɔːltər , xiβɾalˈtaɾ) is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of and is bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to some 32,688 people (2022 estimate), primarily Gibraltarians. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession.
TangierTangier (tænˈdʒɪər ; Ṭanjah; ⵟⴰⵏⵊⴰ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Morocco. Many civilisations and cultures have influenced the history of Tangier, starting from before the 10th century BCE. Starting as a strategic Phoenician town and trading centre, Tangier has been a nexus for many cultures.
Moroccan ArabicMoroccan Arabic (العربية المغربية الدارجة Moroccan vernacular Arabic), also known as Darija (الدارجة), is the dialectal, vernacular form or forms of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum and as such is mutually intelligible to some extent with Algerian Arabic and to a lesser extent with Tunisian Arabic. It is spoken by 90.9% of the population of Morocco.
Alawi dynastyThe Alawi dynasty (سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning dynasty. They are an Arab sharifian dynasty and claim descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandson, Hasan ibn Ali. Their ancestors originally migrated to the Tafilalt region, in present-day Morocco, from Yanbu on the coast of the Hejaz in the 12th or 13th century. The dynasty rose to power in the 17th century, beginning with Mawlay al-Sharif who was declared sultan of the Tafilalt in 1631.
RifThe Rif or Riff (ⴰⵔⵔⵉⴼ, ⴰⵔⵉⴼ, الريف), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland to the indigenous people of the Rifians people. Historically, it belonged to the Rif Republic and its president, Abd el Krim, who led the Rif War from 1920 to 1927 and against a Spanish colonial empire, the Rif region was Historically a Spanish colony by the Spanish colonial empire in Africa.
ZellijZellij (الزليج; also spelled zillij or zellige) is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various patterns on the basis of tessellations, most notably elaborate Islamic geometric motifs such as radiating star patterns. This form of Islamic art is one of the main characteristics of architecture in the western Islamic world.
Moorish architectureMoorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). Scholarly references on Islamic architecture often refer to this architectural tradition by a more geographic designation, such as architecture of the Islamic West or architecture of the Western Islamic lands. The use of the term "Moorish" comes from the historical Western European designation of the Muslim inhabitants of these regions as "Moors".
Saadi SultanateThe Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; السعديون) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Moroccan Sharifian dynasty. The dynasty's rise to power started in 1510 when Muhammad al-Qa'im was declared leader of the tribes of the Sous valley in their resistance against the Portuguese who occupied Agadir and other coastal cities.
