Rajeev's World: Discovering Marrakech... Part II

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Discovering Marrakech... Part II

An ornately decorated entrance to a house in the Mellah. It is quite obvious with the Star of David that this was a Jewish property...

The Mellah was the Jewish quarter of Marrakech. At its peak in the 1500s, Mellah included bakers, jewellers, tailors, sugar traders, artisans, craftsmen, outdoor markets, fountains and synagogues. But in the modern age, most of the Jewish presence has all but vanished - currently, there are only around 250 Jews remaining in Marrakech. And when you see the shop fronts, you can easily figure out that they are Jewish shops - they proudly display Stars of David and Menorahs outside. Today, there's a Jewish cemetery and a synagogue which are still operational.

A lane in the Mellah...

Morocco has been home to Jews for over a millenia and had settled amongst the Berbers. There was a second wave of migration from the Iberian peninsula in the period immediately preceding and following the 1492 expulsion of the Iberian Jews following the Alhambra Decree. This wave of immigration deeply modified Moroccan Jewry, who largely embraced the Andalusian Sephardic traditions.

Over time, the Moroccan Jews developed a distinct identity, having their own courts and education system, while they integrated themselves into the economy as bankers, tradesmen and artisans. And with Spanish and French colonialism, the community flourished.

Things changed after Israel's independence in 1948, leading to domestic strife and a persecution of the local Jews. This gave an impetus to waves of Jewish emigration to Israel, France and Canada. With every Arab-Israeli war, tensions between Arabs and Jews would rise, resulting in an increased Jewish emigration. By the time of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the majority of Morocco's Jewish population had emigrated. Today, there are just about 2,000 Jews in the entire country, with a concentration in Casablanca. But Morocco still remains one of the most open countries for Israelis in the region, with around 50,000 Israeli tourists coming into Morocco each year.

A quiet street...

And a quiet alleyway...

And these alleyways are quite charming...

And the red hues are indeed amazing...

A hamsa (ⵜⴰⴼⵓⵙⵜ) displayed on a door. The hamsa is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa and commonly used in jewelry and wall hangings. Depicting the open right hand, the hamsa has been used as a sign of protection throughout history, the hamsa is believed by some, predominantly Jews, Christians and Muslims, to protect against the evil eye. It has been theorized that its origins lie in Ancient Egypt or Carthage (modern-day Tunisia) and may have been associated with the Punic and Phoenician goddess Tanit. The hamsa is also known as the "Hand of Fatima" after the daughter of the prophet Muhammad...