The Medieval site of Aghmat can be found beside the modern village of Ghmat which is 30 km south east of Marrakech in the northern foothills of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Professor Ron Messier, Professor Emeritus Middle Tenessee State University and Senior Lecturer in history at Vanderbilt University and his codirector Professor Abdallah Fili faculte des letters Universite d’El Jadida have been following a trail of gold a it was part of the camel caravan routes from sub-Saharan Africa through the ancient city of Sijilmassa which Ron Messier’s team excavated through to Morocco’s Medieval Capital, Aghmat. Coins minted in Sijilmassa have been found in an excavation in Jordan and Aghmat too minted coins for the Almoharavid empire which stretched into Spain.
Month: December 2012
There are many Moroccan designers, artists and craftsmen breaking new ground and leading innovations in lifestyle and creativity. Moroccan Designers Ahmed Laghrissi, Hicam El Madi and Myriam Mourabit are three exceptional practioners of their art. All were born in Morocco and have been influenced by either great family artists, their environment and Moroccan visual arts and culture. When visiting Morocco on a Pottery and Zellij Tile Design tour or on your own, one can discover galleries, souks and private spaces filled with these and many other visual artists. Morocco is a mecca of great designers ranging from Moroccan pottery to furniture to tile work, painting and lighting.
Morocco has had a long Jewish history, dating back thousands of years. The complex relationship between the Jewish and Berber tribes resulted in Jewish Berber tribes living side by side and the Jewish inhabitants also lived in close proximity to the Arabic society.The development of Jewish populations in the rural south developped differently from the urban jewish populationswhoere busines men and skilled craftsmen. Following Morocco’s independence and the growing strength of the state of Israel most of Morocco’s jewish population chosetomove to Israel as their homeland or to other communities around the world.A few thousandremain in Morocco but memories of ashared heritage live on.