9-5-11

Morocco contributed to us a section in Disney’s Epcot, the location for the movie Casablanca, and a handful of interesting looking restaurants in the city

Location: Northwest corner of Africa. Bordered by Algeria, Mauritania, The North Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.  Spain is just on the other side of the sea.

Capital: Rabat

Population: 32.3 million (Comparable to Texas and California)

Size: 172,487 square miles (comparable to California)

Religion: Islam

Language: Arabic officially.  Berber, French and Spanish are also prevalent.

Government: Parliamentary Monarchy.  The monarch, currently King Mohommed VI holds most power.  Parliament is made up of two branches, the 325 member assembly of Representatives elected for 5 year terms and the 270 member assembly of Councillors who are elected by councils for 9 year terms.

Economy: Use the Dirham. Bidding to join European Union, but this is a long shot for them.  Their economy is mostly liberal. Export minerals (namely phosphorus), sea food, and citrus fruit. Gross National Income per capita is about 2,790 US dollars.

Fun Facts:  They are planning a high-speed rail that would ease commute time into Casablanca, the country’s largest city. They are also building a solar power energy plant in order to reduce their use of coal for energy.  Morocco’s culture is heavily influenced by many different cultures, and is host to  many music festivals.  Cous cous is morocco’s most famous food.  Most dishes incorporate losts of spices. The most popular sport is football (yes, this means soccer if we’re talking about ANY other country than ours).

Not So Fun Facts: The legal status of Western Sahara is in dispute.  Currently, it is included in Morocco’s square footage and they claim it as their own, but they are in war with Spain for control of the territory.

Morroco In The News: plane crash kills 78 (July 2011), octopus business booming as result of oil spill in Gulf of Mexico (July 2011), Arabs protest monarchy’s power (May 2011)