MoroccoislyinginthenorthwestofAfrica，lappedbytheMediter—raneanandtheAtlantic.GoingthroughthecenterofCasablanca，thecapitalofMorocco，wefindourselvesinaforestofbuildingsingJ[assandcement.Withmorethanfourmillioninhabitants.CasablancaiStheindustrialandfinancialcenterOfMorocco.MohammedVSquareistheheartofthecityandthesymbolofmod—emizationofthecountry.Themetropolisattzactsasteadyflowofimmi—grantsfromthecountrysidewhofindopportunitiesforwork.Thus，streetsofCasablancapresentapeculiarmixtureofthesuper—-modemandan·-cestraltradition.ThemosqueofBenYoussefstandsoulagainsttheuniformpanora—maofMarakech.Marakech’SfocalpointandagreatoutdoortheatreisthesquareofJemaa—el—Fna.Thesquareisthecustomarymeetingplaceforthecity’Sinhabitants.Themellah，whichwasthemainJewishquarterinMorocco.After1956，theyearofthedeclarationofindependenceofmodemMorocco，al—mostallthe16，000JewsofMarrakenemigrated，leavingthequarteroftheMuslims.Themellahisaneighborhoodofessentiallylocalimportance：every—dayproducts，includingspices，pulsesandcereals，aresoldinitsshopsopen-airstalls.Weareintheareaofthedyers.oneofthemostpicturesqueandpho—tographedpartsofthecity.Thedyesusedareoftenvegetableormineralorigin——andthereforenatural—likepoppy，saffronandquartzite.Thesoukisdividedintomanydifferentzoneswhicharecalledaftertheproductsthataremadeorsoldthere.Somehavemade—upnames，likethesoukofthedonkeys，SOcalledbecauseit’Swheretheymanufac—tureandsellpanniersandcartier—baskets.Intheevening.Jemaa—el—Fnasquareturnsintoahugeopen—airrestaurant.Improvisedst'disofferthehundreddeliciousspecialitiesofMorroccancuisine.Theacridsmelloflambkebabsandthesweetsmellofcakessoakedinhoneypredominateovereverythingelse.Fez，whichisenclosedinsideitscircleofwalls，coversthesidesofahillwithitshouses，mosques，palacesandmarkets，SOthattherearesignif-icantdifferencesinlevelbetweenonequarterandanother.TheBabBoujeloudgatestandsoutfromtheothergatesoftheoldcitybecauseofthebrightcolorofitsenamelcovering.Themaincom—mercialstreetthatleadstothemedinastartsfromhere.Fezbecamethecapitalofthekindomatthebeginningofthe9thcentury.TheelegantandsophisticatedgatesofFez，thedetailsonthebal—coniesandthewindowsandtheceramicdecorationsofthemosquesarepresentinghowsplendiditwasduringacoupleofhundredsyears.