Berbers – nation of North Africa

1. The Berber ethnic flag

Being in Morocco, for sure you will hear about Berbers, or Amazighs as they prefer to call themselves. It is very curious and in some way mysterious nation what makes them more interesting.

Very often people  make relations between Moroccan and Berbers as one nation but it is not completely true. I will try to make it clear, at least a little bit. The fact is that not all of Moroccans are Berbers and not all of Berbers are Moroccan. The Moroccan culture can be relationed in some measure with Berbers culture and vice versa but it does not mean that they are equival. To make it more clear, especially for Poles, I am going to show this on the base of Slavs. To Slavs belong not only Poles or Slovacs, but also Chechs, Russian, Ukrainians, Croats, Bosnians, Serbs and many many more. The point is, that belonging to  the same group and sharing the same past and some tradition it is not everything, because each of the nation has own history and own customs , in one world has one individual culture. The same situation is with Berbers. I hope it is clear enough now.

Moving on, we will take the meaning of Amazigh into consideration. What does that mean? Has it a meaning at all? The answer is : yes of course it has! The word amazig means ‘free man’, except of this meaning we can find also some information which takes other possibilities into consideration  like ‘strong’ or ‘brave’ man. It does not matter which meaning is true anyway, both are better than the word ‘berber’, that is why usually Amazigh don’t like being called in this way. Someone could ask why. The answer is simple. It is very easy to find out.  From the etymological point of view the word ‘berber’ was taken from the old greek ‘barbaros’ what had a pejorative meaning, even now in a lot of European languages the word was accepted with negative meaning expressed a wild, primitive man. So I am not surprised at all why they don’t like this name.

Another interesting thing connected with Amazigh people is that they have also their own language called Tamazight. This language for a really long time had been only a spoken language. In the 20^th century was created a Tamazight writing system and now it is officially used by most of Amazigh.
What is more, this language usually is written in the Tifiangh alphabet but also can be written in the Arabic or even in the Latin alphabet. 

I have put the photo to show you the Tifinagh alphabet which seems to be a little bit weird, like from the ancient times, but on the other hand, it makes Tamazight so beautiful.

The colors of Morocco

It is a continuation of my last post about Morocco, I hope you are going to like it. I would like to share with you my fascination of this extraordinary country. This time we take a small but for sure unforgettable trip to the Moroccan colorful bazaars where life has own rhythm and where we can see a normal day of Moroccans.

The Moroccan bazaar is a good destination if you want to buy souvenirs for your family and friends, you are going to find there unfinished amount of beautiful and usually handmade things like all kinds of ceramics dishes, typical clothes, shoes, and many other interesting things which reflect Moroccan and Amazigh style.  

1. Photos by Mohsin Zagaouch

I have put these photos to let you see by your own eyes these beautiful masterpieces.

One thing we have to know about the Moroccan bazaars is, if we want to buy something there, we are obligated to go through a ‘buying process’, in other words, we have to be ready to bargain with a seller about each thing. Without it, we will overpay or we will not buy what we want or in the worst situation we will offend the seller what it can end up badly, having an unpleasant experience for us . So, we have to be smart enough to buy on the Moroccan bazaars.

For a person who appreciates good food, such a bazaar is a perfect place to taste typical Moroccan cuisine. The most famous dishes are Tajine and Couscous which are so good that you will never have enough of it. Being in Morocco you have to try it to not regret it later! One more thing, please,  don’t be surprised seeing people who are eating with their own hand without using forks. It is completely normal there. The Moroccan way of eating can be a little bit wired for some of you, but I can assure that it makes people closer and creates a pleasant atmosphere between them what I like very much.  You can try it on your own, only what you need is a good Taijne and one part of bread which you will use to put douse of food on it to then put it inside of mouth. 

Of course, we cannot forget about a green tea which is the most important drink of every Moroccan.

Without the tea, there would not be any family meeting, it is a main point of every conversation, celebration, etc.

Believe me, you will be lucky if you have possibility of trying the green mint tea made by Moroccan in the traditional way.

I hope you have enjoyed my post :D 

Morocco - place where the sun sets

1. Photo by Mohsin Zagaouch

Morocco is one of the most exotic country in the whole world which has a lot of things to offer for everyone who wants to discover and experience something new and feel a real spirit of true adventure. There is no other country in Europe that is so unique like Morocco is.  With my posts on the blog, I would like to tell you a few words about this beautiful, and in many cases so surprising country.

The  moroccan unique culture and tradition  can take us to another reality, to a reality full of unusual nature, interesting people and their customs which are still alive in this place, and also beautiful monuments which combine the Arabic architecture with typical Moroccan elements.

This all makes Morocco so interesting, every single day more and more people decide to visit Morocco. Traveling to this place is a great opportunity for travelers who like spending time on the fresh air in an active way looking for new adventures which give a lot of adrenalin. What’s more, many countries have spectacular landscapes but there is no many places where we can find ‘everything’ like Morocco do.  By everything I want to say that tourists can enjoy views from the desert, through the sea, finishing on forests and mountains what let them practice any king of sport. My aim is to show you all of the colors of Morocco, to do it, we have to get to know a little bit about culture, geographic, history, and especially about customs.

Firstly, we will go into geographic information. Probably most of you know that Morocco is located in North Africa. In one side is surrounded by Atlantic Ocean and in the another side by Mediterranean Sea.  It’s worth to mention that moroccan coasts are a perfect place to admire the sunset what explains the meaning of the name of the country. Morocco, like every exotic country is covered in large part by olive groves, date palms and citrus trees what create a wonderful view against a background of the urbanization blended with Arab and Berber (Amazigh) style. Those ones who are interested in history and architecture, Morocco offers the oldest exquisite monuments like for example old tombs, or something a little bit different like desert villages where you can find out how native people live there, very often without using typical things which make life easier in today’s world.

 I hope your knowledge about this country has increased and you’re ready for more. 

Have a nice day and see you soon! :D