A country of contrasts

Maroc

23 Apr 2014 | From Patrik of Estonia

FACEBOOK SWAP | POSTCARD SENT FROM MOROCCO

This is the postcard Patrik sent me from his trip to Morocco - a country he defines as fascinating and full of contrasts.

Morocco is in many ways a country apart. It nestles on the northwestern tip of Africa, separated from the rest of the continent by the towering Atlas Mountains and by the Sahara itself. Morocco's varied geography includes no less than four separate mountain ranges, in addition to lush river valleys, beautiful sandy coasts, and wide expanses of desert.

My first postcard from Morocco

A Berber woman

19 Feb 2014 | From Zinbi of Morocco

FACEBOOK SWAP

The Berbers are the ethnicity indigenous to North Africa west of the Nile Valley. Historically they spoke Berber languages, which form the "Berber branch" of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Foreign languages like French and Spanish are used by most educated Berbers in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia in some formal contexts such as higher education or business.

Today, most Berber-speaking people live in Algeria and Morocco. Smaller Berber-speaking populations are scattered throughout Tunisia,Libya, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, as well as large migrant communities living in Europe. Berbers are not a homogeneous ethnicity and they encompass a range of phenotypes, societies and ancestries. The unifying forces for the Berber people could be their Berber language.

Source: Wikipedia