Houston – Sugar Land

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 33 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed Western Sahara which is mainly under Moroccan administration. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the north, Algeria to the east, and Mauritania to the south.

Morocco is a de jure constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including dissolving parliament at will. Executive power is exercised by the government and by the king as well. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The history of the country's known human civilization spans over 8000 years, and it was founded by the Berbers who are the original inhabitants. The earliest well-known Moroccan independent state was the Berber kingdom of Mauretania under king Bocchus I. This Berber Kingdom of Mauretania (current northern Morocco) dates at least to 110 BC.

Morocco's official language is Modern Standard Arabic. The country's distinctive Arabic dialect is called Moroccan Arabic. Approximately 20 million, mostly in rural areas, speak Berber – which exists in Morocco in three different dialects – either as a first language or bilingually with the spoken Arabic dialect. French, which is Morocco's unofficial second language, is taught universally and serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics. It also is widely used in education and government.

Morocco is an ethnically diverse country with a rich culture and civilization. Through Moroccan history, Morocco hosted many people coming from East (Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Jews and Arabs), South (Sub-Saharan Africans) and North (Romans, Vandals, Andalusians including Moors and Jews). All those civilizations have had an impact on the social structure of Morocco. It conceived various forms of beliefs, from paganism, Judaism, and Christianity to Islam. The country cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. This is a result of the centuries-long interaction of Morocco with the outside world.

The cuisine of Morocco is a mix of Berber, Spanish, Corsican, Portuguese, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and African cuisines. The cuisine of Morocco has been influenced by the native Berber cuisine, the Arabic Andalusian cuisine brought by the Moriscos when they left Spain, the Turkish cuisine from the Turks and the Middle Eastern cuisines brought by the Arabs, as well as Jewish cuisine.

Last Update: December 2010