Morocco: A vital mixture
of ancient customs and modern ideas, of sudden beauty and persistent
poverty, of tenacious past and imperfect present. A generation
after regaining their independence from France, Erla Zwingle reports,
Moroccans are facing an array of challenges perhaps greater
than all that have come before. Nearly half of the people
are under 20 years of age. Unemployment is rampant. Cities are
overwhelmed with rural migrants. Moroccans cast an uneasy eye
on the violent Islamic fundamentalism in neighboring Algeria.
Over the years, scores of Western writers have tried to capture
the essence of Moroccomost of them romantically. Zwingle
finds that Morocco is less about romance and moremuch
moreabout adversity, struggle, and hope. |

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Like a tile to be placed in the design, a pilgrim moves through
the shrine of Moulay Ismailthe sultan who united Morocco
in the 17th century and earned the country international renown.
He also tortured his slaves and pampered his camels. Such incongruities
are typical of Morocco, a land where beauty and adversity walk
side by side.
Photographs by Bruno Barbey.
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