Moroccan Manuscript

Edith Wharton said,  “To visit Morocco is still like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines.” A cold country with a hot sun, Morocco has witnessed a changing of the guards during the past thirteen years as King Mohammed VI has moved the country and its people forward. As a tourist destination Morocco once held its visitors captive with compelling stories which let them to travel North of Fes to Tangier and to Marrakesh. The Beatniks and hippies made their way to Morocco enchanted by what they read and heard about Paul Bowles, Mohammed Chokri, Allen Ginsberg and Yves Saint Laurent. The Morocco files began and this majestic and soulful country became the hidden jewel of North Africa.

The Sheltering Sky, By Paul Bowles

A trip to Morocco offers travelers everything from fine French – Moroccan cuisine to Sahara Desert camel treks, Atlas Mountain hikes, visits to Nomads that live in caves, Berber villages, magnificent gorges, the expansive Draa Valley  and hot air ballon rides over Marrakech. There’s nothing unattainable on a trip to Morocco. Every person visiting needs a Morocco recommended reading, music and film list before departing on a trip to the great Maghreb.

For those who are interested in exploring the real Morocco before they arrive Alecia Cohen, Morocco Travel Specialist, has hand picked a list of her favorites. Great reads range from Moroccan history to fiction and non-fiction along with Morocco’s best design and decor choices. A overview of Moroccan music and films shot in Morocco is also included for those who want to explore deeper.

The Caliphs House, By Tahir Shah

MOROCCO READING LIST (Available on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble.com)

HISTORY  (Available on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble.com)

• Morocco That Was – By  Water Harris
• Morocco Since 1830  –  By C.R. Pennell
• Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua  –  By Gavin Maxwell
• The Conquest of Morocco – By Douglass Porch

FICTION & NON- FICTION  

• Culture & Customs in Morocco – By Raphael Njoku
• In Morocco – By Edith Wharton
• In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams – By Tahir Shah
• The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca – By Tahir Shah
• The Spiders House – By Paul Bowles
• The Sheltering Sky – By Paul Bowles (Book & Film)
• Let It Come Down – By Paul Bowles
• The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco –  By Richard Hamilton
• Their Heads are Green & Their Hands are Blue – By Paul Bowles
• Dreams of Trespass: Tales of A Harem –  By Fatima Mernissi
• Berber Odes: Poetry from the Mountains of Morocco – By Michael Peyron
• The Hamadsha: A Studio of Moroccan Ethnopsychiatry
• A House in Fes –  By Susannah Clarke
• Marrakesh: Through Writers’ Eyes – Edited by Barnaby Rogers and Rose Baring

Living in Morocco, By Barbara Stoeltie

DESIGN & DÉCOR 

• Living in Morocco: (German Edition) – By Barbara Stoeltie
• Moroccan Interiors  – By Lisa Lovatt-Smith
• Living in Morocco from Casablanca to Marrakesh – By Lisl Dennis and Landt Dennis
• New Moroccan Style: The Art of Sensual Living – By Susan Sully
• Moroccan Textile Embroidery – By Isabelle Denamur
• Berber Carpets of Morocco. The Symbols. Origina and Meaning By Bruno Barbatti
• Imazighen: The Vanishing Traditions of Berber Women – By Margaret Courtney-Clarke and Geraldine Brooks

MOROCCAN MUSIC  (Available on Amazon.com or I-Tunes Apple Store)

• Andalusian Music from Fes By Abdelkrim Rais
• Andalusian Music from Tangier By Cheik Ahmed Zaitouni
• Jilala: Sufi Trance Music from Morocco By Jilala
• Music of Islam 5: Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony By Music of Islam
• Under the Moroccan Sky  – Various Artists
• B’ismillah – Fes Festival of World Music
• Berber Blues By Cherifa
• The Master Musicians of Jajouka Featuring Bachir Attar
• The Master Musicians of Jajouka – Jajouka Between the Mountains
• Baptism of Solitude – By Paul Bowles and Bill Laswell (Spoken Word)
• Arabic Groove – Putumayo World Music
• Rough Guide to North African Café
• Rough Guide to Arabic Café
• Gift of the Gnaoua – Hassan Hakmoun & Adam Rudolph
• Berber Music from the High Atlas & Anti-Atlas

FILMS SHOT IN MOROCCO

• Othell0 (Orson Welles)
•  Flight to Tangier (Charles Marquis Warren)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring (James Stewart)
• Lawrence of Arabia, starred Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif
• The Jewel of the Nile directed by Lewis Teague, starred Michael Douglas
• Kundun directed by Martin Scorsese
• Hideous Kinky (Marrakech Express
• Gladiator, directed by Ridley cott, starred Russell Crowe
• Rules of Engagement, directed by William Friedkin, starred Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce
• Black Hawk Down, directed by Ridley Scott
• Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott
• The Bourne Ultimatum directed by Paul Greengrass
• Body of Lies directed by Ridley Scott, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe
• Of Gods and Men directed by Xavier Beavois
• Sex and the City 2 directed by Michael Patrick King
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, directed by Mike Newell
• Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan