Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Travellers History of North Africa
by Barnaby Rogerson is a handy and accessible guide that puts
Morocco amid the wider currents of regional history.
The Rise of Mellahs
Under the Saadians, Jewish communities also took up crucial roles as dealers of the hot-
test Moroccan commodities of the time: salt and sugar. While European Jewish com-
munities faced the Inquisition, forced conversions and summary executions, the comparat-
ively tolerant Saadian dynasty provided Jewish communities with some security, setting
aside a section of Marrakesh next to the royal kasbah as a Jewish quarter, or
mellah
- a
name derived from the Arabic word for salt. This protection was repaid many times over
in taxes levied on Jewish and Christian businesses, and the royally flush Saadians clearly
got the sweet end of the deal. Yet several Jewish Moroccans rose to prominence as royal
advisors, and in the Saadian Tombs of Marrakesh, trusted Jewish confidantes are buried
closer to kings than royal wives.
By day, Jewish merchants traded alongside Christian and Muslim merchants, and were
entrusted with precious salt, sugar and gold brought across the Sahara; by night they were
under official guard in their quarters. Once the
mellahs
of Fez and Marrakesh became
overcrowded with European arrivals, other notable
mellahs
were founded in Essaouira,
Safi, Rabat and Meknès, and the traditions of skilled handicrafts that flourished there con-
tinue to this day. The influence of the
mellahs
spread throughout Morocco, especially in
tangy dishes with the signature salted, pickled ingredients of Moroccan Jewish cuisine.
