Originally published on www.JourneyBeyondTravel.com
Morocco was once home to the largest population of Jews in the Arab world, a figure topping 300,000 inhabitants. Today the number has largely diminished but many of the historical sites have remained intact and offer a glimpse into a part of Moroccan culture that is unique to the region. While the relationship between Muslim and Jewish residents has had ups and downs, the legacy and richness of Morocco’s Jewish population remains a national treasure.
Berber Jewish History
Morocco’s original inhabitants, the Berber people, have called the land that is now Morocco home as far back as 10,000 B.C. Before the arrival of Islam Berbers were animist, Jewish, or Christian. Many Jewish Berbers called the mountains of the Atlas Mountains home and lived side by side with their Muslim tribesmen. In small Berber villages there are still reminders of the Jewish past, even though the people themselves have left. In Ourigane there are several tombs of revered rabbis at the Shrine of Haim ben Diourne. Yearly in May there is a festival or moussem where the faithful come to pay their respects.
Sijilmasa on the northern edge of the Sahara desert is a small outpost near the city of Rissani. During the Middle Ages this town was an important trading post, especially in the gold trade. Today the town is mostly in ruins.
In the foothills of the Middle Atlas Mountains, the small city of Sefrou just outside of Fez also played an important role on trade routes. At one time this cultural crossroads was one of the few Moroccan cities with a high Jewish population. One of the interesting sites here is the Em Habanim network of Jewish Moroccan schools and an orphanage. The network provided education to Jewish Moroccans for 5 decades. Today the sites can be visited but they are no longer operational as the Jewish population of the city has left. The mellah area of Sefrou can be visited but is now inhabited by the Muslim population.
The Mellah
The term “mellah” is used to describe the area of a city in which Jewish residents live. There is some dispute among academics about the meaning of the word. Some claim that it simply denotes a Jewish area of the city, while others attribute it to the Arabic word “mel'ha” or salt. Historically Jewish residents were tasked with salting the dismembered heads of enemies captured in conflict leading to this possible connection.
