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VIEWS FROM A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
#30 - MOROCCO, AFRICA
Size: 3" x 5"
Copyrighted: 1891
Lithographer: Joseph P. Knapp
  
Illustrations: A Morocco Couple; A Gateway and Bazaar; Morocco; Courting
| Reverse - Text |
Left section:
GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
Right section: |
| MOROCCO. |
| The empire, although
leaving some interesting relics
of its former grandeur, is now in
a state of deplorable decay, its
government an oriental despotism
of the worst type, and its
general condition such as to
merit the reproach of being the
"China of the West."
Yet there are some faint signs of
a recognition of European
influence, toward the engrafting
of the practices of modern
civilization. The natural
features of the country are
eminently favorable thereto. |
| The city
of Morocco, founded in 1062, one
of the quasi capitals of the
sultanate, lies in a spacious
plain, about 15 miles from the
northern part of the Atlas, at a
height variously estimated from
1,400 to over 1,600 feet. Ranking
during the early ages as one of
the most flourishing cities of
Islam, it has sunk to a depth
that would stamp it as utterly
wretched were it not for the
exceptional beauty of its
situation, the luxuriant gardens
and groves by which it is
surrounded and interspersed, and
the magnificent outlook towards
the mountains. The wall, 25 to 30
feet high, is so dilapidated as
to allow entrance to
foot-passengers and even
horsemen, in various places.
Although bricks of a good quality
are manufactured, they are not
used for buildings,
tábiya--pounded clay--being
almost the only material
employed. With the exception of
the tower of the Kutubia Mosque
and a certain archway, which was
brought in pieces from Spain,
there is not a stone building in
the city. The Tower of Kutubia
alone is a worthy memorial of the
constructive genius of the early
Moors. The mosque is a large
brick building erected by Abd
al-Mumen; the interior has marble
pillars, and the whole of the
crypt is occupied by a vast
cistern excavated by Mausior. The
Church of Sidi Bel Abbas in the
extreme north of the city,
possesses property to the value
of 200,000 pounds, and is used as
a courthouse and asylum. The
population, which in 1150 was
said to be 700,000, is now
estimated at only 50,000. |
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