Morocco Time

Well, there goes my weekend…I just spotted this article on Maghrebia.com:

In a move towards greater access to legal texts in Morocco, the Secretariat General of the Government of Morocco (SGG) has published the complete legal texts of its Official Bulletins (OB) online in both Arabic and French.

The database, which can be accessed through the Secretariat General’s website at www.sgg.gov.ma, compiles all legal texts published since 1913, covering a period of more than 93 years.

The importance of the government project stems from the fact that the database is bilingual. Both French- and Arabic-speaking Internet users can search by keyword or by date to identify the legal text they require.

I’m already searching and chatting with my resident Moroccan about various events/names etc…

Thanks to a post over at Metafilter, I came across this : Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean, presented by ‘The Museum With No Frontiers.’ I could probably spend at least half a day clicking around in there, but this is one of the first things I came across:

Influential Muslim women engaged in charity work and patronised good causes. As Islamic law clearly stipulated their rights in terms of income and inheritance, many could do so on the basis of generous funds allocated for their personal use. They played a vital role in consolidating Islamic society by promoting support and solidarity between the various social classes. Many commissioned mosques and other public buildings for posterity. Thus, in Morocco, the Fihri sisters built both the Qarawiyin Mosque and the Andalusian Mosque in Fez during the 3rd / 9th century. In Turkey, Nilüfer Hatun, the mother of Murad I, had a religious structure built in Iznik in 789 / 1388, while Sultan Abdülaziz’s mother built the Pertevniyal Mosque Complex in Istanbul in 1288 / 1871, including a shrine, fountain, school and library.”

I didn’t know that! (I’ll bet Samir over at View from Fes is shaking his head in dismay…)

Also, don’t miss:

Glass from the Fatamids

Sahrij Swani (Basin of the Norias) – Another reason to visit Meknes!

Jewelry from ‘Royal Women: Granddaughters of Fatima al-Zahra?