GeographyGeography Located in north west Africa, Morocco being 172,413 sq. mi. It is housed between the Mediterranean Sea on its north side, the Atlantic Ocean, west, the Western Sahara on it south border and Algeria located southeast.

Statistics  Official Name: Kingdom of Morocco  Area: 172,413 sq. mi.  Type of Government: Constitutional monarchy  Population: 28,217,000 (1997, est.)  Capital: Rabat (population, 1984, 556,000)  Languages: Arabic (official) French and Berber  Literacy: 50%  Currency: Dirham  Per Capita G.D.P.: $3,060 (1999 est.)

The Land Agriculture plays a major economic role and employs half of the active population. Construction of water supply facilities, land plot, and irrigation. Industrial exports account for 70% of total exports. These include sugar production, flour mills, milk, textile and leather, and cement production. Forty percent of the national citrus fruits are exported. The chemical industry has increased due to the development of phosphates richness that Morocco has. Mining represents 30% of the value on exports. Morocco is also the most important producer and exporter of sea products in Africa and the Arab world.

There is a great variety of landscapes in Morocco Old Wall, a moment in time in Rabat, the imperial city and today’s capital. There are excellent beaches both to the north and south of Rabat.

The Ancient Walled City This city takes pride in its artistic and intellectual heritage. The top sacred music artists from middle eastern and western religious communities gather for a week of concerts, lectures, exhibitions and intellectual and artistic exchanges.

Festival of Popular Arts in Marrakech The Djemaael Fna, is a giant square that is the physical and spiritual center of the city where spectacular pageants of singers, acrobats, artists, and craftsmen and more are all competing for your eye.

Morocco cuisine is rated among the best in the world. The food is carefully and artistically prepared. The midday meal is the main meal and begins with hot and cold salads followed by a stew. The heartiest plate is often a lamb or chicken dish followed by a plate of couscous along with meat and vegetables. Sweet mint tea is also served. Some of the commonly used spices are cinnamon, cumin, tumeric, ginger, cayenne and paprika.

The Sahara

The Life of the Palm Tree Thousands of acres of palm trees line the valleys and river beds of southern Morocco in the Sahara. They provide the families in the area its only source of income. These 5 million trees live as long as 150 years with which 90,000 tons of dates are exported annually.

Education City of Casablanca Although Morocco has free education and is mandatory, many children still do not receive an education. The schools rely on volunteers to teach English and subjects such as computer and music.

The Work of Volunteers In this developing country poverty is a fact of life for many people in urban and rural areas. Volunteers are welcomed and placed on projects that cater to the homeless, abused women and street children.

Nation of Morocco One missionary, Chris Stanton is well aware of the needs of the Moroccan people has devoted his life to helping this country. As founder of a nonprofit organization, Mission Bridge, he was awarded the 2004 Friendship Award by the United States Embassy in Morocco for his contributions. Not only has he been given favor with the government, but also favor in getting supplies and having a $1, overage fee waived for excess luggage carrying all the humanitarian supplies to Morocco just after the earthquake in February, To date he has made over 21 trips to Morocco.