What are some fun facts on Morocco?
It is said that Hercules (a hero of Greek legend) decided to pull Africa and Spain apart, using Gibraltar and the Moroccan mountain of Jbel Musa as his handgrips. They are known as “The Pillars of Hercules”. Morocco has a number of stone circles which prove contact with the megalithic cultures of Atlantic Europe (Brittany, Ireland and Britain). At Oujda, the most eastern city of Morocco is the shrine of Sidi Yahya which is said to be the tomb of John the Baptist. Morocco is an Islamic country but only follows the Muslim calendar for religious purposes. All other aspects of national life follow the Gregorian calendar (used in the UK, Europe and America). Saturday and Sunday are weekend holidays, unlike in other Muslim countries. The University in Fes founded in 859 AD claims to be the world’s oldest university. The numbers we use today are called Arabic numbers; the Arabs were responsible for much of the growth of learning in mathematics and the word “algebra” is itself an Arabic word.
