The Global Phoenix - Issue 1 The Global Phoenix - Issue 1 | Page 46

INTERVIEW : CHARLES POMMAREDE
SPOTLIGHT ON NORTH AFRICA
D E S T I N A T I O N M O R O C C O
LET ’ S START WITH A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE AREA YOU COVER - CAN YOU GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT MAKES UP ‘ NORTH AFRICA ’?
North Africa area will usually cover the countries in Africa above the Sahara line . This includes the Maghreb area with Morocco , Algeria , Lybia and Tunisia . Egypt and Sudan are also part of North Africa . Total population of the region is more than 200 million people .
WHAT CULTURAL ASPECTS MAKE NORTH AFRICA DIFFERENT FROM OTHER REGIONS WITHIN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT ?
It is not easy to find a common denominator to a set of countries that all have a very specific history . All these countries are Arabic and Berber speaking even if each country has its own dialect ( example : Darija for Morocco ). Another common aspect is that from Morocco to Egypt , each one of these countries have a long and rich history . Each country ’ s population are usually very proud of their country with a strong sense of nationalism . Religion is also very important in each one of these countries ( The Muslim religion is the official religion in all the countries of North Africa ) and this has an impact on daily life , which expats must get used to – adapted working hours and habits during Ramadan month as an example .
Last but not least , these countries have a very strong culture a result of various influences throughout history . Berbers were among the first inhabitants in North Africa , Phoenicians or Romans also had an influence in Antiquity and then the Arabs expanded starting from The Middle Ages . Not to mention also the more recent impacted of colonization by Mediterranean countries ( France , Spain and Italy ). All these combined influences of people and cultures have had a remarkable impact on music , food , preferred social activities and art .