Jewish Mellah restored in Marrakech on orders of the King

(13 Mar 2017) LEADIN
Marrakech's Hay Salam Quarter is to be restored and returned to its Jewish name: the Mellah.
The decision came from King Mohammed VI after he visited the area and met the President of the Jewish Community.
STORYLINE
Jacky Kadoch wanders through the tired and run down streets of the Mellah Quarter of Marrakech.
He's been the President of the Jewish Community here for 30 years and is an expert in its history and importance to Jews.
Morocco's King Mohammed VI recently visited the area and met with Kadoch. After giving the King the history of the Mellah he agreed that it should be restored to its former glory:
"Some houses start to fall down, so the decision of the King, God bless him, (he) decided to fix it," says Kadoch.
Moroccan Mellahs were separate areas built for Jews to live in during the 16th century, protected by high walls.
There are seven in all across Morocco: in Marrakech, Rabat, Fez, Meknes, El Jadida, Casablanca and Tangier.
Many Mellahs grew into small cities with synagogues, markets, courtyards and fountains as the Jews developed their careers as bankers, tailors and jewellers.
The remains of Marrakech's Mellah are currently known as the Hay Salam Quarter, but the King agreed that the area should officially be called the Mellah again.
"I saw a big sign: 'Restoration of the Mellah of Marrakech'. I was so happy. Why? Because again I saw the name Mellah. I said: 'That is so great so nice," continues Kadoch.
Thirty years ago a movement began to decrease the heavy French influence in the country and the names of many neighbourhoods and streets were changed to Arabic.
Marrakech's Mellah was one of many areas to be affected by the trend.
But following the King's visit, instructions were sent to the authorities to return all the streets back to their Jewish names.
Marrakech once boasted the country's largest Jewish population, estimated at 27,000 in the 1940s.
Despite historically living in separate quarters, here in Marrakech Jews enjoy a good relationship with Muslims.
Tarfaoui Mohammed, a chicken seller in the Mellah quarter says:
"Since 1984 we have had a relationship with the Jews. We sell meat and chicken to them and take it to their houses and we help them. We had a good relationship together and today also."
The Jewish community in Morocco declined dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s due to mass emigration to France, Israel and the United States.
Despite migrating, they do not forget their origins and come back to visit parents and grandparents.
Others, such as singer Itzik Dadia, visit to explore their families' history. He was born and raised in Israel and is visiting Marrakech for the first time.
He stops at the Laazama Synagogue in the Mellah Quarter to sing.
"My grandmother is from Tangier and my grandfather is from Rabat. I love Morocco and I love Moroccan Songs. I'd always hoped to visit it," he says.
In the Mellah Quarter, there is also a Jewish cemetery, named Beth Mo'ed Le'kol Chai which in translates to "the real life is after death".
It was built in 1537 after many Jews moved to the Mellah. It's the largest Jewish burial site in Morocco.
It was restored last year as part of a project to preserve cemeteries across the country.
Jakcy Kadoch regularly visits his father Henri Kadoch's tomb and is keen that the cemetery continues to be well looked after.
The decision to restore the Mellah in Marrakech is the result of 13 years of lobbying local officials by Kadoch.

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