Argan Products

All our Argan products are produced in Morocco by the Adaguen cooperative.The Moroccan Adaguen cooperative is specialized in the production and marketing of Argan oil. It was born in 2000, Members of the cooperative are Moroccan women wishing to develop their skills and their social-economic situation, The realization of the products and qualifications meet international standards Argan oil is well known for it's anti-ageing properties, Due to high levels of Vitamin E and saponins, which soften the skin. It can help to reduce wrinkles by restoring the skin's water lipid layer and it also cools and soothes inflammation. Its antioxidant properties help to neutralise free radicals. Yet it does all this quite naturally. It is known as the Tree of Life. For centuries it's been a well-kept secret known only to the Berber women who use it to nourish their skin, hair and nails. They also use it to soothe dry eczema, acne and psoriasis and stretch marks. To get the maximum benefit from argan you should take it internally as well. It contains twice as much vitamin E as olive oil and is rich in antioxidants. It contains eight essential fatty acids and also rare plant sterols with anti-inflammatory properties, so it's beneficial for arthritic or rheumatic conditions. The oil has a delicious nutty taste and is best used as a salad dressing, or drizzled over pasta – the health-giving properties are lost if it's heated.

http://www.shop-morocco.com/argan-oil-48-c.asp

Exclusive to Shop Morocco

This eligant Djellaba is lightweigh, made with several materials. It is heavily striped with lighter checks. And comes in Three colours.

Exclusive to Shop Morocco Only €18.99

The Djellaba, a typical robe that you cannot miss from the very first few seconds after arriving in Morocco. According to the many people we have met who have professed to be experts in many areas, there are three basic types of djellaba for men and two basic everyday options for women. For both sexes, the machzania or "government" djellaba is the most common throughout the country. For the men, there are also the northern and the southern djellaba, and for the women there is the kaftanlamic religion of Morocco is also a key factor in the way that Moroccan people dress. The djellaba covers the whole body and is therefore an acceptable modest outfit.

Shop Morocco.com Over 20 different Djellabas in stock at unbeatable prices.

Shop Morocco the Moroccan clothing experts

The Babouche Slipper

The Moroccan leather babouche is a very durable and comfortable Moroccan slipper.Traditionally worn all over Morocco


Yellow is the traditional colour but the babouche also comes in white,red and black.We have the Womens babouche in red white and blue. And the Berber babouche in black and brown.





Driss has been making babouches in his home town Tangiers, for more than 40 years. His skill and craftmanship is unbeatable. Now working close with Shop Morocco, Driss can make babouches for you!

A Tribute to a Great Friend

Culture:
Mohammed as been a close freind for many years.His knowledge of Moroccan culture and artisan is second to none.Living in Tangiers Mohammed as worked with tourists for nearly 50 years. If you ever visit Tangiers you could not be in safer hands.Mohammed is very proud of his country and the city he lives in.A visit to Tangiers with Mohammed is educational,mystical and enjoyable. Unlike most guides in the city your not hussled from shop to shop for the sole intention of gaining commision.With mohammed you see Tangiers for the beautiful cultural city it is.


Food:
Ive talked about Moroccan food many times.
Some of the best meals I've ever had have been in the house of Mohammed.
Having worked as a chef for many years his knowledge of Moroccan cuisine is incredible and he is always ready to share is knowledge.A typicle day with Mohammed would be to visit his house on the outskirts of Tangiers were you would take a typicle Moroccan lunch.
When visiting Morocco buying for Shop-Morocco I never miss a stay with Mohammed were we spend many a evening discussing the ways of the world.



Artisan:
When it comes to Moroccan artisan Mohammed is the master,Icould not of formed Shop Morocco without him, His knowledge a help as been invaluable.
Whether it's carpets,ceramics or leather wear Mohammed is a sorce of endless information.

Tangiers (Morocco) would not be the same without this great man.
Mohammed Alaoui ,Ambassador to Morocco.

Any one interested in visiting Tangiers for the day with a real guide, can contact me esteve@shop-morocco.com

Argan Oil

Argan oil is well known for it's anti-ageing properties, Due to high levels of Vitamin E and saponins, which soften the skin. It can help to reduce wrinkles by restoring the skin's water lipid layer and it also cools and soothes inflammation. Its antioxidant properties help to neutralise free radicals. Yet it does all this quite naturally.
It is known as the Tree of Life. For ­­centuries it's been a well-kept secret known only to the Berber women who use it to nourish their skin, hair and nails. They also use it to soothe dry eczema, acne and psoriasis and stretch marks.
To get the maximum benefit from argan you should take it internally as well. It contains twice as much vitamin E as olive oil and is rich in antioxidants. It contains eight essential fatty acids and also rare plant sterols with anti-inflammatory properties, so it's beneficial for arthritic or rheumatic conditions.
The oil has a delicious nutty taste and is best used as a salad dressing, or drizzled over pasta – the health-giving properties are lost if it's heated. Shop Morocco

Summer sales are here again at Shop morocco Upto 1/2 price reductions on Djellabas and Gandoras.

Shop Morocco now has it's own customer forum, It's free and open to all.
A great place to chat with other clients, make inquiries or leave comments

The Fez

The name Fez is believed to come from Fez, the city, which once produced the hat's red dye, made from crimson berries.
The origins of the Fez, or "tarboosh" in Morocco, is not clear. The design may have come from ancient Greece or the Balkans. In the 19th Century it gained wide acceptance when the Ottoman rulers moved to modernize traditional costumes. The brimless hat did not get in the way of a Muslim's daily prayers and was cleaner and less cumbersome than the turban.
A version of the fez was used as an arming cap for the 1400-1700s version of the mail armour head protector (a round metal plate or skull-cap, around which hung a curtain of mail to protect the neck and upper shoulder. The fez, presumably padded, raised up the metal plate an inch or two to provide effective protection from heavy blows. The fez could be optionally wrapped with a turban.
Fez being made in Tunisia.

The red fez with blue tassel was the standard headdress of the Turkish Army from the 1840s until the introduction of a khaki service dress and peakless sun helmet in 1910. The only significant exceptions were cavalry and some artillery units who wore a lambskin hat with coloured cloth tops. Albanian levies wore a white version of the fez. During World War I the fez was still worn by some naval reserve units and occasionally by soldiers when off duty.

The Evzones (light infantry) regiments of the Greek Army wore their own distinctive version of the fez from 1837 until World War II. It now survives in the parade uniform of the Presidential Guard in Athens.
Somali man wearing a white fez

From the late 19th century on the fez was widely adopted as the headdress of locally recruited "native" soldiers amongst the various colonial troops of the world. The French North African regiments (Zouaves, Tirailleurs, and Spahis) wore wide, red fezzes with detachable tassels of various colours. It was an off-duty affectation of the Zouaves to wear their fezzes at different angles according to the regiment; French officers of North African units during the 1930s often wore the same fez as their men, with rank insignia attached. The Libyan battalions and squadrons of the Italian colonial forces wore lower, red fezzes over white skull caps. Somali and Eritrean regiments in Italian service wore high red fezzes with coloured tufts that varied according to the unit. German askaris in East Africa wore their fezzes with khaki covers on nearly all occasions. The Belgian Force Publique in the Congo wore large and floppy red fezzes similar to those of the French Tirailleurs Senegalais and the Portuguese Companhias Indigenas. The British King's African Rifles (recruited in East Africa) wore high straight-sided fezzes in either red or black, while the West African Frontier Force wore a low red version. The Egyptian Army wore the classic Turkish model until 1950. The West India Regiment of the British Army wore a fez as part of its Zouave-style full dress until this unit was disbanded in 1928. The tradition is continued in the full dress of the band of the Barbados Regiment, with a white turban wrapped around the base.
Tunisian Fez (Chechia Megidi)

While the fez was a colourful and picturesque item of uniform it was in several ways an impractical headdress. If worn without a drab cover it made the head a target for enemy fire, and it provided little protection from the sun. As a result it was increasingly relegated to parade or off-duty wear by World War II, although France's West African tirailleurs continued to wear a khaki-covered version in the field until about 1943. During the final period of colonial rule in Africa (approximately 1945 to 1962) the fez was seen only as a full-dress item in French, British, Belgium, Spanish and Portuguese African units; being replaced by wide-brimmed hats or forage caps on other occasions. Colonial police forces, however, usually retained the fez as normal duty wear for indigenous personnel.

In the Western world, the fez occasionally serves as a symbol of relaxation. In cartoons, characters are shown wearing a fez often while lying in a hammock on vacation or just relaxing after a hard day of work. This curious imagery may be a throwback to the late 19th century English practice of men wearing a loose fitting smoking jacket and braided fez-like headdress when relaxing informally in the evenings. Punch cartoons of the period 1875-90 frequently portray middle-class male figures dressed in this fashion. This practice is called "wearing mufti" and came from the habit of British officers and public servants wearing what was then Indian dress in the privacy of their homes. The dress was more comfortable in the Indian climate and created a sense of ease and relaxation such that the clothing, not unlike that of an Islamic scholar or mufti, came into the English language as a word meaning 'out of uniform' or undress.

* One of the most well-known wearings of a fez in a Hollywood film was by Victor Mature, playing Dr. Omar in Josef Von Sternberg's The Shanghai Gesture (1942).
* The Shriners are notable for wearing fezzes.
* The late British comedian and magician Tommy Cooper wore a fez as part of his stage persona.

Fez, Tarboosh and other Moroccan Hats

Tagines

The Moroccan Tagine

Tagine is the Moroccan name for a cooking pot,one pot in particular has claimed this name as it's own. The Tagine is made from clay and has a conical lid. It comes in 100s of different sizes and shapes.

Tagines were originally and still today used by the Twarg. The Twarg people are nomads roaming the Moroccan desert.The tagines versatility makes it the ideal cooking implement,being a portable oven,cooking pot and serving dish all in one.The traditional way to cook with a tagine is on a charcoal brazier also made of clay.

The Tagines of today are normally glazed although you can still buy traditional clay Tagines,these are more rustic and need treating before use,to seal the pot and to take away the initial tase of earth.To do this you need a mixture of cooking oil and chopped onions,coat the inside of the Tagine with the mixture.Then leave about a 1/3 of a cup in the Tagine.

Place theTagine in the oven or hob, on a low flame and leave for 1-2 hours.Let the Tagine cool naturally.Never place a hot Tagine on a cold surface and always cook on a low heat.

The very nature of a Tagine is to cook slowly the conical lid acts like a oven to retain the heat,which not only prevents the food from drying out,but allows a slow infusion of flavors throughout the dish.Tagine cooking is by far the most simple and healthy way to cook.All the flavors and goodness stays in the pot.

Moroccan spices are an article in itself, There are several suitable for Tagine.If your lucky enough to pass Morocco.Ask for Tagine spice,this is normally a local mix and varies slightly.Most probably a little of everything.The contribution to food is unbelievable.

Tagines not only come in various sizes and shapes,but also in types.up to now we've only talked about cooking Tagines,functionally the most important but it doesn't stop here.You can use the base of your cooking Tagine to serve food.And strait from the oven its the best way.In fact most Moroccans eat this way using only bread to scoop up the food.There is a vast variety of serving Tagines.From as small as 7cm suitable for sauces etc, to full sizes of 30cm plus.

Serving Tagines are normally very decorative,hand painted with traditional designs.They present your meal perfectly adding decoration to the table. The conical lid keeps food warm and protected.

Tagines have also become a object of decoration,Ornamental or Decorative Tagines.The very shape of a Tagine makes it a focal point be it in the kitchen or living room.Ornamental Tagines can be very decorative.Sometimes adorned with Silver or Gold.Thousands of colorful designs.These Tagines also make great storage jars.Be it for jewelery or loose change,the uses are never ending.

Visit Shop morocco for more information, recipes and a great variety of Tagines