Prowess of Moroccan Resistance against French Colonization

Prowess of Moroccan Resistance against French Colonization
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Prowess of Moroccan Resistance against French Colonization

Prowess of Moroccan Resistance against French Colonization

The High Commissioner for Former Resistants and Former Members of the Liberation Army in Morocco has released a new collective publication entitled "The Battle of Ait Abdallah against the French Colonization."

The book gathers the works of a scientific symposium organized to discuss and preserve the research efforts exploring the great patriotic struggle and prowess of the Moroccan resistance.

The 257-page book compiles several studies carried out by a group of intellects active in the historic landscape of Morocco. It seeks to deepen discussions over the Moroccan resistance, in addition to expanding the research on the battle of Ait Abdallah against the French colonization.

The chapters of the book explore many aspects of resistance and studies about "the French colonial campaign on the Little Atlas and Ait Abdallah in the French Documents between 1912 and 1934," and "Resistance in Souss in the Moroccan Amazigh Poetry."

The High Commissioner said that it published the book as part of its goal to highlight the history of some regions and parties, and their battles and heroes who were not served justice by historians.



Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)

In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesbos, Nikos Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honored with inclusion in UNESCO's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kouvdis, 70, and his family have kept an old technique alive near the once humming pottery hub of Mandamados, just as the slow and careful methods of the past have been largely eclipsed by factory machines.

Their pottery is among the last in the Mediterranean to be produced from clay in local soil, using a traditional kiln with olive pits as fuel, with the pieces painted with natural lime.

"It's an honor for me," Kouvdis said with regard to the UNESCO recognition of his work.

He said a mechanized press can work at 10 times the speed of an individual potter. "There’s no continuity. There’s no space for (our) method to continue."

Still, he continues to produce individual pots on an outcrop of land overlooking the Aegean Sea.

"Above all, it’s a passion - trying to create something that fulfils you," he said.