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3.14.2009

3/14/09 The Moroccan Flag

Behold the flag of Morocco. I find it truly beautiful, its crisp red swath cutting the crystalline blue of the mountain and desert skies. The design in the middle is a green, five-pointed star.

These stunning flags are visible at every school, post office, commune building (a local legislature), caid's office, courthouse, or other government building. Plus, when the king was rumored to be visiting - those rumors have returned, by the way, with the date revised to April, now - these flags were *everywhere*. Red and green banners hung from windows, draped across awnings, fluttered along roadways. The 140 km road from SouqTown to Berberville was peppered with flags, usually clustered in groups of three, fanning outwards like a sign-language W.

This particular flag was in front of the ... you know what? I'll leave it vague. Photographing public buildings is a crime, and while I genuinely doubt that extends to their patriotic decorations, it just might. Suffice to say, I shot the picture looking up the flagpole, because I loved the way the red looked against the shimmering blue sky.

3 comments:

  1. Do you know why it is illegal to photograph a public building? What is the reasoning? I can't imagine it being illegal to photograph the White House, or a court house in the USA, so likewise, it seems strange for that to be the law there. Just curious.

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  2. I'm not sure, but I imagine it's for security. Morocco has seen terrorism inside its borders more recently than the US has. I suppose the police and gendarmes want to keep as many secrets as possible, to protect the king and other government agents.

    And for the record, it is illegal to bring a camera into many parts of the White House, though the outside is fair game.

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  3. I'm a Moroccan and never heard of such a silly law !

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