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Editorial Feature /Capsules

Berber Wedding Fair at Imilchil, Morocco
by Muguette Goufrani

My father, who operated a tour company in Morocco and France for many years, took me along with a German tour group to visit a traditional "Wedding Fair" at Hadiddou Imilchil, a Berber village in southern Morocco. While I knew that many Berber Fairs combine a local Saint's Day with a regional market event, only at September's 'moussem' (pilgrimage) of Imilchil, have I seen such a colorful pageant, with instant engagement, and a mass exchange of marriage vows. Berbers have inhabited North Africa for centuries, some being of Caucasian ancestry, with fair complexions and blue eyes. Visitors may think of Berbers as exotic outsiders, yet they preceded the Arabs in settling Morocco, and they remain the country's main culture. (continued)

Africa Fashions Win World Acclaim
Africans are painting the world in a kaleidoscope of bold colors and patterns, an exciting trend Africa Travel Magazine features in every issue. Webtrends, which monitors our website around the clock, proves that fashion is tops for reader reaction, and last month when our editor did a multi topic search on Google and Yahoo, out of 1,340,000 entries for the words "Africa Fashion," this website was #1. Shining examples abound, such as the vibrant color combinations, dazzling patterns, rich fabrics, fabulous headgear and elegant gowns we saw in Conakry and traveling through Guinea (right). A few months prior, while returning to Paris from Cameroon, we spent some quality time with Seidnaly Alphadi, whose African- inspired creations are taking Europe by storm. It seemed like half of the plane was filled with models from a Fashion Show Alphadi (below left) had just staged. We spoke to the popular African designer at his office a few years ago in a phone interview, and expect to attend some of his coming events in Africa soon. Born in Timbuktu, Alphadi is one of today's leading edge fashion designers. This kind of exposure has spawned a growing market for the Alphadi label in Africa itself.(continued) CLIC K FOR PHOTOS

Hands Across the Ocean
The Africa Travel Association's Growing Reach and Worldwide Influence

On many doors throughout the Kingdom of Morocco, visitors will find an ornamental hand as a symbol of welcome. Each beautifully engraved hand relates to five keys to peace and harmony. What a fitting symbol for the Africa Travel Association, with its hands-on approach that's getting results and enhancing Africa's image around the globe. These efforts foster powerful travel industry alliances and point to sharp increases in tourism from North America for countries like Guinea, Cameroon, Morocco, Tanzania, Ethiopia and others that have hosted ATA congresses and symposia in recent years. The South Africa venue in May 2001 led to the immediate formation of three ATA Chapters (continued).

Web Power in Action

Women in Tourism

Dozens more stories and profiles available
on our Africa Travel Magazine website.