COVER N. 526 - MAROC

Postmark: Maroc/Portugal Unis para l'amitié, Barid Al-Maghrib 07.10.2024 / Meknés C-D. 21.10.2024 

Posted on the 21st October; Received on the 30th October 2024

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Thanks to Pierre, I am able to have the FDC for the Moroccan version of a common issue with my own country. Un grand Merci, Pierre. C'est vraiment super!

Portuguese presence in Morocco goes back to 1415, when Portuguese troops under the command of King João I, conquered Ceuta. This would be the first episode of the Portuguese expansion in Moroccan territory and later throughout coastal Africa. 

The Portuguese would progressively go as far south in Moroccan territory as Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué, near Agadir,  but in 1541, Moroccan forces recuperated this stronghold and bit by bit the Moroccans would recover what was theirs by right. 

Finally, In 1774, King Jose I and Sultan Mulei Muhammad bin Abdallah (Muhammad III) signed a Treaty for Peace, Navigation and Commerce, thus formally putting an end to the belligerency and  establishing diplomatic and commercial relations between the two nations.

Much later, in 1912, Morocco would again loose its independency, its territory  being divided into  protectorates of France and Great Britain, and only in 1956, would this North African state regain its full independency.

Rekindling a long lasting and mutually proficuous relation, in 1994, the Prime Ministers of Portugal and Morocco, Aníbal Cavaco Silva and Abdellatif Filali signed  a Friendship, Neighbourhood and Cooperation Treaty, following which more than a dozen summits between  the heads of Government of both countries have  already taken place, as a measure to further the socio-economic relationships between the two nations.

Highlighting the importance of both these relevant diplomatic Treaties,  signed off  250 and 30 years ago respectively, the Postal operators of both countries issued a joint emission on 07OCT2024, with two very nice stamps  illustrated with unmistakable landmarks of both Morocco and Portugal.

On the Moroccan side, the beautiful painting based on photo bank images depicts the Sqala of the Essouira port, part of the town's Medina which enjoys UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The Sqala was built under the orders of  the same Sultan who signed the Treaty of 1774, Moahamed III. The fortified defensive tower and its walls, where Spanish and Dutch canons still overlook the sea, are well preserved and can be visited.

Portugal, in turn, is represented by the most beautiful square in the world, if a bit of narcissistic national pride can be permitted me.

Praça do Comércio, or Terreiro do Paço, as it is more commonly known in Portugal,  opens Lisbon to the Tagus and thenceforth to the sea.

Built in its present configuration after the tremendous earthquake that obliterated most of the city on All Saints Day 1775, during the reign of  D. José I (again the same monarch that signed the Peace treaty with Morocco), you really have to be there right in the middle of it, next to D. José's equestrian statue conceived by Machado de Castro, one of our greatest sculptors,  on a fresh and sunny April's day or in a stormy autumn's day, with few people around you (this might not be very easy to accomplish, though),  to enjoy its monumentality to the fullest and to see the way light interacts with its grand towers  and monumental arch, 

 

An FDC for the Portuguese 0,65 € stamp  with the First Day postmark issued at Lisbon, reading "Joint issue  - Portugal Morocco -  United by friendship. 

The stamps from both issues (again Merci Pierre, pour ton aide.)