Asilah - Artistic Festivals

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deteriorated to such an extent that by the mid 1970s a group of local intellectuals decided to save the town.

Headed by Mohammed Benaissa and Mohammed Melehi, the group felt that if Asilah became the hub of worthwhile cultural activity, with support from the local inhabitants, the government would follow suit and upgrade the infrastructure by installing better drainage and improving electrical and water supplies. Mohammed Benaissa, now Morocco's Minister for Culture, and Mohammed Melehi (then president of the Moroccan Painters Association) first stood for election to the Municipal Council. They began by initiating a study of the ways in which the town's basic services operated. They found much wastage of time and energy, which could be mostly eliminated by involving the local people and asking for their co-operation. For example, refuse collectors using donkeys were wasting a great deal of time knocking on doors and asking for rubbish.

By persuading people to put their rubbish outside on collection days, the problem was addressed in a practical manner. Today, 500 local children compete in two groups to clean the beach. Residents also supply either materials or labor whenever work needs doing on their block.

The cultural program began in the spring of 1978, when a small group of artists were invited for the first municipal "Paint-In". They created large murals on the ramparts. Large groups of children joined in the painting and received prizes and gifts to foster their enthusiasm for the task. This also provided an incentive for the adults to pave the streets, using aesthetically interesting "wave" patterns rather than the more mundane squares. Later in the same year, writers, poets and musicians came to Asilah to participate in the first summer pilgrimage, an event which attracted about 1,000 onlookers, mostly from neighboring towns.

As increasing numbers of people attended each successive festival, the government was persuaded to instruct the appropriate agencies to help the people in towns. Mohammed Benaissa, self-styled "professional beggar", began to raise private funding and mobilized corporate assistance to realize his vision of architectural harmony. The town's new prominence and its continued cleanliness, however, is due mostly to the local people's diligence.