Morocco in the 1970s was a country caught between tradition and political upheaval. King Hassan II sat on the throne, but his grip on power was not always secure. Two military coup attempts threatened the monarchy during this decade, yet both failed, and Hassan emerged from each crisis with his authority intact. Far from weakening him, the turmoil seemed to sharpen his political standing among the Moroccan public.
Daily life, meanwhile, carried on across the country’s deserts, mountain villages, and ancient medinas. Berber communities in the south lived much as they had for generations — gathering around open fires, tending camels, and trading at weekly markets.
On the political front, 1973 brought a sweeping economic shift. Hassan II enacted a policy known as Moroccanization. Under this plan, state-held assets, agricultural lands, and any business that was more than 50 percent foreign-owned were transferred to new Moroccan hands — specifically, political loyalists and high-ranking military officers. It was a deliberate move to consolidate power while reducing foreign economic control over the country.
Two years later, in 1975, came one of the decade’s most defining moments: the Green March. Hassan II organized a mass civilian movement to press Morocco’s claim over Spanish Sahara, a territory Spain was preparing to abandon. Around 350,000 unarmed Moroccan civilians marched south toward the Spanish border. It was a carefully staged show of national will, and it worked. Moroccan soldiers and logistics teams prepared well in advance, staging supplies at air bases in Marrakech before the march began.
By August 1979, Morocco had signed a peace agreement with the Polisario Front and formally annexed the entire Western Sahara territory. The conflict had shaped much of the country’s foreign policy throughout the decade, and its resolution marked a significant moment for the kingdom.
Away from politics, Morocco’s cities pulsed with energy. Marrakech drew visitors from across the world. In May 1976, French pop star Mireille Mathieu visited Morocco, drawing enormous crowds at the iconic Jemaa el-Fna square.
Moroccan women played a central role in the country’s economy. In the Meknes region, women worked side by side in weaving cooperatives, producing textiles that supplied both local markets and export trade. The souks of Marrakech were equally lively, with fabric sellers, dyers, and craftsmen filling narrow lanes with color and noise.
Morocco’s architectural heritage was impossible to miss. In Meknes, the massive gateway of Bab Mansour stood as a reminder of the city’s imperial past. Small towns throughout the country had their own distinct character — narrow streets, clay walls, and the constant movement of everyday commerce.
Jemaa el-Fna in Marrakech remained the beating heart of public life. By 1979, the square was as crowded and chaotic as ever — vendors, storytellers, snake charmers, and shoppers all sharing the same open ground.
In the south, the town of Tan Tan sat close to the edge of the Sahara. Nomadic camps dotted the surrounding landscape, where families still lived in tents and moved with their herds across the open desert. The region of Erfoud, with its palm-lined walls and ancient medina, offered a completely different atmosphere — quiet, sun-baked, and deeply rooted in the past.
Children were a constant presence in Morocco’s public spaces. In Marrakech in 1975, young Berber girls peeked out from doorways, laughing. By 1979, children were splashing through puddles in the city’s February rains — ordinary moments frozen in time by the camera’s lens.
Morocco’s tribal communities preserved their own distinct identities throughout the decade. The Ait Addidou people of the High Atlas dressed in striking traditional garments and continued practicing their customs largely unchanged. In the blue-walled town of Chefchaouen, nestled in the Rif Mountains, street life had a rhythm all its own.
Religious life shaped Morocco’s calendar as much as its politics. Each September, pilgrims gathered in the holy city of Moulay Idriss for the Moussem, a traditional religious festival. Families camped on the hillsides surrounding the city, and large processions carrying banners made their way toward the mosque. The Essaouira region hosted its own Moussem gatherings, drawing crowds from across the surrounding countryside.
In the streets, vendors of all kinds kept Morocco’s urban economy moving. A bread seller in Marrakech balanced his wares through the city’s crowds in 1975. The coastal city of Essaouira, with its Portuguese-built ramparts and Atlantic winds, offered yet another face of the country — open, weathered, and ancient.
The Ait Addidou tribe gathered at Imilchil in the High Atlas, their traditional clothing setting them apart from the urban Moroccans of Fes or Marrakech. Fes itself, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, carried its medieval layout into the late 1970s unchanged — its alleyways too narrow for cars, its tanneries operating by hand just as they had for centuries.
