After Morocco's earthquake, artisans in Marrakech’s old medina face an uncertain future

Two months after the earthquake, we hear why Marrakech and its medina are so important to Islamic heritage – and why some researchers are worried that the expertise of the city's traditional artisans could being overlooked in the reconstruction.

Featuring Abbey Stockstill, assistant professor of art history at Southern Methodist University in the US; Nour Eddine Nachaoune, professor of heritage at Université Mohammed V in Rabat; and Kalpana Jain, senior religion and ethics editor and director of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative at The Conversation in the US.

This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Katie Flood with assistance from Mend Mariwany, who also recorded the English voiceover in this episode. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer of the show. Full credits for this episode are available here. A transcript is now available.

Further reading: 

• Marrakech artisans – who have helped rebuild the Moroccan city before – are among those hit hard in the earthquake’s devastation
• Tinmel – Morocco’s medieval shrine and mosque – is one of the historic casualties of the earthquake
• What caused Morocco’s earthquake? A geologist studying the Atlas mountains explains