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Africa > North Africa > Maghreb

Maghreb

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The Maghreb is a region in Africa. The term originated in the days of Islam's great expansion. Al-Maghrib (المغرب‎) is Morocco's official name, and also means 'the west' in Arabic. In English, the term refers to all the Islamic North African areas beyond Egypt.

The Arab Magreb Union

Today the term is applied to all of the Mediterranean coast of Africa except Egypt, plus the Atlas mountains inland from there and some areas along the Atlantic coast. In European histories, much of the region is often called the Barbary Coast; names for its people include Berbers and Moors. When the Moors ruled them, Gibraltar and much of Spain and Portugal would have been counted as part of the Maghreb.

There is an organisation called the Arab Maghreb Union. It includes:

As of March 2023, its website exists in French and Arabic, but the English page just says "coming soon".

This article is on an extra-hierarchical region, describing a region that does not fit into the hierarchy Wikivoyage uses to organise most articles. These "extraregion" articles usually provide only basic information and links to articles in the hierarchy. This article can be expanded if the information is specific to the page; otherwise new text should generally go in the appropriate region or city article.