And given that the fluffy semolina can be topped with everything from fish in Tunisia to camel meat in Libya, what truly makes a couscous a couscous? But the countries of North Africa’s Maghreb region may be about to put their differences aside with a joint bid to have the dish added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. There are as yet few details on the North African bid, but Slimane Hachi, director of Algeria’s prehistoric research centre, said that it would unite Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and Mali. Rambourg argues the region should celebrate its shared heritage rather than fretting over who really lays the best claim to couscous. “For all the countries in the Maghreb, couscous is a part of their identity.”The countries involved will have to come to a common position if they are to mount a successful UNESCO bid, he warned.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 13, 2018 04:30 UTC