Hanoi restores Morocco Gate

The entrance the "Morocco Gate" was decorated in the Arabian style. (Source: tuoitrenews.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi has carried out restoration work on the Morocco Gate in Tan Linh commune, Ba Vi district in an effort to boosting friendship between Vietnam and Morocco.

According to Truong Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, the restoration was requested by the Moroccan Embassy in Vietnam and the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Affairs.

During the war of resistance against the French in Vietnam (1946-1954), thousands of African legionnaires, including Moroccans, deserted their French troop and joined the army of Vietnam.

After the Great Dien Bien Phu Victory, late President Ho Chi Minh instructed the establishment of a Vietnam –Africa plantation in the district, receiving hundreds of former legionnaires and locals. Many of the former legionnaires married local women and settled down in the area.

The three-door-temple gate was built in 1963 by Moroccans who strived to maintain their culture, architecture and religion, calling it the “Immortal Gate”, or the “Permanent Gate” .

The last African soldier was allowed to leave Vietnam by 1970. When they returned to their homeland, they brought their wives and children with them.

The gate was restored once in 2009 by the Moroccan Embassy.-VNA