EC2Fleuves

Year 1933, my dear parents Aaron and Rachel Cohen wedding

Mes Grands-Parents , Chimone et Esther Azencot, mon grand-pere paternel de Rabat Raphael Cohen et mes parents Aaron et Rachel Cohen durant leur mariage a Alcazarquivir en 1933.
Sur la photo en premier plan se trouve ma tante Rabuena, soeur ainee de ma mere et je pense que mon oncle David Azencot, son frere s’y trouve aussi .

My Grand Parents from my mother side:

Shimon and Esther Azencot

from my father side:

Raphael and Renee Cohen

This is a picture with both my grand-parents at my father and mother Aaron and Rachel Cohen wedding in 1933, Morocco

My parents and grand-parents are in the background whereas in the front sit my aunts Tia Rabuena and tia Messody.

Actually my dad was born in French Morocco in the city of Rabat. Back in those days his father cousin arranged a date for my father to meet Messody Azencot in Alcazarquivir , Spanish Morocco.

When the date arrived in the beautiful Spanish garden of Alcazar Messody came with a chaperon who was her younger sister Rachel.

My dad fell in love right away with Rachel and the rest is history..

Elie cohen, montreal

Je n’ai pas connu la deuxieme Guerre Mondiale, mais evidemment mes parents ont du la subir ainsi que mes Grands-Parents et leurs familles.
Ma mere me raconta que cette periode etait pour tous tres penible a tous points de vues et les militaires Espagnols en zone nord d’occupation n’etaient pas tres agreables vis a vis de la population juive en general et plus particulierement a l’egard des jeunes femmes juives.

I was not born during WWII but my mother told me life was quite difficult for everybody especially Jews on  both parts of Morocco, in the french and spanish zones.

To visit her parents or vice versa from Alcazarquivir to Rabat in french morocco was not as simple and all the letters between her family and herself  were censored by the spanish military intelligence.

Being a young and beautiful jewish woman in a city packed with spanish soldiers under the command of general Franco, the head of the spanish african army, was often difficult and so many stories my mom told me of her sisters and herself being harassed by the spanish army recruits.

photo:Enveloppe annee 3 Mai 1944 d’Alcazarquivir ( 2eme Guerre Mondiale) de lettre envoyee par mon grand-pere, durant toute sa correspondance pendant ces annees de Guerre, a mon pere et leur fille Rachel, ma mere qui habitaient en zone francaise.

An envelope dated May 3 , 1944 from Alcazarquivir . The sender was my grand father and he was writing to his daughter Rachel , my mother, who was living in Rabat , the french capital city of Morocco

How we travel to my spanish grand-parents town ou mes visites chez mes grands parents maternels, direction ElKsar..

Au debut de 1950 , j’etais bien sur tres jeune, il y avait deux possibilites pour voyager du Maroc Francais, en l’occurence Rabat ma ville natale, au Maroc Espagnol c-a-d a Alcazarquivir lieu de naissance de la plupart de mes cousins cote maternel.
L’on pouvait prendre le train Rabat , Port Lyautey jusqu’a PetitJean et a cette ville changer pour un autre train direction zone espagnole , ElKsar..
Ou bien prendre l’autocar de la CTM jusqu’au poste frontalier d’Arbaoua ou les gendarmes et militaires espagnols ( regime Franco) etaient tres vigilants et me faisaient peur avec leurs ordres secs, descendez du car et Passaportes, passaportes ..

At the start of 1950 there were two possibilities for traveling between french morocco to the spanish zone of Marruecos. From Rabat, my city I could either take the train going north towards Port Lyautey , transfer at PetitJean at the border and the spanish train will take my family to Alcazarquivir , an important garrison town located next to Larache.

Another way to get there was the bus at our CTM , central bus station in Rabat, travelling north until Arbaoua,Maruecos, frontier town between the two french and spanish protectorates.

Photo datant de 1996, mon neveu a la gare d’El Ksar, sur les traces de sa Genealogie ,lesracines de sesarrieres Grands-Parents Azencot.. ,

Picture of my nephew Yossi in front of the Alcazarquivir ( ElKsar) train station..he was on his way to search for his parents roots in 1996

Mes grands-parents Chimone et Esther Azencot habitaient au fond d’une rue qui s’appelait Calle Real.
Mon grand-pere fut nomme Chimone parce que ses parents , au 19eme siecle,ne pouvant garder en vie leurs bebes a cause du fort pourcentage de mortalite infantile qui sevissait , l’avaient alors laisse aux soins de la societe Rabbi Chimone Bar Yohaye de cette petite ville afin qu’ils puissent peut etre le sauvegarder de tout danger de maladie grace a leurs soins et prieres.
Leurs voeux furent exauces.

My grand father was named Shimon after Rabbi Chimone Bar Yohaye , author of the Zohar , the Kabbala.

His family , grand.ma Esther and ger children, Rabuena, Messody, Rachel , my mother, David, Lea and Fortuna lived in a large house on Calle Real, the jewish quarter of Alcazarquivir during the spanish protectorate of northern morocco

photo: Mes grands-parents Chimone et Esther Azencot a Alcazarquivir during the early 1930′s, spanish morocco

Ma mere Rachel Azencot Cohen est nee un mois de Janvier 1916 dans cette bourgarde du Nord du pays, lieu d’une forte garnison de l’armee espagnole qui occupait alors cette zone marocaine…ALCAZARQUIVIR..ville de mes grands-parents maternels et ville ou l’on ne parlait qu’espagnol.

My mother Rachel Azencot Cohen was born in January 1916 in Alcazarkibir, Marruecos, Spanish Morocco.

photo:Rachel Azencot Cohen a Alcazarquivir au haut de la maison de ses parents, debut annees 1933-34