Geographically, the country divides into four basic zones: the coast (Mediterranean and Atlantic); the great cities of the plains; the Rif and Atlas mountains; and the oases and desert of the pre- and fully fledged Sahara. With two or three weeks – even two or three months – you can’t expect to cover all of this, though it’s easy enough (and highly recommended) to take in something of each aspect.
Broadly speaking, the coast is best enjoyed in the north at Tangier – still shaped by its old “international” port status despite undergoing considerable renovation – Asilah and Larache, and in the south at El Jadida, Essaouira, perhaps the most easy-going resort, or remote Sidi Ifni. Agadir, the main package-tour resort, is a functional enough base for exploration.
Inland, where the real interest of Morocco lies, the outstanding cities are Fez and Marrakesh. The great imperial capitals of the country’s various dynasties, they are almost unique in the Arab world for the chance they offer (particularly in the former) to witness city life that, in patterns and appearance, remains in large part medieval. For monuments, Fez is the highlight, though Marrakesh is for most visitors the more enjoyable.
Fact file
Arabs and Berbers
The Amazigh – more commonly known as Berbers – were Morocco’s original inhabitants. The Arabs arrived at the end of the seventh century, after sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East in the name of their revolutionary ideology, Islam. Eventually, nearly all the Berbers converted to the new religion and were immediately accepted as fellow Muslims by the Arabs. When Muslim armies invaded the Iberian peninsula from Morocco, the bulk of the troops were Berbers, and the two ethnic groups pretty much assimilated. Today, most Moroccans can claim both Arab and Berber ancestors, though a few (especially Shereefs, who trace their ancestry back to the Prophet Mohammed, and have the title “Moulay”) claim to be “pure” Arabs. In the Rif and Atlas mountains, and in the Souss Valley, though, groups of pure Berbers remain, and retain their ancient languages (Tarfit, spoken by about 1.5m people in the Rif; Tamazight, spoken by over 3m people in the Atlas; and Tashelhaït, spoken by around 4m people in the Souss Valley region). In recent years, there has been a resurgence in Berber pride (often symbolized by the Berber letter Ж); TV programmes are now broadcast in Berber languages, and they are even taught in schools, but the country’s majority language remains Arabic.
Travel in the south is, on the whole, easier and more relaxing than in the sometimes frenetic north. This is certainly true of the mountain ranges, where the Rif can feel disturbingly anarchic, while the southerly Atlas ranges (Middle, High and Anti-) that cut right across the interior are both beautiful and accessible. Hiking in the High Atlas, following old mule paths through mud-brick villages or tackling some of the area’s impressive peaks, is increasingly popular, especially around North Africa’s highest mountain, Jebel Toubkal, though more and more trekkers are being tempted east by the quieter trails that cut through the beguiling Aït Bouguemez. Summer treks are possible at all levels of experience and altitude, and despite inroads made by commercialization, the vast majority of the area remains essentially “undiscovered” – like the Alps must have been in the nineteenth century.
Equally exploratory in mood are the great southern routes beyond the Atlas, amid the oases of the pre-Sahara. Major routes here can be travelled by bus, minor ones by rented car or local taxi; the really remote ones by 4WD vehicles or by getting lifts on local camions (trucks), sharing space with market produce and livestock. The oases, around Skoura, Tinghir, Zagora and Erfoud, or (for the committed) Tata, are classic images of the Arab world, vast palmeries stretching into desert horizons. Equally memorable is the architecture that they share with the Atlas – bizarre and fabulous pisé (mud) kasbahs and ksour, with Gothic-looking turrets and multi-patterned walls.
iStock
TANNERIES, FEZ
Further south, you can follow a route through the Western Sahara all the way down to Dakhla, just 22km short of the Tropic of Cancer, where the weather is scorching even in midwinter.