Where to go
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.
You are unlikely to miss the mountains, in any case. The three ranges of the Atlas, with the Rif a kind of extension in the north, cut right across the interior – physical and historical barriers, and inhabited for the most part by the indigenous Moroccan Berbers. Contrary to general preconceptions, it is the Berbers who make up most of the population (only around ten percent of Moroccans are “pure” Arabs) although most people speak Arabic as their first language and would claim mixed ancestry.
A more recent distinction derives from Morocco’s colonial occupation, when it was divided into Spanish and French zones – the former contained Tetouan and the Rif, the Mediterranean and the northern Atlantic coasts, Sidi Ifni, the Tarfaya Strip and the Western Sahara; the latter comprised the plains and the main cities (Fes, Marrakesh, Casablanca and Rabat), as well as the Atlas. It was the French, who ruled their “protectorate” more closely, who had the most lasting effect on Moroccan culture, Europeanizing the cities to a strong degree and firmly imposing their language, which is spoken today by all educated Moroccans (after Moroccan Arabic or one of the three local Berber languages). Use of Spanish is dwindling fast, and very few young people today can speak it.
Broadly speaking, the coast is best enjoyed in the north at Tangier, beautiful and still shaped by its old “international” port status, Asilah and Larache, and in the south at El Jadida, at Essaouira, perhaps the most easy-going resort, or at remote Sidi Ifni. Agadir, the main package tour resort, is less worthwhile – but a functional enough base for exploration.
Inland, where the real interest of Morocco lies, the outstanding cities are Fes 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 to witness some city life which, in patterns and appearance, remains in large part medieval. For monuments, Fes is the highlight, though Marrakesh, the “beginning of the south”, is for most visitors the more enjoyable and exciting.
Travel in the south – roughly beyond a line drawn between Casablanca and Meknes – 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) are beautiful and accessible.
Hiking in the High Atlas, especially around North Africa’s highest peak, Djebel Toubkal, is in fact something of a growth industry. Even if you are no more than a casual walker, it’s worth considering, with summer treks possible at all levels of experience and altitude. And, despite inroads made by commercialization, it remains essentially “undiscovered” – like the Alps must have been in the nineteenth century.
Equally exploratory in mood are the great southern routes beyond – and across – 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 four-wheel-drive vehicles or by getting lifts on local camions (lorries), sharing space with the market produce and livestock.
The oases, around Tinerhir, Zagora and Erfoud, or (for the committed) Tata or Figuig, 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.
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.
Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh
Mosquée Hassan II, Casablanca
Le Bougainviller café, Marrakesh
Tajines
Like paella or casserole, the word tajine strictly refers to a vessel rather than to the food cooked in it. A tajine is a heavy ceramic plate covered with a conical lid of the same material. The prettiest tajines, decorated in all sorts of colours and designs, come from Safi, but the best tajines for actual use are plain reddish-brown in colour, and come from Salé. The food in a tajine is arranged with the meat in the middle and the vegetables piled up around it. Then the lid is put on, and the tajine is left to cook slowly over a low light, or better still, over a charcoal stove (kanoun), usually one made specifically for the tajine and sold with it. The classic tajines combine meat with fruit and spices. Chicken is traditionally cooked in a tajine with green olives and lemons preserved in brine. Lamb or beef are often cooked with prunes and almonds. When eating a tajine, you start on the outside with the vegetables, and work your way to the meat at the heart of the dish, scooping up the food with bread.
Hammams
“Hammam” means bath or bathroom, but in particular a traditional bathhouse, or “Turkish bath”. Actually the North African steam bath dates back to Roman times, and the principle of a hammam is the same as that of a Roman bath. There is a hot room where you gather around you all the buckets of hot and cold water that you need, clean a space for yourself on the floor, and then lie down on it and sweat out all the dirt. Then you, or a friend, or the hammam attendant, scrub your skin with a rough glove called a kissa, or with a loofah. For men and women alike, the hammam is a place to socialize, and for female travellers, it’s a great place to meet Moroccan women. For men, the big time to visit the hammam is before Friday prayers. When you’ve sweated it all out and rubbed it all off, you emerge glowing and also very relaxed. Ideally, you then rest in the changing room a while before heading for home (women) or a café (men) to enjoy a nice cup of mint tea.