​The Kingdom of the Western Place

A beautiful and romanticized country that offers surfing on the ocean, camel riding in the desert, hiking to waterfalls, and exploring ancient civilizations. There is so much to see throughout this beautiful country, but fair warning, it is not for the faint of heart, as it is still a developing country where one needs to be cautious of scammers.

Fast Facts

  • The native people are called Berber, although Amazigh is a better term, since Berber is what led to the term “Barbaric”. As an Islamic country, there are plenty of mosques, scant opportunities for alcohol, and more conservative policies for dress, although the country is becming more progressive.

  • Historically, it was called the Kingdom of Marrakech, as Marrakech was the capital under three dynasties starting with the Muslim conquest in 700 AD leading to a switch to Islam and the Arabic language. It became known as the Kingdom of Fes when Fes became the capital for the remaining dynasties. It was only in the 19th century when the capital was moved to Rabat and continues to this day.

  • It is a monarchy, ruled by the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, whose portrait can be found in many restaurants and businesses throughout. While there is a Parliament with elected officials, the king still holds most of the executive power and appoints the prime minister.

Travel Tips

  • Often referred to as “a cold country with a hot sun”, warm daytime temperatures can quickly lead to colder nights with chilly winds.
  • While in most cities, it is possible to pay with credit card, most restaurants only accept Moroccan Dirham (MAD), so make sure to have a good amount.
    • For each person, I would recommend having 300 - 500 MAD a day for activities and food.
  • Haggling is the norm, so don’t be afraid to talk and negotiate prices. Speaking French or Arabic could be quite helpful.
  • It can be dangerous for solo travelers to walk around at night, especially in larger, complicated medinas like in Fes or Marrakech.
  • Note that there is quite a lot of racism, so be prepared for bigoted remarks and stereotyping.
SIM Cards
There are three main major licensed telecommunication companies providing SIM cards within Morocco. They are all located right outside the baggage claim in the airports and are much cheaper than buying an eSim. Generally, the service in Morocco isn't always the best, so using less than 1 GB per day is rather common. Packages roughly cost 1 GB per 1€ but larger packages have twice the amount of GB per €, so 20€ would equate to 40 GB.

  • Maroc Telecom: The largest operator in Morocco with the supposedly some of the best coverage; however, from my experience, it operated mostly within larger cities and strangely, near the Merzouga Desert.
  • Inwi: Second largest that has coverage on more remote roads.
  • Orange Maroc: Another prominent operator, but it is the least used of the three.
Transit
It is quite easy to get around Morocco. There are trains that run through the major cities and plenty of buses as well. While one can buy tickets online, sometimes the websites don't work, so it's recommended to head to the bus company or the train station and buy tickets directly from the billeterie/ticket office.

NOTE: There are kiosks in some of the stations but these don't always work as well, so I usually recommend talking to an actual person. They usually speak English, which can be helpful.
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  • Trains: ONCF is the main train company but Al Boraq is the high-speed rail between Tangier and Casablanca (Casa Voyageurs), the first high-speed rail in Africa

  • Bus: CTM is the main bus company. While I have been unsuccessful at booking tickets online, it is a great resource to check bus schedules and times, and then buy tickets at the bus stations.
Taxis
  • Taxi drivers will take Euros or MAD.
  • There are two types of taxis in each city. Grand Taxis (“Big Taxis”) that are roomier and more costly. Petit Taxis (“Small Taxis”) are generally cheaper and have meters inside that should be used for a good price. However, from experience, Petit Taxis don’t like to use their meter, so we negotiated for prices before getting into the taxi.
  • Like haggling in the souks, one should be willing to walk away, especially near train stations and airports where taxi drivers will offer VERY high prices. It’s good to have a good estimate for the distance to determine the price.
Driving in Morocco
Most of the cars in Morocco are manual, but car rental agencies have higher prices for automatic rentals. Generally, I would not recommend driving through Morocco when there are plenty of trains and buses, but here are some tips if one chooses to do so:

  1. Car rental agencies can take a long time with paperwork, so arrive early and have patience with the workers. Depending on the location, there's a chance they don't speak too much English, so be prepared.
  2. On the road, there are a few places where police officers will stop you along the road. Follow their instructions and pull over when instructed. Seeing foreign travelers, they will usually ask a few questions and let you go on your way.
  3. Other cars driving on the other side of two-lane roads might signal your car to ask about the presence of police officers on the road ahead. Flashing your headlights once asks the question or says no. Flashing your headlights multiple times, a hand wave, or using windshield wipers means yes.

Food

While most people know about couscous and tajine, Moroccan cuisine consists of so many other dishes with such delicious options. 


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Tajine dishes are quite varied, but all consist of food that is cooked within the earthenware pot. These are sizzling hot and saucy and pair well with different bread options. A few famous ones are as follows:

  • Mrouzia: Sweet and salty tajine made with lamb, almonds, raisins, cinnamon, saffron, and honey.
  • Gueddid: Made from sheep's ribs cut into strips, dried in the sun, and marinated with garlic, coriander, cumin, and salt.

However, there are a variety of different types of tajines one can try across the different regions and restaurants.
  • Couscous: A staple food made from steamed wheat granules, usually durum wheat. Shaped like small round pellets, they usually accompany each meal.
  • Kebabs/Skewers: Used interchangeably, these are dishes of marinated and grilled meat.
  • Amazigh Pizza: More of a flatbread than a pizza, it uses aromatic spices, a shredded meat-based topping, and occasionally cheese: all baked within a tajine.
  • Pastilla: Sweet and savory meat pies usually stuffed with pigeon or chicken, onions, almonds with cinnamon
  • Camel: Camel meat is more commonly found in Southern Morocco. One can find them on skewers, but it can still be difficult to find. If one wants to try it, Cafe Clock serves camel burgers!


Soups
  • Harira: Inherited from an Andalusian soup, it's made from dried vegetables, onions, diced meat, crushed tomatoes, spices, herbs, and lemon juice, with water and flour combined to give it a thicker texture. 
  • Barley Soup: Milk added to barley meal.
  • Chorba: Spicy tomato broth in which small vegetables and pasta are added in.
  • Bissara: Soup made from peas or beans scented with cumin, garlic, chili peper, and olive oil.
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Harira
Salads
  • Beetroot: Colorful side salad with a lemon vinagrette.
  • Zaalouk: Grilled eggplant and tomato salad.
  • Tektouka: Peppers and tomatoes seasoned with sweet peper and cumin.
  • Foul M'chermel: Fava bean salad in a broth of spices with preserved lemon, garlic, and coriander.
  • Carrot Salad: Carrots made with garlic, cumin, chili, parsley, olive oil, coriander, and lemon juice.
Street Food
  • Snails: Staple of Moroccan street food, snails are cooked in brown broth with a spice blend of ginger, salt, caraway, grains of green anise, peper, thyme, mint, orange peel, green tea, licorice root, and absinthe. They'll set a bowl in front of you and toothpicks to dig out the snails and throw the shells into a communal pot.
  • Cactus Figs: Fruit of the prickly pear cactus, also known as prickly pears. Vendors on the side of the street will peel them for you to eat and have you pluck out the fruit.
  • Sheep's Head: The head of a sheep is cleaned, cut in half, and boiled or steamed before being served with salt and caraway.
  • Tanjia: A specialty in Marrakesh, this should not be confused with tajine, but like tajine, tanjia refers to the container in which the food is cooked. Meat is usually cooked in earthen amphoras for 7-8 hours in the embers of an oven.
Bread
  • Khobz: Staple of Moroccan cuisine, this bread is served with almost all dishes and have a wide variety.
  • Beghrir: Crepe made from durum wheat usually covered in small holes and served with honey and butter
  • Msemen: Common breakfast crepe made from wheat flour, fine semolina, and water that puffs up. It is usually folded several times and cooked on cast iron. 
  • Tafernout: Southern Moroccan bread prepared in large dishes and cooked slowly on pebbles in terracotta ovens called Tafernout. 
  • Batbout: Roll of durum wheat semalina eaten with butter or honey and can often be stuffed with different vegetables, meat, or cheese.
  • Krachel: Orange blossom- water and anise bun  topped with sesame seeds that is served during breakfast and as a snack. During Ramadan, this is the most consumed cake.
Desserts
Desserts in Morocco mainly consist of a mixture of almond and orange blossom, mixed with additional spices. Some restaurants provide platters of desserts, which could make it difficult to distinguish between the different types of desserts.
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  • Gazelle Horns (Cornes de Gazelle): With no relation to actual gazelles other than possibly their shape, these croissants are made of almond paste and orange blossom. Their origins are from Fes. Some shops use additional flavors, such as the Maison Sucrée - Riad Zeitoun in Marrakech.
  • Mhencha: Almond paste rolled to resemble a snake.
  • Sellou (Slilou or Sfouf): Unbaked dessert roasted flour mixed with butter, honey, almonds, and sesame seeds.
  • Butter Ghoriba: Shortbread of flour, sugar, and butter usually flavored with cinnamon, orange blossom, and orange or lemon zest. This snack is commonly served with tea or coffee.
  • Shebakia (Chebakia): Traditional sesame and honey cookie usually consumed during Ramadan that is known for its distinct shape.
  • Almond Briouate: Moroccan pastry made from orange blossom water and cinnamon filled with almond paste and coated in honey. They are usually triangular-shaped and sometimes coated in sesame seeds.
  • Dates: A general snack throughout Morocco, date trees fill Morocco's landscape and are exceedingly sweet.
  • Dessert Pastilla: Another form of pastilla, these sweet pastillas are fried warka leaves stuffed with different sweet treats. There are multiple variants, but the classic is a Milk Pastilla, consisting of fried almonds and sugar covered with orange blossom water-flavored milk

Drinks

Morocco is known for their Maghrebi mint tea or Moroccan mint tea, or just mint tea in Morocco. Places will give you the option of having it with or without sugar. I made the mistake of asking for no sugar initially, as that is how I drink my tea normally, but sugar IS neccessary, since the leaves are steeped much longer and have a bitter taste without it.

The tea is a gunpowder green tea mixed with mint leaves, which is traditional to the Greater Maghreb area, which consists of North Africa.

NOTE: Tea and coffee are served in glassware, which can be frustrating when these beverages are hot. However, for the Moroccans, this is a way to see what they are drinking.
  • Freshly squeezed fruit juice
  • Camel milk: Surprisingly tangy drink. This can be hard to find, but further south, near the dessert, there are a few stores that specialize in the milk
  • Khoudenjal: Galangal (a medicinal plant from Asia that resembles ginger) is infused with other spices like ginseng, ginger, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Men enjoy drinking it because it's considered an aphrodisiac. The southern stalls in Jemaa el-Fna of Marrakech provide drinks out of large metal containers.

Water

While certain cities are considered to have "safe" drinking water, it is still recommended to buy water bottles or drink from filtration devices. Water bottles can be bought from various shops and restaurants. A 1.5-L bottle should cost from 5 - 10 MAD, although many places might sell them for much more.

Souk d’Épices (Spice Markets)

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Spice Market in Marrakech
Morocco is of course known for its spices. There are so many different types of spices and spice shops in a multitude of souks.

Most spices are priced based on 100 g. A good price should be around 30-50 MAD/100 g. Usually the better spice markets are ones that are hidden away from main streets and one can check multiple places before buying.

Note that when buying spices, the spice sellers will wine and dine you. They offer Moroccan mint tea, explain all the uses of the spices, and make great conversation. 

They’re most famous for Ras el Hanout, a combination of 46 different types of spices, roots, and leaves (although some spice places use up to 80) that are blended. It forms the base for most couscous and tajine dishes. There are multiple types of Ras el Hanout with different blends taste better with chicken, beef, or fish.
Spice markets also sell a few remedies and beauty products:
  • Black Soap: Made from olive oil and macerated olives, it is used for cleansing, moisturizing, and exfoliating the skin
  • Black Cumin: Originating from India, the crushed seeds are mixed with water and honey and drank to cure colds, sore throats, and aches/pains. 
    • Another method is to crush it and mix it with eucalyptus crystals  in small cloths. Then used as a smelling salt by closing one nostril and breathing the fabric through the other. This helps clear the sinuses and migraines.
  • Pomegranate Powder: Drying the skin and ground into powder, one drinks it to improve the digestive system.
  • Argan Oil: From the fruit of the native Argan tree, it is ground into a fine oil used by the Amazigh to apply on skin, hairs, and nails and another variant is used to relieve coughs. One type of argan oil can also be used as a dipping sauce
  • Mint Tea: There are multiple variants (including an Amazir version) that one can use to help with digestive functioning.
  • Eucalyptus Crystal: Eucalyptus leaves are infused within crystals. The process below highlights the way in which one can clear headaches and sinuses.
Video showing process for how spices are blended and packed
These crystals are placed into a small piece of fabric, rolled around in the hand, then sealed tightly. One then plugs one nostril and breathes through the other to remedy headaches and clear sinuses.
Shopkeeper rolling to prepare the medicine.

Language

Most people in Morocco speak either Arabic or Tamazight (Berber), an Afroasiatic language of the indigenous people in Northern Africa. Knowing Arabic or French is a major plus (as these two are the national languages). Most people there don’t speak English; however, some of the more touristy cities do have English-speakers. It’s also interesting to note that further north, people actually speak more Spanish than French due to the proximity to the Iberian Peninsula. ​
Words to Know
  • Medina: Walled cities usually filled with vendors selling goods in maze-like souks.
  • Souk: Any marketplace is referred to as a souk. In many cities, souks are within the medina.
  • Minaret: A type of tower built next to mosques where the Muslim call to prayer is projected.
  • Madrasa (medersa in French): Educational buildings/teaching institutes in Morocco.
  • Fundouk/funduq or caravanserai: Catered inns for merchants in the past to stable their camels, store goods, and rest after traveling across the Sahara.
  • Zellij: mosaic tilework

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