Mysterious Morocco

Just stroll around and relax!! It's called the Windy Town, so bring a jacket.

Quick Tips:

Don’t be afraid to try the local food - it’s really good! Bring your own toilet paper. It’s expensive for the Moroccans to buy, so most of the restaurants don’t supply it! Bad luck!

Best Way To Get Around:

Walk! You can´t drive in the alleys. Most buses stop outside the medina.

I lived in my own apartment, but I worked in the different hotels sometimes when I went to visit the customers at the different hotels, and this is the hotel I liked the most!! The staff is really, really nice! There’s also all kind of activities around the pool all day. The pool area is really nice. From the restaurant you have a beautiful view over the sea!

The evening scene is quite different, vibrant. It seems like thousands of people eat, drink, go shopping, or watch the performers. It is like a big open-air show. The locals and tourists mix, and there are large crowds around the storytellers. Musicians and soothsayers, showmen, tooth-pullers, fortune-tellers, snake charmers, herbalists, and carpet dealers attract the crowds, the smoke rises from the meat grilling at stalls, and there is the aroma of spices everywhere.

Tagines: aromatic stews concocted in conical earthenware dishes
Terjla: the tart starter salad of tomatoes, garlic, spices, and of course, couscous in its myriad tasty mixtures.

As well as being delicious, mint tea is reputed to be the finest calmer of stomach conditions. Moroccans like their mint tea very sweet - the people here apparently consume more sugar per head than in any other country.

The beach is very long! Like a mini Copacabana! There are some vendors, but if you choose to rent a sun bed, you don't have to bother going to them. They just walk along the beach trying to sell stuff. The donuts are really good!

Pearl of the South, Jewel of the South, The Rose City: just a few of the nicknames Marrakesh has acquired over the years. The pearl and the jewel symbolize its importance as the center of Morocco ever since it was a trading and resting place on the crossroads of ancient caravan routes from Timbuktu. The rose attests to a city still painted entirely in pink in keeping with the red-clay earth below. Once called Morocco City by foreign travelers, Marrakesh eventually lent its name to the country itself. Part Berber, part Arab, and part African, Marrakesh is the heartbeat of Morocco, where palaces and monuments of unrivaled refinement sit calmly alongside the snake charmers and Gnaouan drums pulsing constantly from Djemâa el Fna Square, the most exuberant marketplace in the world.

Virtually unchanged since the Middle Ages, Marrakesh protects its mysterious labyrinthine medina, which hides sultans' palaces, the ornate mansions of rich merchants, and some of the most colorful bazaars in the Arab world. Late in the afternoon, Moroccans as well as foreigners crowd the Djemâa el Fna to hear storytellers and musicians perform, to see acrobats, and watch smoke rise from the outdoor food stalls as vendors whip up a wild array of fried fish, meats, salads, and such Moroccan delicacies as goat brain!

This intoxicating city is for the eyes, a place where even the refined elements have a roughness to them, yet what is rough has its own refinement. Apart from the many things to see and do, one of the most refreshing things about Marrakesh is that time slows down here. The helter-skelter of mopeds, Mercedes, donkey carts, and pedestrians in the streets is really just a mirage; beneath it all, you can feel a languor in the way people walk and the way they take time to stop and talk to each other, conducting their daily affairs much as their ancestors did. With its dramatic beauty and unhurried rhythm, the Jewel of the South can beckon even the most seasoned traveler to stop moving and stay forever.

This is a mysterious town, a pink town. A visit here is a must, as is a visit to Djeema El Fnaa, the old souk (at the marketplace).

Founded in 1070 to 1072 by the Almoravids, Marrakesh remained a political, economic, and cultural centre for a long period. Its influence was felt throughout the western Muslim world, from North Africa to Andalusia. It has several impressive monuments dating from that period: the Koutoubiya Mosque, the Kasbah, the battlements, monumental doors, gardens, etc. Later architectural jewels include the Bandiâ Palace, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, the Saadian Tombs, several great residences, and Place Jamaâ El Fna, a veritable open-air theatre.

The mountains around Tafraoute are the main attraction. They seem to avoid gravitation, as if they were held up by their sparkling colours alone. Situated 3,608 feet high deep in the heart of the Anti Atlas, the town is surrounded by rock formations, a riot of huge granite rocks scattered over the grandiose landscape. It is an extraordinarily scenic setting to be found no place else in Morocco.

The facades of the small houses are often painted with unusual designs of ochre or white and very picturesque; they give the homes a look of well-being. Erected by men who left the town to seek their fortunes elsewhere, these houses are some of the most prosperous-looking rural structures to be found in Morocco. Most of the men are grocers in large Moroccan cities or immigrants in Europe and return, usually once a year, to see their families. With them, they bring money to build these abodes and generally introduce prosperity to this small town of about 6,000 inhabitants.

Stop a while in the center of town to explore a rug market. It’s the usual tourist trap for guided tours, but you can really make a great deal for a beautiful carpet!

This used to be one of the best-kept secrets of Morocco. It was the most beautiful little beach town. The medina was especially wide and beautiful. The fortress was built by the Portuguese and added so much to the ambience of this little fishing town.

The main things for sale in Essouira were woodwork and carpets. And, of course, you had to have fresh seafood. When in the area around Essouira, check out the Argan Valley. Goats actually climbed the trees there to eat from the Argan trees. Truly amazing!

In the 50s and 60s, Essaouira became a favourite refuge for rock stars (Cat Stevens, Jimmy Hendrix...) in need of rest and relaxation; Orson Welles shot his famous film Othello there.

Today, numerous foreigners are settling in Essaouira, restoring the old houses of the Kasbah and opening hotels and restaurants, all careful to respect the town’s heritage and traditions