Morocco

Morocco tour account – Linda Lakatos, office manager

Entering into the medina, the walled city section of Morocco’s capital, Marrakech, is nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. The souk contains booth after booth of wares, including local clothes, furniture, rugs, lamp fixtures, spices and exotic foods. Of all the adjectives that could be used to describe the souk, I think eclectic is the most fitting.

After adventuring around for a while in this, one of Africa’s most exciting destinations, (and exclaiming, “Wow! Come look at this!” around every corner), we hired a tour guide to take us through the lesser-known areas of the souk. Our Moroccan escort took us into the back, where the trades are made as Marrakech wholesalers negotiate with local venders and we got to see raw materials such as leather to make shoes, wool that would soon become a rug, dyes used for clothing, and animals that would soon be for sale. It was the staging area for the souk. 

After leaving our tour guide behind, we went exploring a little more and in every direction we turned, there seemed to be a helpful Moroccan that would make sure that we knew where the centre of the souk was. This was where all the action was happening. When I approached the focal point, I saw there was a cock fight in one circle, a dancing monkey in another, a local playing a flute to a dancing cobra…It was nothing like I’d ever witnessed, either in Morocco, Africa or elsewhere!

After leaving this centre square, we asked a local about visiting a hamam-a local Turkish bath house. They pointed us in the right direction and made sure that we were clear on the door we should use so that we would go in the women’s bath, not the men’s. After we entered, we realized why: everyone in the hamam was naked. With a bit of a language barrier, we managed to communicate that we’d like a massage. We undressed and a local woman proceeded to lather us up with a gel-like soap and scrub us down. I was so relaxed after this experience I could barely walk. In fact, I walked right into a Berber gentleman crossing the street right in front of me. It was as though I were walking on a cloud and we opted to sit at a café for a drink before continuing on our journey.

Before leaving the souks of Marrakech, we opted to take one more look at the central square. It had completely transformed. The live dancing animals were no longer there; they had been replaced by a food fare, with some animal heads to be eaten (presumably from the animals that we had seen being traded earlier), some food that looked like worms, some that I recognized to be vegetables, and some that you would expect at a food stand in Marrakech, like your tagines, couscous and soups.

We left the medina with a whole bunch of souvenirs; some for us, some for friends and family back home. We also indulged in some of the more familiar food, some fresh vegetables, olives, cheese, a bottle of local wine and, of course, some fresh mint for after dinner tea, and had a wonderful picnic at our apartment hotel just outside the medina where it was little quieter.

All in all, our Morocco adventure proved to be a most wonderful experience.

Only the 15kms of the Gibraltar Strait separate Morocco from Europe, but setting foot on Moroccan soil brings with it the realization of how different the two actually are. However, Morocco does display some decidedly European traits, due to both its proximity to, and past incursions from, peoples on the neighbouring continent and is, as such, often considered as a gateway country; where Europeans can ease themselves into the drastically different African culture, so too can Africans get a taste of Europe without wholly immersing themselves in a foreign society in a foreign land. Morocco as a tour destination is becoming evermore popular and is not by any means restricted to those looking for a first taste of Africa. On the contrary, Morocco is a place that travellers return to year after year, a fact that speaks to the alluring nature of the country and its people.


Topographically speaking, Morocco is about as varied as it gets. From the towering peaks of the Atlas mountains to the miles of superlative gold-sand beaches on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and from the wide, rolling coastal plains where most of the country’s population can be found to the harsh extremes of the southern Saharan regions; Morocco has plenty of eye-catching landscapes to take in, and plenty of activities to partake of. Where relaxing tours can limit themselves to the areas on and around the sun-drenched beaches, more adventurous tours can involve hiking in the mountains, camel riding in the deserts, or getting the feet wet with some watersports along the coasts.

Morocco has a diversity of inhabitant that equals its diversity in geography. Foreign influences, invading armies and immigrating refugees throughout the ages have moulded Morocco into the melting pot of cultures that it is today and there exists in Morocco, to name but a few, descendants of Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Andalusians, sub-Saharan Africans and the indigenous Berbers. The result is that travellers are greeted not only with an eclectic mix of traditions and customs in the people they meet, but also treated to an array of architectural styles from a multitude of eras—Roman ruins, Berber fortresses and Islamic monuments, for example. However, though buildings like the impressive Palais Royal in Rabat and the fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Site, the medina in Fes, are definite points of interest on a tour, the most common given reason for return tours to Morocco is the hospitality of the locals.

One of Morocco's greatest lures for travellers is that it acts as something of a gateway between Europe and Africa. Incorporating elements of both continents into its cultural fabric, Morocco is the perfect destination for Europeans looking to get a taste of what Africa has to offer and vice versa. Combining this with sparkling golden beaches on its Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, arid Sahara regions ideal for camel trekking and an ethnically diverse and highly hospitable population, Morocco offers a vast range of sight and activity enough to please all visitors; whether you're looking for historic attractions, beautiful scenery or a glimpse into a wholly different way of life without sacrificing the familiar comforts of your familiar surroundings, Morocco's the place for you.