Morocco
Background information
Practical information
Background information
Celebrations and festivals
Markets, dance, music and storytelling
The weekly markets brighten daily life in Morocco. Many weekly markets are held in villages at the foot of the mountains, to enable the Berbers from the mountains to sell their produce and clothes and buy industrial goods. These are often places where you will see people in traditional costumes. At festivals, dances are performed in which the women and men dance in separate circles. The dance music is a monotonous repetition of simple melodies, often in question and answer form, with the circle repeating what is sang by the leader. Meanwhile the intensity of the music is steadily increased, through higher volume and faster rhythms. Gradually, the dancers become totally absorbed in the music, and slipping into a trance is not uncommon.
Exciting to watch are the performances of the gnaoua, mostly black dancers who perform acrobatic dances to the sound of large drums. They can be seen on Djemaa el-Fna square in Marrakech and at the festivals in the southern oases. Storytellers tour the villages and towns going from square to square to dish up thrilling or comical tales. Besides narrated stories, it is common to hear narrative songs, executed to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument, like our medieval minstrels.
Islamic festive days
As the Islamic calendar is based on the observance of the moon, the festive days are in different days each year. In 20, the Eid al Adha (feast of sacrifice) is on ...Ramadan, a month of fasting, can be inconvenient for tourists, as many restaurants close and eating and drinking in public is not appreciated. However, tourists are catered for and looked after. It is obvious that it is not wise to eat in front of fasting people. In 2010, Ramadan is from August 11. The Eid al Fitr, the feast marking the end of fasting, is on 10 September. By the way, the Ramadan starts when the new moon is seen. Hence, it can start a day later than announced.
Fixed festive days
1 January (New Year’s Day), 1 May (Labour Day), 30 July (Throne Day of King Mohammed VI), 14 August (Day of the Territorial Integration of the Western Sahara), 21 August (Birthday of King Mohamed VI), 6 November (Commemoration of the Green March into the Western Sahara), 18 November (Independence Day).
Cultural differences and habits
The cultural differences between Europeans and Moroccans are so vast that one could write a book about them. Below you will find an overview of the most important points.
Moroccans tend to be rather modest, reserved people who will not admit strangers into their private sphere. However, their initial stiffness may disappear very suddenly, and then they are known to display a level of hospitality that is so overwhelming that it makes Europeans feel uneasy rather than honoured. Further on, under the heading Food and Drink, we will go into this deeper.
An important distinction in Islam is the one between ‘hallal’ (that which is in agreement with the Quran) and ‘haram’, that which is against the letter or the spirit of Quran. These concepts are used in the first place for food and drink. Alcohol and pork are haram and should not be taken by Muslims. However, the concept is used also in a wider sense. Moroccans attach great value to the amount of respect shown. Age receives respect, as do people who serve society, such as teachers, and people who are devout Muslims. Although as a westerner, you are bound to be a Christian, you can still command respect: be well behaved and you will be treated respectfully. If, however, you behave in a ‘haram’ way, there is a markedly greater chance that you will be mistreated, or ripped off, or robbed. Being sparsely dressed as a woman, being drunk in public, or showing one’s homosexual nature openly are the types of behaviour that are viewed as ‘haram’.
It is not allowed for Christians to visit mosques in Morocco. An exception is the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, but only during the tours given in daytime, and under special circumstances you can enter any small local mosque you may be invited into. Medersa or Quran schools often are accessible.
When you agree to meet at two, you go there at three and wait until four and after another hour or so you go home again,’ according to a saying about keeping appointments. We come from a highly busy culture in which time is money and appointments need to be kept to the minute, or the day’s schedule will be messed up. Moroccans take a different view and it is well accepted to be half an hour late for a social appointment. However, if you make an agreement with a taxi-driver to bring you to the airport, he is sure to understand that he has to be in time.
A surprising phenomenon is the ‘Arabic telephone’. Moroccans have a much more extensive social network than the average European and they use this in a highly efficient way to keep abreast of the activities of hundreds of people. During a conversation, tens of people may briefly break in. In the tourist cities, the guides and traders use the same system to pass on information on new visitors. Within a few hours, dozens of people know where you are from, in which hotel you are staying and what you bought, and they do like to show you that they know.
Besides, they all have relatives and friends who live in the area where you are from. This is a way for them to prove there is a relationship. If this confuses you, remember it is their way to know what you are interested in and which price level they can offer you. If you tell someone that you are in Morocco for the first time and stay at a five-star hotel, they will immediately ask double the amount they will charge someone who says he has been to Morocco before and stays at a simple medium-range hotel.
Women and dress
Women need to cover themselves as fully as possible, preferably with long sleeves, no low-neck lines and a knee-length skirt. In larger cities such as Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakech you can be less severe. Women with long blond hair would be wise to wear a headscarf if they dislike attracting unpleasant male attention. Only in Agadir and other larger beach resorts is it possible to be less covered. Swimming in a swimming costume or bikini is OK there, however, you cannot wear it on the street. Men can wear shorts (you’ll stand out but it is not offensive), but a bare chest is not done.
In General
Be aware that you are visiting a country where people have different ways. It is not them that behave deviantly; it is you that is different.
Food and drinks
Food: Places to eat can be found in all cities and larger villages. They vary from simple snack bars, often for local workers, to chic restaurants in the old palaces of the medinas in the big cities.Here you can spend hundreds of dirham on Moroccan haute-cuisine, often in combination with music and dance. In most of the medium-priced hotels, a limited range of salads, Moroccan and often Spanish or Italian type food is served, usually good enough and for a reasonable price, but nothing special. In the big cities, international restaurant and fast food chains have entered the market.
Meat is often the main base of Moroccan cuisine and meat stock is commonly used for soups. Bread is also a staple part of every meal. If you are vegetarian, or have allergies or special dietary requirements you may find your choice is limited, most particularly in rural and more remote areas.
Breakfast: Moroccans will often have breakfast consisting of tea, some dates and bread, a cooked egg and some olives. In the hotels, versions of the well-known Continental breakfast are served: French bread, jam, and sometimes croissants or cakes. Almost always fresh orange-juice is served.
Lunch and dinner :In Morocco two hot meals are eaten daily: lunch and dinner. The cheapest meal is the filling soup, harira, which is the starter during the fasting month of Ramadan, when people eat together after sunset. It is on all the menus year-round for a couple of dirham, and can always be served quickly as it is always ready. Many food stalls and smaller restaurants sell brochettes - skewers with grilled meat, sausages, meatballs or liver, primarily goat and sheep. These are usually served with French fries and salad for prices ranging between 20 and 40 dirham. Couscous and tajine are the most typical Moroccan dishes. Couscous is the national dish and is never absent on festive days. This dish is made of steamed semolina (crushed grains), served with a stew of vegetables, meat (usually lamb) and spices, in its juices. Tajine is a stew made of potatoes, several types of vegetable and meat on a china plate by the same name with a high ceramic cone fitting over it. Through its height, the tajine works as an oven, as the hot air circulates in the cone. Tajines come in many versions – ranging from a simple meal with some potatoes and bony pieces of goat costing maybe 20 dirham in a food stall for market sellers, to a sophisticated dish made of tender lamb, with onions, various vegetables, olives, nuts, and prunes, served in a prettily painted tajine decorated with a silver lining. The taste of the tajine will always be comparable, due to the set of spices used. The size of the tajine is chosen for the size of the company, some of them can feed as many as seven people. The dish is eaten with the right hand or with a fork, and everybody can pick up pieces from the tajine and nibble them, or break the accompanying bread and dip it in the juice and spoon up pieces of vegetable or meat with it.
Important festive dishes are mechoui, roast lamb and pastilla, which are eaten primarily in Fès, an oven dish of pigeon and almonds in thin puff pastry. If you want to eat these dishes in a restaurant, you will have to order them a day in advance. A delicious dish, which takes less time to prepare, is poulet au citron – tender chicken, simmered with olives and lemon. Sweet food is in good supply. A typical Moroccan desert is beghrir, pancakes with butter and honey, which are eaten during Ramadan, following the harira. Be very careful about eating raw salads. The vegetables are generally rinsed with tap water, and it is the bacteria in this water that gives trouble to most people. To avoid stomach and intestinal problems, make sure you eat only well-cooked and baked food.
Drink: Tea is offered everywhere. In shops to make you feel at home and to ease the purchasing, and in every Moroccan house where you are invited. Nana or mint tea is the national traditional drink. It is made using Chinese green tea (usually of the brand Gunpowder), fresh mint leaves and large chunks of sugar that turn the tea into a seriously sweet drink. The brewing of tea is never done hurriedly; it is a ceremony that is performed with some pride. It is recommended to drink only bottled water, and never un-boiled tap water. The tap water is being chlorinated nowadays and is said to be potable in most cities, but still causes many people problems. The water in Meknes is an exception to this rule, for unknown reasons. Sidi Ali or Sidi Harazem are two common brands of mineral water; a 1-litre bottle sells at around 6 dirham. Mineral water is also available in small bottles, which are convenient to take in a daypack. In a restaurant or hotel the price is easily double this amount. Coffee is served with a glass of water, but this is almost always tap water. An excellent alternative is the fresh fruit juices, of which orange juice; grapefruit juice and real lemonade (lemon juice with water and sugar) are the best. Tasty but not very effective to quench thirst are fruit juices from a blender, called panaché – such as banana and avocado juice and almond milk. A very sweet delicacy is jus de fraises, whole strawberries in syrup, which is served in the spring. In smaller towns, alcohol is sometimes unavailable. After all, Morocco is an Islamic country, and the few bars for Moroccans tend to be hard to find – dark rooms where men sit around tables with empty bottles on them. Moroccans that drink in such places usually are not limiting themselves just to one beer. Most hotels and restaurants that cater for foreigners serve beer and wine. The most common beer brands are Stork and Flag, both are light lagers. Moroccan white wine is simple, light and fruity. Moroccan red wines tend to be of varying quality, from excellent to undrinkable. Recommended wines are Guerrouane (also white), Valpierre (also white) and Cabernet du President.
Landscape
Morocco is located in the northwestern corner of Africa. The African continent is separated from Europe by the Strait of Gibraltar. At the narrowest point, a mere 14km divides these two vastly different worlds. On the west coast along the Atlantic Ocean, you find the Meseta, the low-lying fertile coastal plain bordering the Atlantic Ocean, which gets so much rain that it is virtually entirely farmed. It is also home to the main cities: the big port of Casablanca, the capital Rabat, the royal cities of Fès and Meknes and the exotic royal city of the south, Marrakech. In the east, three widely different mountain ranges form a giant barrier against the Sahara Desert. These are, from northeast to southwest, the Middle Atlas, the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas. While the first two mountain ranges and the Rif Mountains came about in the Tertiary, as a consequence of the collision between the European and African continental plains, the Anti Atlas range is much older – one of the oldest in the world actually. Fossils found in the younger mountain ranges prove that the Rif, Middle Atlas and High Atlas were pushed up from the sea bottom. The High Atlas range towers high above the other mountain ranges, with the Jbel Toubkal (4,167m, 13,750ft) as North Africa’s highest peak. To the east and south of these mountains lies the mighty Sahara Desert, interrupted by the occasional green oasis along rivers rising in the High Atlas.
Population
Berbers and Arabs: Morocco has a population of an estimated 32 million. Forty per cent are Berbers who speak a Berber dialect as their mother tongue. The others speak Arabic. The Berber dialects are alike in three respects: they are all related to ancient Egyptian, they have a pure oral tradition with no written language, and are spoken predominantly by people living in or behind the mountains. Berbers from the Rif do not understand Berbers from the south and even over short distances; the dialects can be so different that people have to revert to Arabic to converse. All Berber dialects are interspersed with Arabic words. In 2004, written Berber (Tifinar) was introduced to a number of schools in Morocco. Arabic is a much more complicated language, with its own script – a language extensively used for science and literature, and the language in which the Quran, or Koran, was written. It is spoken in the whole of Northern Africa and the Middle East and inhabitants of Morocco will have no trouble understanding a national of Lebanon or Oman. The opposition Berber-Arab largely coincides with that between simple village dwellers who derive their identity from belonging to a common tribal group, and the more developed inhabitants of the Moroccan cities. Large parts of Morocco up to this day are too remote and inhospitable to reach. Life here is hard and people live a simple and isolated lifestyle within their tribal group. Their lineage often originates from a male ancestor, the marabout. It is in these remote areas that the Berber culture has been best conserved – a specific dialect and traditional costume, a life that is ruled by customary law and a clear tribal identity. The backbone of their religion is not in reciting Quran verses but in venerating a marabout. For centuries, the Berbers have had to defend themselves against each other and against the legions of the ruling Sultans, who often cruelly massacred them, mounting spears with their heads on top on the city walls. The most characteristic aspect of the Berber language may well be the tradition of oral history that is kept alive to this day. A language without a script relies on storytelling to pass down over the generations what is central in their thinking. Today on the Djemaa el-Fna square in Marrakech, you can see how everyday, listeners crowd together around the storytellers, spell-bound by their fantastic stories. In Berber culture, storytelling carries a lot of weight. To persuade a Berber, it is more important that you are a fluent speaker who can utter a harmonious flow of words, than dishing up a wealth of facts.
Another remarkable group is that of the Haratin, the black inhabitants of the southern oases. They, too, have been brought up speaking a Berber dialect, although they are not part of a Berber clan. The Haratin are placed low in the hierarchy and rarely intermarry with other groups. Probably, they are older residents than the Berbers – however, they could also have descended from black people who accompanied the caravans from the south, as traders or as slaves. Sultan Moulay Ismail imported over ten thousand people from black Africa to bodyguard him, following the example of the Ottoman Sultans. In Marrakech it is the Haratin who you can see performing acrobatics and dances to gnaoua rhythms.
Religion
‘La ilaha illa Allah. Muhammudu rasulu Allah.’ ‘There is nothing godly except God. Muhammad is his prophet.’ These words form the credo, the shahada - the first and most important of the five pillars or obligations of Islam, the religion of Morocco. The word ‘Islam’ literally means ‘submission to God’s will’. Five times daily, a Muslim should sit down in prayer and recite the shahada. Prior to the praying, the face, feet and arms are washed. The ritual of prayer, the salat, is the second pillar. At the times of the salat, a call is heard from the minaret. The other three obligations or pillars of Islam are: to give alms to the poor, or zakat, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, or sawm, and the haj, the pilgrimage to Mekka. These five pillars or obligations are prescribed in the Quran, the Holy Scripture of Islam that was received in the 7th century by the prophet Muhammad, or Mohammed. It is hard to witness Islam in Morocco. Non-believers are welcome in hardly any mosque in Morocco. The Moussems and other religious festivals are more accessible, although even here the most important rituals are screened off.
Muslim holy men: An important element in religious life in Morocco is the veneration of the over three thousand saints that have lived in the country, the marabouts and the tombs containing their bodies. In particular in the countryside, the veneration of the marabouts seems to be deeper rooted than the study of the Quran. Numerous characteristics are imputed to them, such as working miracles and healing the sick. The magical power of the marabout also helps to undo witchcraft. The site of a marabout is also the place where prayers are said for a good harvest – a place where the power of God, the baraka or life force, is present in concentrated form. The most common shape of a marabout is the qubba, a cube-shaped building with a white conical cupola as its roof. Each marabout has its own moussem, its religious annual festival, during which, believers come to pray, sacrifice, sing, dance and eat.
Weather and climate
Climate: Morocco has various different climate zones. The Atlantic coast and the northerly hill country, in which Meknes and Fès are situated, enjoy a warm sea climate with limited precipitation throughout the year. The higher mountain areas can get rather chilly. In summer, the days are hot here, and the nights are nice and fresh. In the south of the country, both Marrakech and the region behind the High Atlas have very limited precipitation, hot summers and large differences in temperature between day and night. The temperature in the Atlas Mountains is around zero from January till March, while the heat in the desert can reach temperatures of around 50 degrees in July and August.
Best time to travel: In general, the spring and the autumn offer a highly pleasant climate.
Other background information
Livelihoods
Morocco is still very much an agricultural country, with almost half of the population depending on agriculture and livestock husbandry for a living. In the western coastal plain and along the Souss River, there is some modern large-scale agriculture producing for exports, but the larger part of production is still derived from peasant farmers. They produce predominantly for their own family, selling the rest at the local market. Among the activities on the farms is agriculture, animal husbandry, spinning yarn and processing it into clothing, blankets and carpets. Among the main agricultural products are wheat, millet/sorghum, oats, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, melons, tomatoes and vegetables. In the mountains, small quantities of nuts, plums, apples and pears are grown, and the oases offer a great number of dates. Livestock numbers include 20 million sheep, roughly 5 million goats and 3 million cows. Also, poultry is held everywhere, in particular chickens and turkeys. Up to this day, hundreds of thousands of donkeys, mules and to a lesser extent horses and camels provide the means of transport. Officially, the agricultural sector contributes a mere 15% of the national product, but this includes only the traded part of the harvest.
Along the coast, fishing is an important livelihood base, and Moroccan fishermen bring home the biggest catch of sardines in the world. The main fishing ports are Tangier, Casablanca, El Jadida and Agadir. Thanks to the large sediments of phosphates, the mining of this ore makes Morocco the largest producer in the world. Phosphates are used to make artificial fertilizer. Small amounts of natural gas, coal and oil exist as well, although the amounts produced are nowhere near the country’s needs. Even with water, the country has severe shortages at most times of the year. The past decade was the wettest ever in recorded history, and for the first time in ages the groundwater level has gone up instead of down. Approximately one sixth of the population earn a livelihood in industry and crafts. The industrial sector is simple and processes mainly raw materials from agriculture, fisheries and phosphates mining. Building products for residential construction, such as bricks, cement and concrete iron, are important in a country where the population keeps growing. For tourists, handicrafts are interesting. Morocco has one of the most varied craft product ranges on offer in the world, a sector that has almost disappeared in the more developed economies.
Carved leather, painted china, silver and golden jewellery, processed wood and tiles are among the most important products in this sector. By now, a considerable banking sector has come about and other services are beginning to develop. The tourism sector in particular provides a good number of jobs and hard currencies, but it is not the stable and reliable motor of the economy the country would hope for. As a result of the Gulf War, tourism came to a nearly complete halt, although strong growth has occurred since. Likewise, the Islamic attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001 caused a major blow. The population is incredibly friendly and does not bear a grudge against foreigners, as we can attest from our travelling experiences recently. Apart from tourism, the money transferred by hundreds of thousands of relatives living abroad is of great importance to the country’s economy.
Architecture
The central place for prayers in an Islamic country is the mosque, where believers come together to pray and listen to preaching, particularly on Fridays. In Morocco these holy places are rarely open to non-believers. The structure and layout of a mosque is based on a common pattern, that of the prophet’s house in Mekka. From the outside, the minaret is the most conspicuous element of the mosque. From this tower, a call for prayer is issued. In Morocco, the square minaret of the 800 years old Koutoubia Mosque has served as the model for many minarets, including those of the modern Hassan II Mosque. The most important religious buildings that allow access to non-believers are the Quran schools or Medersa (medressas). In these often richly decorated buildings, theology and Islamic law have been taught from the early days of Islam. The most beautiful examples of these medressas originate from the Merinidian Period. Marrakech, Meknes and in particular Fès are home to the most important of these. Highly characteristic for all buildings in Morocco are the tiny windows and doors - the consequence of the extreme heat and cold and the need to defend. In large parts of the country, the agadir played a central role in the village. The agadir is a mostly square fortress with thick walls and turret holes, which served as a fortified warehouse for grain, weapons and valuables, as stables for the animals and in times of siege, as a refuge for the villagers. More often than not, the agadir is also a marabout, a grave of a saint. The spiritual protection is convenient. The most conspicuous building in the mountains and Southern Morocco is the ksar (plural: ksour), a rectangular, loam fortress with battlements and defence towers at each corner. Some of the ksour are known to have held up to a hundred families, the equivalent of more than 1000 people. Often the word ‘kasbah’ comes up in this context. ‘Kasbah’ is the generic name for all forms of fortified residence that exist in Morocco.
Art and crafts
Islam rendered visual art in a western sense, paintings, drawings and sculptures, virtually impossible, through the ban on depicting people and animals. Only literature manifests more freedom. Creativity has found its outlet in the decoration of buildings and domestic objects. When it comes to the embellishment of everyday utensils such as pots and pans, jewellery, furniture and carpets, Morocco ranks among the most remarkable countries. In the whole of Africa there is no country that has such a vivid tradition in arts and crafts! When you visit this country you will be delighted to stroll around the workshops and admire the carpets, jewellery, china and worked leather objects made there.
Practical information
Arrival information
It is wise to take it easy the first day you are in Morocco. Take time to acclimatize. The change of climate and culture can have quite an impact. Let the country and the atmosphere sink in, and do not plan much for the first day. That way you will be ready to take in this beautiful country at its best.
Electricity
Morocco has 220 volt, 50-hertz alternating current. Power-cuts are rare. In the High Atlas, the Jbel Siroua and the Jbel Saghro some villages do not yet have power.
Health
Below is a general primer on health for all our trips to the Middle East (Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Jordan). If some attention is paid to hygiene and skin care, one should enjoy good health, apart from some harmless intestinal problems.
Food and Drink :Tap water is not suitable for drinking; it is better to drink mineral water. In small eating-places, it is better not to order salads or fruits that have been prepared in advance. In the cities, it is wise to eat in busy places. Do not eat ice creams, except in expensive restaurants. Wash your hands well before eating, even if it is a snack.
Sun and Heat :Sunburn can be a major source of problems. The sun is bright and temperatures can easily reach 40 ˚C, especially in the months of May to September. Sunburn and sunstrokes are more easily caught than you might think. Avoid the sun in the hottest hours of the day, wear a hat and a pair of good sunglasses when walking and use a good sun tan lotion when sunbathing. Bring sun-tan lotion from home, where the choice is better and the prices lower. At high temperatures, remember the body’s moisture requirement goes up rapidly, as does its need for salt. Make sure you drink enough and when temperatures are really high, take it very easy.
Prickly Heat :Prickly heat is an inflammation of the pores that comes about as a consequence of excessive sweating. It is common and innocuous, but unpleasant. The skin becomes red and irritated. Places where skin touches skin are extra susceptible, such as armpits and thighs. The symptoms will become less if you shower several times a day (cold, no soap), and dry off well. Applying talcum powder at the sore points may help, too. In moist heat, sleep in a cotton shirt, rather than under a sheet. If you suffer badly, it is best to take a room with air-conditioning for a few nights.
Diarrhoea :Another common health problem apart from sunburn is diarrhoea. Holidaymakers sometimes suffer from it in the first few days of their trip. In most cases it is a completely innocuous phenomenon caused by a sudden change in diet, the heat or harmless bacteria, against which your body will quickly gain resistance. The main risk is dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body emits more moisture than it takes in. A feeling of listlessness and weakness is the result. To avoid dehydration, you should drink water mixed with an ORS solution. This powder, which is available from chemists’ in sachets, contains all minerals and sugars that the body loses as a result of diarrhoea. Instead, drink still soft drinks and salty broth or Bovril. In many cases, drinking cola can stop diarrhoea when it is in its early stages. If the diarrhoea comes with a high fever, blood in the faeces or vehement retching, call on a doctor. If the diarrhoea goes on for more than several days without the above phenomena, or if you have to travel, you can take a few intakes of ‘Imodium’. This opium-like preparation for a number of hours calls a complete halt to the bowel activity.
Doctors, Dispensaries and Medicines :Doctors and dispensary staff are generally well educated and trustworthy. However, when it comes to prescribing medicine, they do tend to use a canon ball to kill a mosquito, so you do wisely to ask very expressly if the medicine prescribed is really necessary. When buying medicine, note the date of packaging. A small travel first-aid kit could contain the following items: plasters, bandages, cotton wool, a small pair of scissors, a thermometer, iodine, pain-killers, malaria tablets, ORS sachets, Imodium or Diacure, insect repellent such as DEET and itch-alleviating ointment or stick. Do remember to bring some earplugs against the incredible noise made by urban Moroccans at night.
Medical Passport :If you need to take essential medicines regularly, bring double the amount you need for the trip and store the spare amount separately in your luggage. Ask your dispensary to draw up a medical passport for you, with the names of the substances and the exact composition of the medicines you use. Keep this document and your medicine in your hand luggage. If you suffer from a chronic disease, ask your GP for a statement about your condition and the therapy in English.
Vaccinations: Below you will find the latest GGD recommendations. This information is liable to change. Besides, what you need depends on earlier vaccinations you had, sensitivity to particular substances, pregnancy, age, etc. For this reason, ALWAYS get advice from your GP. The total requirement is DTP, Hepatitis-A and possibly typhus. There are no compulsory vaccinations, except when one has been in a region with yellow fever or cholera less than a fortnight before entering the Middle East. Inquire of your health insurance whether you can claim the vaccinations. Malaria: in Jordan, Morocco, Turkey and Egypt you do not have to take malaria pills. In Egypt, malaria is only found in the al-Faiyum Oasis and you will not be going there. During May to October, there is a risk of malaria in Syria. To protect yourself against malaria, it is recommended that you take anti-malaria pills. For more information, ask your GP.
Some more advice for a pleasant stay
Take time to allow your body and mind to adjust to the new time zone and location. Avoid stress; do not draw up a busy schedule. In any case, take it easy the first day. It is a good idea to get up early; in hot countries the morning temperature is often the most pleasant. Besides, the people in the country you are visiting are also used to getting up early. If you adjust to the local rhythm, you get the most out of it.
Info for people at home
Make sure that people at home know in which country you are and how long you will be gone for; maybe you could let them know on which day you will be in touch with them. Making long-distance phone calls is generally easy in Morocco. If someone will come and pick you up from the airport, send them the time of arrival and your flight number. Shoestring will not inform third parties of flight or travel information, hotel names or telephone numbers. For inquiries about delays they can call the airline, airport or view Teletext.
Contact person
In case of an emergency it is important for us to have details of someone we can contact on your behalf. You have entered a name on the booking form. It is possible that this person is on holiday during your trip. If so, enter a second person so that we are sure to be able to get in touch with somebody.
Luggage and clothing
Bring a pair of well worn-in walking boots and a pair of flip-flops - that is all your feet will need. In the months of April to October, summer clothing and a sweater for cool evenings will do perfectly. In the winter months (from December to February), evenings, nights and mornings can be cold, especially in the north, the mountains and the desert. When travelling in this period, take a warm jacket, rain gear and a fleece jacket. It is wise to bring a good pair of sunglasses from home, in Morocco these are expensive. Otherwise, remember the following: sun-tan lotion and after-sun lotion, disinfectant gel , toiletries, travel first-aid kit, hat or scarf, camera or video camera, (spare) camera batteries or film, penlight, pocket knife (do not put in hand luggage during the flight!), lighter, a small amount of snacks or sweets that are individually packed, alarm clock, towel, pen and paper, books, valid passport, sufficient cash, copies of passport and travel insurance (keep separately from the originals), air tickets, a travel insurance pass with the emergency number, diary with important addresses, travel guide. Please pack in a canvas bag or a backpack, not a hard suitcase, as those are inconvenient to transport. Bring, a small daypack or a shoulder bag for your daily hand luggage. To keep your cash and papers safe, take a money belt to wear underneath your clothes. In Morocco, women are not supposed to go out in showy clothes. Better to wear skirts and pants below the knee and shirts and t-shirts with (short) sleeves. For ladies, a hat or headscarf is also advisable, and it protects you against the sun. Following this dress code will keep you from attracting unwanted attention from Moroccan men. Outside the big cities, women are not supposed to walk around alone.
Money and currency
Money: The currency in Morocco is the Moroccan dirham (MAD). At the start of 2010, one euro was approx. 11,11 dirham. For the latest conversion rates, look at www.oanda.com. The dirham is made up of 100 centimes. There are coins worth 5, 10, 20 centimes, and 1/2, 1, 5 and 10 dirham, and notes worth 20, 50, 100 and 200 dirham. In the major cities, using the bigger notes is no problem, but it is not wise to bring only 200 dirham notes when visiting oases or small villages. Always have coins at hand.
Banking: We advise you to withdraw the larger part of your budget from one of the many cash machines now in Morocco. Do take care that the symbol on the cash machine matches the one on your card. Make sure you have enough dirham on you for when you will not be in a larger city for a few days. You can also take traveller’s cheques or cash. Traveller’s cheques are protected against theft but can sometimes be difficult to change, particularly outside major city centres. Hefty commission for changing travellers cheques can also be applied, so always have some hard currency as back-up.. Of course you can also change pound or euro notes in the larger tourist places. It is also possible to withdraw money with a credit card, but is relatively expensive. They can be useful in the more upmarket hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops. NB: American Express cards are not widely accepted in Morocco.
Please note – Scottish Pound notes, Canadian Dollars and Australian Dollars are often not recognised in Morocco and can be difficult to change. Pounds Sterling, Euro or US Dollars are the best currencies to carry.
Bargaining
To arrive at a reasonable price, you will generally have to bargain – in shops, markets but also for taxis. (However, taxis are obliged to have a meter with night rates.) In particular when buying more expensive souvenirs, you will have to allow time (preferably a few days, for half an hour a day). Your opening bid will typically be one third of what the salesman asks. However, this does not apply to gold, silver and gemstones, as here the margins are much smaller. It is important to understand that the salesman will first try to estimate how much he can ask. Sometimes, salesmen ask a ridiculously high figure. In that case, it is best not to start bargaining but just to walk away. It is also good to note that until you have mentioned a price, it is easier to step out of the bargaining process than after you have done a bid. You can feel tremendously pressurized to buy, but remember that the salesmen are among the best actors in the country, so whichever emotions they come up with, make sure you come out with your best result. Two other hints to boost your bargaining success: when you really like something, do not show it but express a mere casual interest, almost lack of it. Also, it makes things easier to first ask yourself what value you attach to the object in question and go for that price, rather than wanting to pull off the lowest possible price.
Pocket money
The pocket money we recommend is the minimum to pay for your meals, drinks, optional excursions, entry fees, local airport taxes and tips. Clearly, the amount that you spend depends on your personal purchasing behaviour, and for this reason expenditure on souvenirs is not included in the recommended pocket money. We suggest an amount of €200-250 per week.
Photography
Not all types of camera batteries are easy to find, so make sure you bring batteries that will last the entire trip. Do not have your photographs printed in Morocco, as there are frequent complaints of inferior quality.
Safety
Crime: Morocco is not an unsafe place per se and tourists are only sporadically affected by crime. Most people are honest, however, the average income is now less than one tenth of that of people in Western Europe. For many, it is not easy to get by. Tourists regularly become the victims of pickpockets in the big cities. Besides, clever swindlers operate in the country. In general, you can be sure you have met a crook, when someone sits next to you on a pavement café and starts a conversation, and you happen to run into the same person again in another place, where he asks a small favour. It may be the person is trying to find out where you keep your money, to enable an accomplice to rob you soon after. Do not change a large note in someone’s presence, and have some small change ready to pay for your coffee, rather than pull out an ostentatious purse or wallet.
Do not leave valuables in hotel rooms; keep money, passport and other important papers in a flat money-belt close to your skin or ask reception to lock them away, so not to tempt pick-pockets.
Women travelling: Some Moroccan men view European women in a different way. The traditional image of a Moroccan woman is that of a covered person avoiding the looks of men in order not to rouse their desires. From this point of view, a woman does not belong on the street unless accompanied by a chaperon (this may be a child). Most women from Western Europe do not reflect this image, nor do a growing number of Moroccan women from the major cities in Morocco. Some guys may take a short skirt or eye contact to be an invitation to make overtures. Those who do not want to run the risk would be wiser to travel with a companion. In case someone makes unwanted advances, be sure to act in a very assertive and clear way, but without being offensive. Particularly in a busy place, chances are that those around you will support you.
Time difference
Morocco operates on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This means that throughout most of the year the time in Morocco is the same as in the UK. This is not the case during the summer period when it is 1 hour behind.
Tipping
On the bills in expensive restaurants and bars, service and (luxury) taxes are included, but still a tip is expected. In cheap places, Moroccans do not give tips, but if you are satisfied you are welcome to leave one. Tipping in hotels and restaurants where you will return to has an extra purpose. As it makes staff much more considerate, it is wise to start tipping early on, rather than when you leave. It is good to realize that wages are low and hardly suffice for a decent living. Five dirham to carry luggage from and to the room is a reasonable tip. In most simple hotels, staff do not carry luggage to the rooms. Bus drivers also expect a tip for driving around a group, if they did a good job. A good measure here is 75-100 dirham per day (per group). The travel guide will also expect a tip at the end of the trip, if he/she has done well. Shoestring pays the guides a salary that is comparable to what is paid by other adventure travel companies; however, this is low. We recommend a tip of about € 1-2 per day (per person in the group).