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2. Essentials
Passport and Visa Information
At time of writing, British, American, Canadian, Australian,
and Irish nationals do not require a visa to travel to Morocco,
just a valid passport. Be advised that if your date of exit
from Morocco is less than six months before the expiry of
your passport you may be refused entry into the country. Similar
rules apply to most EC countries, but please check with the
relevant Consulate well in advance of your holiday as it is
your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct documentation
to enter the country. On arrival in Morocco, you will have
to submit a visitor’s card which you will have been
given to fill in on the plane and this will entitle you to
stay in Morocco for up to 90 days.
Money
The currency in Morocco is the Dirham, a currency not available
outside Morocco. In major cities there are plenty of foreign
exchange facilities and cashpoints accepting Mastercard, Visa,
Maestro and Cirrus. Most city restaurants accept payment by
credit card. Although accommodation and most of your meals
are included in each trip, you will need some spending money
for meals that are not included, bar bills, tips and souvenirs.
Please refer to specific trip dossiers for suggestions on
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Health and Vaccinations
It is important that you have both a dental and medical check-up
before the holiday. There are no compulsory vaccinations required
for Morocco when travelling from the UK, although we recommend
inoculations against tetanus, hepatitis A, polio, and typhoid.Vaccinations
can be obtained from your local doctor or medical centre.
They will be able to notify any changes to these recommendations
and confirm which you need to update. Allow at least 1 month
to get these vaccinations before you travel.
On all our trips each guide is a qualified First-Aider and
a comprehensive medical kit is carried at all times. If you
require specific medication then we strongly advise you obtain
these prior to departure.
Language
The official language of Morocco is Arabic, although French
is widely spoken, particularly in large cities. Some English
is spoken at hotels, restaurants and shops but it is useful
to have a sprinkling of French to improve your enjoyment of
your trip. In mountain areas various dialects of Berber are
spoken, and in more remote villages not even Arabic is spoken,
let alone French or English!
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3. Travel tips
Telephone / Internet
Calls from Morocco can be made from “Teleboutiques”
which are to be found in all but the most remote places. From
here you can make reverse charge calls and cabins are always
supervised if you need any help. Cybercafes can be found in
most large towns, but never in villages. Prices are normally
very reasonable at about 50p/0.70EURO (7-8 dirhams) per hour.
Camera Film and photography
Morocco is as photogenic a place as you will find, with clear
light, beautiful landscapes and plenty of character. However,
photographic representations of people are extremely uncommon
in Islam and are usually reserved for passport and administrative
pictures. Please do not take photos of people without prior
permission and if someone is clearly not happy to be your
subject do not persist.
Print film (Kodak,Fuji) is widely available (from 200 ASA
up), but slide film of 100 ASA or less can be very difficult
to find. Slide film of 50 ASA is highly recommended for Moroccan
light and high colour saturation.
Electricity
Electricity supply in Morocco is 220V, 50Hz and you will need
an adaptor for the European two round pin system which is
used in Morocco.
Time
Morocco is on GMT – Greenwich Mean Time – year
round. That means during winter as per the UK and in summer
an hour behind.
Tipping, shopping and haggling
Tipping in Morocco is discretional and usually amounts to
about 10% of your bill. That goes for bars, cafes and restaurants.
Taxi drivers will accept a tip if offered but do not feel
obliged as Moroccans will rarely leave a tip.
After your trek it is customary to tip your Moroccan guide,
driver(s), and/or mule handler(s) provided you feel you have
received good treatment. There’s no set amount as this
often depends on group size, but as a guideline around £20
(or 300 Dirhams) should cover your share of all tips for a
week’s trip.
When shopping for souvenirs in the souq (markets) it is normal
to haggle. Don’t be alarmed by the shopkeeper’s
inflated starting price as you can usually hope to finish
up at about half of this. It can be a frustrating experience
but it always pays off to stay calm and good humoured and
the general idea is to come away feeling that you got good
value for your purchase. In other words there’s no right
or wrong price, just a price that suits both parties and everyone
goes away happy. In upmarket boutiques haggling is not appropriate.
Food
Morocco has one of the world’s most celebrated cuisines.
Typical dishes include meat tajines (spiced lamb or beef stew
often incorporating fruit), couscous, spiced kebabs, briouats
(flakey pastry parcels of spiced meat or fish), harira (bean
soup), and superb pastries made with almond paste and honey.
Restaurants in Marrakech range from basic food stalls to full-blown
palace restaurants offering Moroccan specialities.
There are also good quality French, Italian and Chinese restaurants.
Elsewhere, it’s strictly Moroccan fare served with
freshly-baked Berber flatbread. Traditionally Moroccans eat
with their hands, using bread as a scoop into a communal bowl
in the centre of the table. Berber houses don’t even
possess western cutlery, although even the lowest grade of
restaurants will have a stock should any foreigners drop in.
Note that when eating from a communal bowl it is only appropriate
to use your right hand.
Moroccan food is generally heavily meat-orientated and vegetarians
may find that their options are rather uninspiring and very
limited.
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Alcohol in Morocco
Alcohol is not widely available in Morocco, although larger
hotels, foreign-owned auberges and upmarket restaurants sell
it. Marrakech, Agadir and Casablanca are well-endowed with
bars (usually of the fairly expensive variety) but small towns
usually have no bars and no off-licences. Many of the hotels
we use on our tours are not licensed to serve alcohol, although
we can buy wine/beer in large towns or prior to departure
as you are often permitted to “bring your own”.
Dress
No specific dress-code exists in Morocco but it is recommended
that you dress conservatively and adhere to a few basic rules.
Marrakech and the big cities are cosmopolitan places and you
can wear pretty much what you like, although women are recommended
to cover up shoulders and legs above the knee. In rural communities,
vest tops and short shorts (above the knee) are regarded as
underwear and may cause offence. We therefore recommend t-shirts,
cotton shirts, long shorts or long lightweight trousers. Clearly,
in uninhabited areas there is no particular dress code.
Security and Crime
Morocco is generally a very safe place to visit. Criminal
activity is rare and violent crime extremely rare. That
said, always look after your valuables as theft from cars
and hotels is not unheard of. We recommend wearing a money
belt as a good way to keep your valuables on you at all times.
Hammams
A traditional hammam (steam bath) is the perfect remedy for
those seeking a truly envigorating Moroccan experience. The
hammam is traditionally a place for men or women to meet (separately)
and chat whilst being scrubbed clean and massaged. Hammams
are a hive of activity and noise, and many exhibit fine examples
of Moroccan architecture, with vaulted ceilings, tadelakt
(clay) walls and elaborately tiled floors.
After spending as much time as you can bear in the steam room
you proceed to a cooler room for a scrub with a coarse glove
and black soap before being manipulated by a masseur or masseuse.
Then it’s time for some quiet contemplation in the “salle
de repos” (rest room). Be advised that at hammams males
and females are strictly segregated and in female sections
women usually go naked, but you can bring along a swimming
costume if you prefer not to. Nudity in the male world is
taboo, so men keep their trunks on! All Moroccan towns have
hammams as do many hotels and auberges.
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4. Background
Religion and culture
Much of Moroccan culture revolves around religion and the
family. Although fairly liberal by the standards of many Muslim
countries, Islam is still a way of life for the majority.
Even those who don’t visit the local mosque five times
a day (as decreed by the Qu’ran) have strong religious
beliefs. Most social events centre around the family, with
wedding and birth celebrations going on for days on end. However,
the country is changing at a lightning fast pace, with young
urban Moroccans taking their cue from French culture, bars
and nightclubs opening up in cities, and improving rights
for women under the young and forward-thinking King Mohamed
VI.
That said, Morocco remains a poor country with a huge proportion
of the 30 million strong population living on very limited
means. The rich minority continue to pull the strings and
the economic gap between the swish modern urban centres and
rural communities continues to widen. On our tours through
Morocco, this fact will certainly not escape one’s notice.
Moroccans are, generally-speaking, warm, friendly, well-mannered
and extremely hospitable people who are always pleased to
welcome foreign visitors to their country.
History
Some important landmarks in the history of Morocco:
146AD Volubilis (near Meknes) is established by the Romans
714 Berbers embrace Islam after first Arab incursions
788 First Arab dynasty established in Morocco
807 Idris II founds Fez
1062 Marrakech founded by the Almoravid dynasty
1062-1669 Series of dynasties take power and drive out Christianity
1912 The Treaty of Fez when Morocco becomes a French protectorate
1956 Morocco gains independence from France
1975 The Green March, where 350,000 Moroccans claim the Western
Sahara from Spain
1976 – Fate of the disputed territory remains undecided
1999 King Hassan II dies and his son Mohamed VI takes power
Geography
Morocco is the most mountainous country in North Africa and
has enormous variations in topography across the country.
There are numerous mountain ranges, the most important in
terms of land mass are the High Atlas, the Middle Atlas, the
Anti-Atlas and the Rif mountains. The Atlas mountains stretch
all the way from the Algerian border to the Atlantic coast
and have numerous sub-chains. In the south the volcanic ranges
of the Sirwa and the Saghro lie just south of the Atlas and
other more minor ranges extend towards the desert.
Marrakech sits on a flat (and quite fertile), plain and much
of central Morocco is fairly flat and classified as semi-arid.
Morocco has some 3000km of Atlantic and Mediterranean coast,
and much of the south of the country is classified as desert.
The south of the country in fact borders the Sahara desert.
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Environment and Wildlife
Morocco has a wide diversity of flora, from cedar forests
in the Middle Atlas, to oak, thuya and pine forests in the
High Atlas. Walnut and almond trees are also widespread in
the villages of the High Atlas. Coastal areas support more
“Mediterannean” vegetation, and the plains around
Marrakech are home to mile upon mile of olive groves and citrus
orchards. Vegetation peters out as you head into the deep
south, with acacia and date palm trees among the few species
to thrive. Spring is a wonderful time to visit the mountain
areas of Morocco when snow melt and warm sun spawn great carpets
of colourful wild flowers.
Morocco is an interesting and diverse destination for bird
watchers. Highlights include one of the last remaining colonies
of the bald ibis, on the Atlantic coast, and a huge variety
of birds found in mountain habitats. Morocco’s mammals
include the Barbary fallow deer, Barbary monkey, Atlas red
fox, and wild cats (rarely sighted). Snakes and scorpions
are prevalent in desert areas, but rarely cause injury to
man!
Climate
In a country the size of Morocco and in one with such varying
topography it is difficult to generalise about climate so
is best divided into zones:
Coastal areas tend to have a less extreme and more temperate
climate than the interior, feeling pleasantly warm in winter
and not ferociously hot in summer. Most Atlantic regions benefit
from a stiff sea breeze which keeps summer temperatures down,
and rainfall levels, although not high, are significantly
higher than in low lying areas in the interior of the country.
The plains of the interior, for example around Marrakech and
Fez show extremes of temperature, from punishingly hot in
summer (particularly during July and August) to cold in winter,
although the Moroccan sun is always hot, year round. Precipitation
levels are very low, and any rain that does fall is most likely
in November, February and April.
The Atlas mountains and their associated sub-ranges are subject
to variable climatic conditions with much higher levels of
precipitation (falling both as rain and snow in the high mountains),
and colder – often sub-zero – conditions. There
are significant regional variations, but generally the north
side of the mountains is more bearably hot in summer, and
colder in winter than the south side. Night time winter temperatures
can fall as low as -10ēC and daytime summer temperatures can
climb into the upper 30sēC.
The south of Morocco is notoriously hot in summer, particularly
on the fringes of the Sahara. It’s not the time to visit
these regions with burning hot sandstorms regularly flaring
up. In winter (particularly December and January), daytime
temperatures are very pleasant but there’s a dramatic
tailing off by evening time and at night temperatures can
drop well below freezing.
The north of Morocco is very lush by comparison as a result
of much higher rainfall and temperate conditions.
Please consult your trip dossier for information more specific
to your tour.
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