Amazing Morocco: deserts, mountain resorts and luxurious riads

Amazing Morocco: deserts, mountain resorts and luxurious riads

If you think of Morocco as a deserted Muslim country with hotels along the coast, sleepy camels and clingy hookah sellers, you should definitely go there to find out. Morocco is different from other countries in North Africa – Tunisia and Egypt – its style, atmosphere and culture.

Here, everyone will find what he wants: a beach holiday, and the spirit of adventure, and new cultural discoveries, and a variety of curiosities that you will not find in any European mall.

Visiting Morocco for a period not exceeding 90 days does not require a visa, you can vacation here at any time of the year, which means that this picturesque country can always be kept in mind in case of an impulse idea “And fly tomorrow to the sea?

HOW TO GET THERE?

Direct flights from Moscow are provided only by charter flights, the number of which depends on the season.

Scheduled flights will take you to any big city in Morocco (Rabat, Agadir, Casablanca, Marrakech or Fez) in at least 8 hours with a connection in a European country.

My journey to Morocco from Europe began with the fact that at 9 am I crossed the Strait of Gibraltar by ferry and after two hours I got a stamp in my passport at the border of the African Kingdom – in the Spanish city of Seuta. Here you can watch Moroccan immigrants trying to climb over the six-meter Seuta wall to get illegally into Europe, but they have very little chance, as border guards are quick to catch troublemakers, and there are CCTV cameras and noise and motion detectors on the wall itself. Despite this atmosphere, it is safe to cross the border in this place, especially for tourists, who receive increased attention at the border – they will tell you everything, show you, escort you.

Immediately after the border control you have a choice – take a regular cab or Grand Taxi. The latter is 4 times cheaper and is the Moroccan version of the minibus – a beige Mercedes from the 80’s, the back seat of which must occupy at least 4 people, and two more – one seat in the front.

This option is worth using at least once for a unique experience; and the journey from the border to the city of Tangier is a good opportunity to feel like a Moroccan herring in a can.

From Tangier, you can continue traveling around the country by train, plane, or rental car. And if you are able to endure 3 hours in cramped quarters with unfamiliar Arabs in a Grand Taxi, you can continue to travel by it from city to city, in the name of His Majesty’s budget. In my case – with a height of 188 cm – this option fell away after the first trip.

Morocco is also not to be forgotten if you find yourself in the Canary Islands, where you can fly from Gran Canaria to Agadir in an hour and a half. This is a good option to get a different beach vacation experience.

WHAT TO DO.

Morocco should be at least 2 weeks, depending on what you want to get out of the trip. Each city is unique in its own way, you want to spend three days in each, and if you travel by car, you have the opportunity to stop in some small town where tourists don’t look – to experience authentic African exotics or, say, stop in the middle of the desert for a series of cool shots. All these things take time.

Speaking of deserts. From the southern part of Morocco, it is easy to get to the famous Sahara, where travel companies organize tours on camels and overnight stays.

Marrakech is the most popular tourist city in the kingdom. It is located far from the coast and surrounded by mountains, so in the summer months the temperature can reach 40 degrees and sometimes even higher.

There are large casinos, malls and European restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages even during Ramadan. In other parts of Morocco, this is much less or not at all.

In North Africa, the old town is called the medina: low residential buildings are adjacent to a large market where you can find everything: rare video equipment, musical instruments, clothing for every taste, the most fragrant parsley in the world and so on.

At its center is Jemaa el-Fna Square, where you can see performances by acrobats, snake charmer and musicians. Wandering around the medina, you will willy-nilly stop at all kinds of shops and bargain for the necessary or unnecessary things. If you do not look like an Arab, then the price of any item will automatically go up by 4 times. Your task is to bring it down as much as possible. And the better you can do it, the more you will be respected by the seller.

Historically, Moroccans are a nation of merchants. For them, the process of buying and selling is a certain ritual, a psychological game. If you don’t want to play by their rules, you will overpay for everything.

Of course, the language barrier plays an important role. The official language in Morocco is Arabic, unofficially French, but not everyone speaks it. Language of mimics and gestures, and numbers on a calculator are the most popular ways of communication between Moroccans and tourists.

WHERE TO STAY

The riad is a traditional Moroccan town house. From the street side, such a house looks inconspicuous: blank plastered walls and a wooden front door. But inside it is a real decorative riot: a garden in the patio, a fountain or a swimming pool. The rooms are luxuriously decorated with mosaics, colored glass and cedar wood. I would recommend staying in such riads, especially with a swimming pool, which can be a lifesaver in forty-degree heat.

WHAT TO SEE.

The more you travel around Morocco, the more you will see the diversity of the country. It’s hard to imagine, but there’s even a ski resort, the town of Ifrane, which was built by the French in the 1930s in the European style.

As for a beach holiday, the beaches of Agadir are more suitable for lovers of passive pastime by the sea, and the beaches of Essaouira and its surroundings – for lovers of surfing, windsurfing and similar activities.

Personally I liked Essaouira more than any other city. There is a very special atmosphere of stillness and serenity. The feeling when time stands still. Not for nothing was this place so loved by Jimmy Hendrix who is said to have wanted to create a hippie commune here.

Fans of Game of Thrones will immediately recognize the locations from the beloved TV series – the city’s fortresses still retain their medieval look.

Wide beach, warm sea breeze, long-haired surfers with white smiles, buildings painted in all shades of blue – you quickly get used to it and want to make the moment when you have to fly home as distant as possible.

Casablanca – this city seemed to me a kind of concentrate of African romance – because of the famous eponymous melodrama, which, truth be told, was filmed in 1942 not in Morocco, but in Hollywood.

The atmosphere of romance was created exclusively by the heroes of the film, and the city itself today serves as the economic center of the kingdom. It is interesting in terms of business, but not tourism.

Locals have advised not to stay there too long, because besides the great mosque of Hassan II there is nothing to see, and for a beach holiday is better to go to Agadir and Essaouira. But if you do end up in Casablanca, do not miss the opportunity to have dinner at the famous Rick’s Cafe (reservations in advance).