Wow, that was quite the 13 days/ 12 nights adventure touring Morocco. And I’m now writing from a beautiful, very western style beach resort in Taghazout, Morocco! PHEW!
A little context before jumping into our thoughts and experiences. First off, Morocco is WAY bigger than we ever realized. In fact, it’s a little bigger than Texas, yes, TEXAS! With that point of reference, I’ll restate that we spent 13 days and 12 nights driving around the country. Casablanca > Chefchaouen > Fes > Merzouga > Ouarzazate > Imlil > Marrakech > Essaouria > Taghazout, with many stops along the way.
At the bottom of this post I’ve included a quick itinerary recap that might be of interest and a good reminder for us. The irony is, this is not an atypical itinerary for many people, give or take a day or two and a city or two. For us it was the first fast moving and non-DIY tour on this year long adventure. Was it worth it? That’s the big question we’ll try to answer.
Starting in Casablanca we were warned, it’s a big city, it won’t feel like the rest of Morocco - that was good expectation setting, it was nothing like the rest of Morocco. For example the traffic in Casablanca and Marrakech is awful, but in Casablanca in particular there are no rules of the road. Boy was I glad we had a driver. You put your life in your hands crossing a street, cross walk or no cross walk. Left turns can be made from the furthest right lane AND cars line up parallel across an intersection to make the left turn. Imagine of a bunch of cars lined up like they were parked next to each other in a parking lot, ready to turn left when the opportunity presents itself.
Once we left Casablanca and headed towards Rabat and onto Chefchaouen, things got a bit more normal on the traffic / driving front, at least until we got to Marrakech! Some photos from Casblanca and Rabat:
Before we arrived in Morocco David and I were curious if the country would feel like a mix of Europe and Africa or not. The French ruled as protectorates for about 40 years in the 20th century and the country is physically so close to Europe. Within our first days, driving towards Chefchaouen that question was answered. Morocco is definitely Africa. There were so many similarities to our experiences in South Africa and Tanzania; people walking on and crossing the highways for one. In medium sized cities, towns and villages, donkeys and horses are a common mode of transport, carting crops, building materials, water, people and more. Trash littered the sides of the roads and the outdoor and nature spaces. The construction of homes (one of David’s fascinations as we’ve traveled) is not modern. And only since the last earthquake here (Sept 2023) has the government required permits and inspections for rebuilding in the villages with more modern considerations. Then there was the realization that squat potties were going to be a thing here… not my fav, especially when my own tissue is required (TMI?), but I’m learning.
After spending almost seven weeks on the Iberian Peninsula we had fallen in love with the influence the Moors had on the culture there - food, language, architecture, design, etc. We had mistakenly assumed we would arrive in Morocco and see the origins of this architecture - oh how naive we were, we never learned this part history in school! The Moors who conquered the Iberian Peninsula and lived there from the 8th to 15th centuries were not from the area we know today as Morocco. In fact the Berbers who lived in Morocco had fended off the Moors that came from the eastern part of North Africa for centuries.
So, where did that leave us? Morocco was not at all what we expected. Some of that beautiful architecture we loved was seen but brought with the French during their protectorate period (aka colonization) in the 20th century (1912 - 1956). We had it backwards! The Bahai Palace (pix below) show that influence, built in the 19th Century. The first photo also shows the Jewish influence at the time as many Jews fled the Iberian Peninsula in the 13th Century, some for North Africa.
Instead what we found in Morocco was more similar to Mexico in many ways. Adobe style homes made from bricks and rammed earth (clay and in this case mixed with bamboo which is found everywhere). The colors of the homes in the rural areas and cities like Marrakech and Fes, were the color of the earth in that area, shades of brown, tones of red and in the landscape blended into the mountainsides where they were built. A different kind of beauty, often spoiled by litter.
Each city has its own Medina, or old city. Not dissimilar to the old medieval towns of Europe, the medinas are comprised of small streets, alleys, family homes, with shop keepers of various crafts and foods (butcher, baker, produce, etc.). The medinas of Morocco varied from city to city, Chefchaouen was very touristy, Fes and Marrakech had a clear focus on artistry and the old crafts, metal workers, tanneries, weavers and more. What was similar across all was the touristy tchotchkes, the haggling and the reality that most of these medinas were not where locals shopped. Casablanca however was a whole other story. Yes there was the touristy section, but somehow David and I wandered into an area that was clearly for locals. The first photo below is of that area but doesn't capture the feeling we had, it was one of the few times on our adventures so far where we felt very out of place.
We did find beauty inside the walls of the Medina homes, homes of more affluent families called Riads or Dars. Today many of those homes are boutique hotels of sorts which allows travelers to see this living style and enjoy it first hand. Riads and Dars are both homes with one specific defining difference, a Riad’s courtyard will have a garden with water of some sort, a pool or fountain. A Dar will have a courtyard without the additional water features and thus a home of a less affluent family. From the outside you would never know of the beauty that exists inside these homes.
Additionally Moroccan history is rich and interwoven with Jewish history. Our visit to Volubilis in particular blew our minds. A Roman city that was once home to 20,000 people, at a time when Rome itself was about 60,000 people. This enormous ‘ruined’ city was a sight to see, one we weren’t expected or ready for. Our guide was amazing at helping us understand why the spot was chosen, who lived there - Jews with Berbers and Romans alike, and what their lives were like. In fact there is evidence that Jews lived in this area prior to the Roman period, having fled the destruction of the First or Second Temple, arriving in the 6th century BCE or first century CE.
Food…. Gluten free was hard but not impossible. Gluten free plus vegetarian definitely more limiting. Couscous dishes and Tagines are a staple. Tagine is a style of cooking in a clay pot and the vegetable version of this lacked some of the spices of the meat dishes. I did taste a bit of beef one day and the flavors were delicious. We found a couple of plant-based friendly restaurants in the bigger cities, a fabulous one in Casablanca called Niya and one in Marrakech called Mandala Society (with their original spot in Essaouria). We also found a French bakery, Mon Quotidien, that had a number of gluten free treats and the best part, I bought one of everything for about $6.
Some days were “two vegetable tagine” days and that definitely got boring. Let’s just say we got our fill of veggies Mom!
The dates are a whole other world. Our driver Hamid is from the desert near Merzouga and wouldn’t let us buy dates until we got to his town. These were not your supermarket dates. They ooze with ‘honey’, so soft and sweet, just delicious. They reminded me of the dates we bought in Israel on a trip with the kids years ago.
And no, we didn’t try camel meat or snake for that matter.
Overall thoughts
This might be controversial, but our hopes were higher for Morocco. Could be that so many people had told us how much they loved it. We’re learning to ask why when someone says that. What we did hear was the food and spices were amazing and ok, we might have limited ourselves, but what else? The architecture was interesting but not as amazing as Spain & Portugal. The landscape not dissimilar from other desert and mountain areas across the US (Utah, Nevada, you name it) and unfortunately littered with trash ruining some of the beauty that is there.
In the end it was the culture that we enjoyed most. The mint tea was omnipresent, delicious, fragrant and a key part of life. There was the tea ceremony (as we came to call it) where upon arrival to a Riad we were welcomed to enjoy a seat in the courtyard, have fresh mint tea and relax into our stay. And oh the traditional spiced coffee… don’t get me started. In fact we had some of the best and cheapest coffee ($0.20) yet of our trip on a roadside cliff in the High Atlas Mountains. There is deep pride in the Berber and desert culture and our time in the desert was definitely a highlight.
The Berber language (unique and not Arabic) and surrounding culture is strong. Berber is a culture, a group of people, a way of life. Many years ago, before Jews immigrated to Israel, Jews were Berbers, Muslims were Berbers, each Berber family with their own religion. One guide shared a beautiful story from his childhood which illustrated this well. As he was fasting for Ramadan he asked his Mom why his good friend didn’t fast, turns out the friend was Jewish. She said, “we have the same god we just pray in different ways.”
We’d put Morocco on the list of must see, but not sure we’d return to… similar to Croatia.
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Itinerary recap
Arrived in Casablanca (2 nights) drove to/thru Rabat (the capital) onto Chefchaouen (2 nights).
Chefchaouen onto Fes (2 nights) with stops in Volubilis and Meknes along the way.
Fes to Merzouga (1 night), or thereabouts, the desert starting point for many people who spent a night out in the desert camps near Erg Chebbi.
Merzouga onto Ouarzazate (1 night) with stops at Skoura Oasis Todgha Gorge and Dades Valley / Valley of the Roses.
Ouarzazate to Imlil (1 night) with stops at the Atlas Movie Studios, Aït Ben haddou (UNESCO heritage site / historic fortress), crossing the High Atlas Mountain (peaking at 7,415 feet) before arriving at Imlil, a Berber village
Imlil to Marrakech (2 nights)
Marrakech to Essaouira (1 night)
• • Essaouria to Taghazout (6 CRAZY NIGHTS!)
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