Morocco
6 weeks in Morocco (including Ramadan)
About the Kingdom of Morocco
Few words
Morocco is a country whose culture and perception of the world is very different from ours. It is necessary to take this into account, adapt and respect it. Sometimes, quite often actually, it may not be easy, I can tell you that straight away.
I spent almost 6 weeks in Morocco from May 4 – June 13 2019
This was also the time of Ramadan, a very important Muslim holiday that lasts approximately 1 month, during which Moroccans are not allowed to eat or drink anything during the day. Once the sun goes down, they can then eat their fill. The country kind of stops for a month because people don’t have much energy and try everything they can to sleep during the day. That can cause a lot of problems for a tourist, whether we’re talking about finding food or transportation. On the other hand, there are bonuses – fewer tourists, lower prices, less annoying street vendors.
Some data
How many people will you meet: 34 million
How do you talk to them: Arabic. Those who work in tourism still speak mostly French, a few people speak Spanish and a few people speak English. But you can also speak Rwandan.)
What do you pay them with: Moroccan dirham. You can get it from ATMs, for example. Card payments are possible somewhere, but mostly not, you will need cash. For example, at petrol stations it worked out 50:50 for me that they took a card. Price-wise, I consider Morocco to be neither an expensive nor a cheap country for the average Czech.
Will you be afraid? Safety: If you are a single woman, it is possible. You won’t get much respect from the men here, on the contrary they will be very annoying and pushy… but you shouldn’t expect aggression. If you are travelling as a couple or a male family, Morocco is considered a mostly safe country full of warm people. As for diseases, you don’t need any extra vaccinations. The worst thing you can get here is diarrhea. You don’t even have to worry about malaria, that’s further south in Africa.
Main city: is Rabat… on the way, most people advised me not to go here, so I didn’t even visit this city. I went to Casablanca instead, and most people didn’t recommend that either… and now I can tell you I don’t recommend it either. Apart from one mosque, there is nothing much to see here 🙂 Find out which cities to go to below.
Places visited
I arrived in Morocco by boat and travelled the country “cross-country” on a motorbike. Here is a list of destinations in chronological order as I visited them:
Tetouan
Interesting, from my point of view a medium-sized and colourful white city in the north of Morocco. The historic centre is full of shops and small squares. In the background of the city is a mountain range. I'd love to come back here sometime.
Go to The Story of Tetoun.
Chefchaouen
The legendary blue city. A tourist destination for all who come to Morocco. Definitely worth a visit. However, if you are not attracted by the hordes of tourists, do not plan to stay here for several days. A day trip may be quite enough.
Go to the story of Chefchaouen.
Meknes
An old historic town that I didn't have the chance to explore much. At first glance, it didn't invite a deeper acquaintance.
Go to Meknes story.
Casablanca
It has the seventh largest mosque in the world and is perhaps the only one in Morocco where you are officially allowed as a tourist... and that's about it. Otherwise, it's a city that's unlikely to live up to your expectations by visiting.
Go to the Casablanca story.
Marrakech
A lot of people think it's the capital of Morocco. It's not, but it's a must-see place in Morocco. It's the best place to start... or end.
Go to the Marrakech story.
Aït Benhaddou
one of our favorite places in all of Morocco. It's the city where Game of Thrones, Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and other spectaculars were filmed... and the filmmakers knew why to choose this location.
Go to The Story of Aït Benhaddou.
Ourzazate
Ourzazate is the city of a thousand films, there's the Atlas Film Studio and... and then nothing. Although... a donkey, a peacock and a cat will keep you entertained too.
Go to Aït Benhaddou story.
- Zagora
- Merzouga – if you want to go to the Sahara, this is the easiest. From Marrakech by bus in just 10 hours. Buy a camel ride into the desert, sleep there to see the sunset and sunrise and you have memories to last a lifetime. An alternative is the Sahara near the town of Mhamid, where the desert is even more epic… supposedly.
- Tinghir – interesting enough touristy place, because of the canyon and the historic town. Prices here come with a big tourist surcharge.
- Ouzud – amazing and epic waterfalls. One of the top spots.
- Essaouira – by the sea where you don’t swim much, but it’s very windy so it’s more for kitesurfing. However, the local market really has an atmosphere. Be sure to stay somewhere near the historic centre and harbour.
- Imlil – mountains, mountains, majestic mountains. Morocco’s biggest mountain is Toubkal and you can hike up it from here. You will need about 2-4 days, so make sure you take your time. But you can just walk all around and you’ll have an epic experience also in one day without reaching the top.
- Fez – I didn’t want to come here originally, but on the way quite a few people recommended this place. It’s a bit worse from a safety standpoint, but otherwise it has a dense atmosphere. If you’re not afraid, head here too.
- Tangier – should be a romantic seaside place.. unfortunately for me, I only found myself here at the end of my trip, when I was really tired of Morocco and so I probably don’t even have an opinion on this place.
Where to go next
I have described the journey to Morocco and cross Morocco in the individual chapters. I describe almost every place I stopped on my way from Prague to Marrakech and beyond. It’s in a slightly chronicled way, but where the text stops entertaining you, hopefully the photographs will.
1st place in the Czech Photo Centre photo competition
Back when I was on my trip to Morocco, I noticed a competition from the Czech Photo Centre on the internet and tried my luck with a photo from the desert. The competition was called Photograph with a mobile phone and it was not aimed at professionals, which I am not. I got lucky and won first place among adults. Check out the other contest photos, it’s very interesting what can be achieved with mobile phone cameras today.
