Detailed description. Adventurous Morocco. Welcome. Day to Day schedule. One thousand and one impressions. Trip code: Group size: Number of days:

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1 Adventurous Morocco One thousand and one impressions Trip code: Group size: Number of days: SMT Detailed description Welcome Enjoy an absolutely unforgettable adventure across Morocco where you ll visit age-old imperial cities, mount up and join a camel safari through magnificent sand dunes of the Sahara, trek through the majestic High Atlas Mountains and finally chill out on the Atlantic coast. Day to Day schedule Below is a summary of the day-to-day description. Transport Route Overnight stay 1 Casablanca Casablanca 2 Bus Casablanca Hassan II - Fès Fès 3 Fes Fès 4 Bus Fès / Optional Volubilis & Moulay Idriss Fès 5 Bus Fès-Erg Chebbi Erg Chebbi 6 Erg Chebbi Erg Chebbi 7 Bus Erg Chebbi Gorge du Dades Gorge du Dades 8 Gorge du Dades Gorge du Dades 9 Bus Gorge du Dades - Aït Benhaddou Aït Benhaddou 10 Bus Aït Benhaddou - Marrakech Marrakech 11 Marrakech Marrakech 12 Marrakech Marrakech 13 Bus,OnFoot Marrakech - Atlas Mountains Atlas Mountains 14 OnFoot Atlas Mountains Atlas Mountains 15 OnFoot Atlas Mountains Atlas Mountains 16 OnFoot Atlas Mountains Atlas Mountains 17 Bus Atlas mountains-taroudant Taroudant

2 18 Bus Taroudant - Essaouira Essaouira 19 Essaouira Essaouira 20 Essaouira Essaouira 21 Bus Essaouira - Marrakech Marrakech 22 Bus Marrakech - Casablanca End of tour Casablanca Day to Day description Day 1: Casablanca Welcome to Morocco! Your tour starts in Casablanca, where you can use your hotel room from check in time (12.00 hrs at noon) on day 1. Most of your travel companions will arrive later this first day, the exact time will be depending on their flight schedule. You will meet your English speaking tour leader at 8.00 hrs A.M. on day 2 in the lobby of your hotel but we recommend that you also try and make contact this evening, after hrs. Today you can take the opportunity to explore this diverse city. You will stay overnight in Casablanca. Day 2: Casablanca ± Hassan II - Fès In the morning you can visit the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, the worlds second-largest and the only working mosque in Morocco that can be visited by non-muslims. You can only enter the mosque with an organised tour which are run daily (Except Fridays) at 0900, 1000, 1100 and 1400 and costs 120dh per person. Fès is one of the most exciting cities in the Islamic world with a labyrinth of endlessly winding alleys, up and down, jostling inhabitants, braying donkeys, bright bold colours, swirling scents and a cacophony of noise. There are numerous Koranic schools and mosques in the ancient city. Day 3: Fes It is best to visit Fès with a guide as the old city has retained its essentially medieval character and its winding streets can get very busy. The age-old guild system is still partially in use and the inhabitants are close knit in communities of traders and crafts people. The decline of this medina in the past century has been associated with an exodus of well-to-do families. For those interested, a daylong excursion can be organized to visit the most essential monuments, under the guidance of an expert local guide. This is an optional excursion that can be booked locally.

3 Day 4: Fès / Optional Volubilis & Moulay Idriss Free day. You can choose to take an optional excursion to the city of Meknes, and Morocco s holiest place Moulay Idriss, as well as the remains of Volubilis, the country s main Roman city. The 8th century town of Moulay Idriss holds the tomb of the founding father of the first Arab Dynasty in Morocco and is built on two hills, between which lies the tomb. Meknes, this royal city is situated on hills surrounded by orchards and olive groves. The old medina is characteristic for Morocco s northern cities and the houses have warm ochre-yellow-washed walls and green roof tiles. The city is surrounded by an extensive system of defence walls built in the 17th century by sultan Moulay Ismail, who also built a huge royal city south of the medina whose walls had a total length of 25km. In the centre of the old city you will find the Place el Hedim, a busy and ideal place to watch the local population going about their business while enjoying a coffee. There are colourful markets for olives, fruit, spices and meat, and souks with beautiful carpets, tiles and Berber silver. Day 5: Fès-Erg Chebbi From Fes it is a long driving day (440 km, approximately 8.5 hours) through the desert towns of Erfoud and Rissani, to the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi in Merzouga. Along the way you drive through a cedar forest where you can see (with some luck!) monkeys as they scratch around for their daily meals. If you leave early enough from Fez there may still be time to bathe this afternoon at 'La Source Bleue de Meski' ± a pool of cool blue water fed from a natural spring from the Meski palmeries. Eventually you drive on a dirt road to the dunes of Erg Chebbi. TIP: To protect yourself against the sand you can buy a beautiful blue Tuareg scarf. Once at the sand dunes you will be in awe of the spectacular landscape and a night under the stars is an experience you will never forget. Day 6: Erg Chebbi Leave your footprints in the virgin sands of Erg Chebbi and take an optional camel ride through the area. This tour should be booked on the spot. During the tour you will be accompanied by friendly men whose job it is to take care of the camels. They will help you to mount and dismount the camel, something not so easy to do! Your efforts will be rewarded though because the camel provides you with a breathtaking view of the desert. Day 7: Erg Chebbi ± Gorge du Dades First, we drive to Erfoud and then onto the Gorge du Dadès, on our way, we pass the Gorge du Todra and if possible, we ll stop at some tiny villages and as evening falls, a mountainous road leads us to the Gorge du Dadès. Before entering the crevice, there is an endless palm tree landscape to enjoy and the crevice itself is very dramatic, with steep sides and very high walls. The setting sun will lend the landscape a mysterious but magnificent glow. Day 8: Gorge du Dades For your next day in Gorge du Dades you can take a hike through crevices, fords and the river with a local guide to spot any snakes or scorpions. Waterproof shoes are a must, everybody with an average physical condition can take part in this walk.

4 Day 9: Gorge du Dades - Aït Benhaddou We drive along a magnificent mountain road with views of the so-called µmonkey finger rocks to Aït Benhaddou. This tiny village is situated 30km from Ouarzazate (pronounced wa-zar-zat) and is made up of a few houses, restaurants and the main attraction: the Kasbah. This enormous Kasbah was constantly enlarged and became the scene for films such as Lawrence of Arabia and the more recent Jewel of the Nile and Gladiator. When you walk around here, you will forget you are in the 21st century. We overnight in a large tent or nearby hostel (depending on availability). Day 10: Aït Benhaddou - Marrakech Leaving behind the quiet Aït Benhaddou you drive through a dry desert landscape and the highest mountain pass in the High Atlas as you travel to the second royal city: Marrakech. You can wander through the lovely large covered souk, where all kinds of craftsmen are at work. Here they make everything: from the most beautiful stones tagines (dishes with pyramid shaped lids) to the famous Moroccan lamps. You can also admire a wide variety of leather goods. Every evening the Djemaa el Fna square is an experience in itself. At the end of the afternoon the first stalls and eateries start popping up and by evening the whole square is full. The travel time for today is approximately 4.5 hours (200 km). Day 11: Marrakech Today you could visit the Majorelle Gardens. These beautifully serene gardens sit approximately 30 minutes walk from Djemaa el-fna square in the North East part of the city. The vibrant colours of the bougainvillaea will capture the imagination and themselves be captured by the flash of your camera! Day 12: Marrakech If you want to visit the main monuments of the city in a day, it is nice to take the half-day organised excursion. This tour is included in the excursion package but can also be booked on site. It is best to stroll through the medina and to be surprised by all the merchandise and sights you encounter. Marrakech is the city to shop in, if you like interesting Moroccan trinkets.

5 Day 13: Marrakech - Atlas Mountains TIP: From busy Marrakech we travel on a wonderful route to reach the High Atlas range, to Imlil, situated in the Toubkal National Park (About 1.5 hours). In this mountain village the guides are waiting with their mules, which will carry your luggage during the walking trip (please make sure you bring luggage packed in soft bags- the mules will struggle to carry a suitcase!) which takes us along rocky footpaths, past villages that seem to disappear into the rock face and through dry riverbeds. You will be treated to grand views and will walk through crevices and valleys. Life in the mountains is calm, hospitable, and very different from Marrakech or the desert. How is the trek? On arrival by minibus in Imlil, the large luggage is loaded onto the mules. You ll carry a daypack with the things you will need en route, such as water, camera, and jacket. (Excess luggage that is not needed during the trek can be stored in a local hotel in Imlil for a small fee ± your guide will give you details about this during a trekking brief before leaving Marrakech). Regular breaks are held to enjoy the views and to enable the slow walkers to catch up. The main attraction of walking through the High Atlas is that you get a chance to get to know the traditional way of life of the Berber population. If you travel too fast, you will miss the essence. First walking day: Starting in Imlil (1750 m) you go up through the village of Tamattert until the pass of the same name, at 2279 meters. You reach the village of Ouaneskra (2300 meters) where you stay overnight in tents. Along the way you can enjoy a great view of the top of Toubkal, which is covered in snow for part of the year. Duration: three to four hours. Day 14: Atlas Mountains On the second walking day we follow the course of the Imenane River with impressive Berber villages along the way and well-made agricultural terraces. In the village of Imsker (1385 meters) we overnight in a gite. This walk lasts for about four to five hours. Day 15: Atlas Mountains As we rise and fall slightly as we negotiate the El Bour Pass, we arrive at Oughlad Imi (1375 m) where residents still use traditional watermills there to grind their grain. We increase in height again as we transcend over the forested mountain slopes which lead to the N'Tacht Pass at 2000 meters where we have a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains. During the descent to the village of Tizi N'Oussem (1722 meters), we see the terraced slopes of the fertile valley of Azad. We stay in our tent with beautiful views of the valley, after about five hours walking in total.

6 Day 16: Atlas Mountains Today we climb up hillsides with large juniper trees to reach the M'Zig pass at 2490 meters. Here we find panoramic views of the village of Imlil, the mountains of the Toubkal and Oukaimeden. After travelling along a small stream then we descend down to Imlil (1750 m). We'll stay in a ''gite'' (cottage) in Imlil or in a nearby village. Duration: four to five hours. In the afternoon you can still look around Imlil or visit the kasbah (direction Aremd) which once served as a film backdrop for the movie "Kundun" partially included in the High Atlas. The Kasbah is a project of the English inhabitants of Imlil and Discover organization. A refreshment here costs twenty dirhams, but a portion of the money goes to projects for the villagers. Day 17: Atlas mountains-taroudant We go south over the High Atlas, following a route said to be the most beautiful in Morocco, the Tizi n Test pass to Taroudant, the fifth royal city of Morocco which has a markedly provincial character. TIP: Taroudant is in the centre of a fertile agricultural region, which produces vegetables, fruit and olives. You can go on a trip by horse cart around the city walls at sunset. The walls can be climbed at the Bab el Kasbah, which is the largest city gate. The city s picturesque souks are too small to lose your way in, and a visit is highly recommended. Taroudant was renowned for its Berber silver, local leather production and Touareg handicrafts, the link with the Sahara peoples still exists and dates from the time of the Sa ad Sultans who founded Taroudant. The central square has a multitude of cafés that offer shade and the chance to watch life go by. Day 18: Taroudant - Essaouira When going shopping in Taroudant, bear in mind that the Berber market in Taroudant is called Jnane al-jaami and here you can buy spices and dried fruits but mostly household goods and clothes. The Arab souk, however, specializes in handicrafts such as wrought iron, pottery, terracotta, brass and copper, leather and carpets/rugs and also jewellery. After a free morning in Taroudant you will travel to Essaouira, a trip taking between 4.5 and 5 hours. Day 19: Essaouira Essaouira is the most picturesque and relaxed coastal town along Morocco s Atlantic coast. The town lies on a rocky base surrounded by low shrubs and woods, projecting into the ocean. An isolated spot battered by high foamy waves the whole year round, it s often called µthe windy city and famous for windsurfing. The old citadel of Essaouira is entirely surrounded by city walls, the tall houses towering above them± whitewashed and often with their doors painted a fresh blue. The medina is quite orderly, with the alleys laid out in a rectangular pattern. Day 20: Essaouira Essaouira also boasts a wide and long beach south of the citadel, where you can enjoy a leisurely µcafé au lait stroll along the sandy expanse or through the alleys of the attractive market. In the evening, there is fresh fish to savour in the many restaurants.

7 Day 21: Essaouira - Marrakech Today we return to Marrakech for our last evening and you can pick up some last minute souvenirs or just relax and take in the atmosphere of this cosmopolitan city. (3 ½ hours/ 185 km). Day 22: Marrakech - Casablanca The last day of your tour. Today you will transfer to Mohammed V International Airport Casablanca, where the tour will conclude. Please make sure to book your return flight from Casablanca later in the day to allow for this transfer (please check with us if in doubt). We wish you a comfortable journey home and are sure you will take with you some wonderful memories of Morocco. Your personal my.shoestring page on our website is the perfect way to make contact with other travellers before and after your trip. You can read and create journals from trips and upload your photos onto the photo gallery. Visit my shoestring today. When booking your tour, please check to see whether you need any posttour nights, bearing in mind that accommodation for the night of the final day of the tour (day 22) is not included. More info What's included: Accommodation in hotels, gites and nomad tent including breakfast; 2x dinner in Marrakech; all meals during the trekking, permits, cook and mules for luggage transport during the trekking; all transportation with AC (mini) bus; visit to Hassan II; English speaking tour leader. What's excluded: International flights; all other meals; tips; visas; optional excursions; all entrance fees; arrival airport transfer; booking fee; travel insurance. Attention Single room is possible in hotels only (I.e not during trek) Travel documents

8 Travelling with the correct travel documentation is your own responsibility. Please ensure your passport is valid for a minimum of 6 months beyond the finish date of your trip. For Morocco, a visa is not required for many nationalities. You will receive a free entry stamp on arrival, allowing you to stay for up to 3 months. Please check this information in good time before your trip commences as this information is always subject to change. You can check this information through a site such as this one. Accommodation and transport Transport In order to allow us to make stops as we wish, we make use of our own private minibus during this trip. Depending on the group size we travel around in either one or two minibuses. The buses usually have air conditioning but you'll probably find that it is often more desirable to have the windows open instead of having the air-conditioning on. On some routes (steep mountain roads) it's not possible to use the air-conditioning. The bus is non-smoking. The arrival transfer from the airport to the hotel is not included. Any additional transportation costs of optional excursions are not included. During this trip there will be a beautiful hike through the High Atlas where you spend four days enjoying beautiful views, deep valleys and remote Berber villages. Each day you will walk for about three to five hours. You will be guided by qualified guides and their mules will carry your luggage, including sleeping bag. You will carry your own day-pack with things that you will need 'on-the-go', such as water, your camera and a jacket. ATTENTION: If you have booked flights with Royal Air Maroc you need to be present at the check in desk a minimum of 3 hours before departure! Accommodation During this tour you stay in hotels in double/twin rooms sometimes with private bathroom and sometimes with shared facilities. In the selection of our hotels, we pay particular attention to the location, cleanliness and atmosphere. Most hotels have a restaurant and sometimes a roof terrace, courtyard or garden. The check-in/out time in the hotels is usually 12:00. In some places we stay in simple accommodation. In Merzouga you stay in original nomad tents with limited sanitation supplied by a hostel nearby. In Essaouira and Gorge du Dades, some of the rooms are with shared facilities. During the trek through the High Atlas you sleep a few times in a simple gîte (local persons home) and then further in tents. You need to bring your own sleeping bag but (thin) mattresses are provided. The following meals are also included in the price of your trip: 12x breakfast (in Casablanca, Fes, Marrakech, Essaouira and Taroudant), 2x dinner in Marrakech. The meals during the trek are also included. Your hotel in Merzouga has a pool, very nice to cool down from the Moroccan heat! In exceptional cases we may have to use another hotel which may not have a pool. If this occurs we will try to find a suitable alternative. Of course there are other swimming opportunities, such as Essaouira, located on the coastline of Morocco! In Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) you can optionally stay a night under the stars in the middle of the sandy desert! Your tour leader will arrange this for you if you desire. Participants who book individually will share a room with another participant. We of course keep in mind that you should share your room with someone of the same sex. If you would like a room for yourself for the entire trip, then that can be arranged. You will pay a single room supplement and you should indicate this option when making your booking. During the trek a single room is not possible. If there are three people booked, all of whom have not paid for a a single room it may occasionally happen that a triple room is used. Please note: There are only 5 single rooms available per each departure of this tour.

9 During your trip, it is possible to participate in 'single' excursions offered locally by the tour leader. These excursions are optional. To allow you to plan a budget for your trip we have provided you with an idea of the cost of these excursions. The price can change due to currency fluctuations. The amounts are therefore only meant to give you an indication of the cost. Entrance fees will often change and therefore are excluded from the prices displayed (unless explicitly stated). We display the prices in Euros/GB Pounds/US Dollars. When you are in your destination, it is possible to pay for the excursions in local currency. Single excursions Excursion Details Price Fes - City tour Book at location Fes is the oldest city in Morocco. After breakfast you'll be picked up by bus at the hotel. You see the Royal Palace (from the outside) and walk through the Jewish quarter (the Mellah), where you get to visit the old synagogue and Jewish cemetery. The bus will then take you to the Borj Sud, for a panoramic view of Fes. You'll visit the potteries, where the 'zellije (mosaic) and the blue pottery Fes is famous for, are made. The bus drops you off at one of the entrances to Fes el Bali, the oldest medina in Morocco. On foot and accompanied by the guide you will find your way through the maze of picturesque streets, the medina is a real labyrinth! Along the route there will be regular stops in interesting places, like the coloured (and scented) tanneries, Karouine the mosque, the holy shrine of Moulay Idriss II, a Koranic school, silk weaving and the souks. You may have lunch in the medina (not included). After the tour the bus will take you back to the hotel. Included: English speaking guide, transfers Not included: drinks, lunch, entrance fees, tips 15

10 Fes - Meknes, Volubilis and Moulay Idriss Book at location 14 With a private bus departure from your hotel in Fes will be at 830 am. In one hour drive to Meknes, the smallest royal city. The old walled medina is characteristic of Morocco's northern cities, full of ocher-washed houses with green tiles are. You can see the immense granaries of Heri es- Souani and visit the beautiful Mausoleum of Sultan Moulay Ismail. You walk to the main port of Morocco, Bab Mansour, on the Place el Hedim. On this square you have some time again. It is usually very busy. A good place to sit enjoying a cup of mint tea watching the locals. Adjacent to the square you will find the souk with its' colourful olives, fruit, herbs and meat markets, and shops with leather babouches (slippers), carpets, tiles and Berber Silver. Then ride to Moulay Idriss, one of the most sacred places of the country, nicknamed the poor man's Mecca. Seven visits to the shrine here equals a visit to Mecca. You are not allowed to enter inside the shrine, like most in Morocco but you will be satisfied at a glance from the outside. You can walk from here to a nice viewpoint overlooking the town. After Moulay Idriss you'll drive to nearby Volubilis, the most important Roman excavations in Morocco. In ancient times it was an important city, from where olive oil, grain and wild animals were exported to Rome. All buildings of the city are still recognizable in their function, but most impressive are the many mosaics that you find here and there between the foundations. You can view the ruins on your own, or optionally choose a local guide who leads you through the grounds. After the tour the bus will take you back to the hotel where you arrive at around 18:30 hours. Included: transfers Not included: local guides, drinks, lunch, entrance fees, tips

11 Marrakech - City tour (half day, with guide) Book at location Marrakech is also known as the "Red City" because of the terracotta-like colours of the mighty walls and gates. For centuries the city has acted as a trade and exchange center for the surrounding Berber tribes. Even today, this character is preserved in the old town. During this walking tour that takes half a day you visit some interesting places. The Saadian Tombs are among the finest examples of opulent Islamic architecture in Morocco. The tombs date from the late 16th to the 18th century. You also visit the Bahia Palace, a beautiful building with pavilions at the ground floor. This is because the former Grand Vizier Bou Ahmed was very large and could not walk the stairs. The palace was built around You will also see the Koutoubia Minaret (only outside) and the famous Djemaa el Fna. The square buzzes and moves all around you. Storytellers, fortunetellers, acrobats, musicians, dancers and snake charmers all have their own spots. Behind the square begin the extensive souks, traditional Moroccan markets where everything is for sale, from slippers to spices, to carpets and amulets. You'll visit part of the huge souk. Since a large part of Marrakech is car-free, this excursion is on foot. You see more this way. Included: English speaking guide. Not included: drinks, transfers, entrance fees, tips. 12 Marrakech - Imlil Tour, High Atlas mountains Book at location 37 At 09:00 hours you will be picked up at your hotel. You travel by bus to Imlil, a town in the High Atlas Mountains, at an altitude of approximately 1700 meters. The Berber village is surrounded by mountains of about 4000 meters, with peaks that for a large part of the year are covered with snow. On a clear day you can see the top of the highest mountain in North Africa, Toubkal (4260 meters) from Imlil. In this area is a beautiful walk, which is also in the program. Bring comfortable, well worn walking shoes. You will be accompanied by a mountain guide and will enjoy lunch in a Berber house. The hike takes you over rocky trails, through villages that are tough to see because they are built from the same rock, and dried riverbeds. You will be pampered by beautiful scenery, ravines and valleys of lush green fields. Higher up perhaps you see the girls who collect plants for their goats. At the end of the afternoon you drive back to Marrakech. Note: This tour operates with a minimum of 5 participants. Included: mountain guide, transfers, lunch Not included: drinks, tips

12 Marrakech: Cooking class Book at location Do you enjoy cooking and love Moroccan cuisine? Not far from the square at Djemaa el Fna a Dutch cooking enthusiast has started a cooking school in a beautiful riad. You meet her or her assistant at 11:00 am on the square and go along the souk in search of the necessary ingredients. You learn the quality of various products. Make sure to look, feel, smell and...to taste! This is very fun to do, because as you shop and stroll through the streets, you experience the Moroccan city life all the better. After shopping, it's time to roll up your sleeves to start work. Under supervision, you will learn at least three Moroccan dishes, think of a tagine (a stew of vegetables, fish or meat dish), or a Moroccan couscous salad. During cooking, there are appetizers, which of course you make! To quench your thirst while cooking you have mint tea and wine. Obviously, you can eat your cooking results afterwards with the other participants. At around 15:30 hours, the course ends. Note: The cooking class will run with a minimum of 6 participants and a maximum of 12 participants. The course is only given on Mondays and Thursdays. 47 Included: assistance with cooking, cooking, home cooked meal and appetizers, unlimited mineral water and mint tea, 2 glasses of house wine, list of recipes Not included: other drinks, tip Merzouga - Camel trip in the Erg Chebbi desert Book at location At the 'auberge' where you are staying, you climb on the back of a dromedary (single-humped camel) and enter the gold sand desert. For about an hour and a half you'll ride along the beautiful sand formations. Beautiful sand patterns formed by the wind provide the backdrop for the photogenic camel caravan (with camels elongated shadows). You then arrive at the camp where you spend the night. Those who want to can climb a high sand dune for the panoramic view at sunset. As the sun disappears below the horizon you can enjoy dinner. You can spend the night in one of the nomadic tents (bedding will be provided), or outside in the sand on a mattress with a view of the moon and countless stars. Awake early and enjoy the sunrise over the sand dunes. After breakfast you can mount your dromedary again for the return journey. An ultimate desert experience! Note: There is no minimum number of participants for this excursion. 32 Included: guide and camel drivers, bivouac in the dunes, dinner, breakfast Not included: drinks, tips Festival info News

13 COUNTRY INFORMATION MOROCCO BACKGROUND INFORMATION Culture 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.

14 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 cubeshaped 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. 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. The Marrakech popular arts festival takes place in mid July at the Palais el-badi for 5 days and features many of the aforementioned dancers, musicians and performers. 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 2014, Ramadan is from June 28. The Eid al Fitr, the feast marking the end of fasting, is on 28 July. 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). 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

15 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.

16 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 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). 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. 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.

17 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. Background Info 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 nonbelievers. 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