It's colourful, friendly and exotic with a fascinating mix of Arab, Islamic, Berber, African and European influences. Spectacular landscapes range from miles of unspoilt beaches to magnificent snow-capped mountains, from lush river valleys to vast tracts of desert, as well as labyrinthine walled medieval cities and Berber fortresses. A wealth of beautiful handicrafts that can be picked up for a song – and a ritual bout of haggling – in the heaving city souks. Traditional townhouses (known as riads) and kasbahs beautifully restored to create hidden guesthouses, varying from luxurious to comfortably basic. Delicious home-cooked tagines and couscous. The promise of year-round sunshine and warmth and all within 4 hours flying time from northern Europe.

Background Info

Geography

Morocco lies on the extreme northwestern corner of Africa, almost touching Europe at the straits of Gibraltar, and bordered by Mauritania and Algeria, both to the south and east. It's a huge country – 711,000 km² including the disputed Western Sahara area, larger than any European state – with the vast majority of its people, settlements and sites concentrated in the northern third.

It's a stunningly beautiful country with a diverse range of landscapes. The coastline, which fronts onto both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, offers plenty of secluded coves and long stretches of sandy beaches as well as a number of fascinating old coastal cities. Inland, the plains are home to the cities of Fez and Marrakech. Behind these lie a series of mountain ranges - the Middle Atlas, High Atlas and Anti-Atlas and the Rif Mountains in the north. A formidable barrier, these ranges commonly rise to 3,000m above sea level, which means snow cover in winter, and reach over 4,000m at their highest peak, Djebel Toubkal, near Marrakech and Ouirgane.

The remaining two thirds of the country in the South is mainly desert, here meaning the pre-Saharan rocky scrubland and minor dunes around Tinerhir and Zagora.

Capital: Rabat, though Casablanca is the unofficial capital, and the largest city.

People

Population: 30 million

People: 99% Arab-Berbers, 0.7% foreigners, 0.2% Jews

Language: Arabic (officially), French is spoken by all educated Moroccans, but Berber (with 3 variants), is the mother tongue – and in very remote areas the only tongue – of most Moroccans. Spanish is widely inderstood in the north. Basic English is understood in most towns and cities, but a French dictionary is helpful.

Religion: Islam

Climate

The coast is generally mild (often buffeted by the prevailing westerly winds). Daytime temperatures in Essaouira average 18°C (64°F) in January and 22°C (72°F) in August.

Inland areas are much hotter and drier with a continental climate. The mean daytime temperature in Marrakech is 18°C (65°F) in January (though it can get very cold at night) and 38°C (100°F) in August.

Rain falls mainly in winter and most heavily in the northwest around Tangier and the Rif Mountains. It rarely rains from April to October, except in the heart of the Atlas, where it is occasional.

In the south of the country, the weather is extremely hot and dry throughout most of the year, with the nights coolest in the months of December and January. Some places claim a total drought since 1995 – but don't underestimate the effect of up-valley rainfall on the dirt roads lower down.

For further details of Average Temperatures: click on weather info...

History

In general, Morocco's history has been a fragmented, rise-and-fall patchwork of tribal powers, mostly Berbers flying an Islamic banner, and imperial dominion from outside – Carthaginian, Roman, Byzantine, Arabs, colonial…

Early History

Morocco's history began with the nomadic Berber tribes who have inhabited the country since at least the end of the 2nd millenium BC. Despite a grand series of invasions ever since, they were difficult to subdue and managed to retain control of the mountain and desert regions. Around 1000 BC the Phoenicians and later Carthaginians established trading settlements along the north Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, but had little contact with the inhabitants of the interior. They in their turn fell to the Romans in 196 BC (the Punic Wars). But, apart from Volubilis and its surrounding grain fields, Rome left the mountainous interior then known as the 'Berber kingdom of Mauritania' well alone as did subsequent conquerors, including the Vandals and Byzantines.

Arrival of Islam

It was only with the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD that the geographical barriers were overcome. Very rapidly, the Arabs controlled an empire enveloping all of North Africa (known to them as the Maghreb) and bound by theology. According to oral history, Oqba bin Nafi undertook a 5000-km march through Morocco, raiding, subjugating and islamicizing all those he came across. This was the beginning of a long chapter in Mediterranean – European history, that of Moslem – Christian struggles for supremacy throughout the area. The Moors used Morocco as a launching pad for their invasion of Iberia and an eight century seesaw of control ensued against the Christians, while Islam deep-rooted itself on home turf.

The Moroccan Dynasties

In the ensuing centuries a fundamentalist Berber movement emerged and a series of ruling dynasties came to power, including the Idrissids, Almoravids and Almohads. Under these new rulers, new universities, artisanal traditions and trade routes sprang up. The interior was tamed, irrigation channels constructed, and permanent settlements built. Fes and subsequently Marrakech became the capital cities and with the wealth of conquered territories, this became the 'golden age' of Moroccan cultural development. Around 1630 the Alaouites, who were of Arab origin, succeeded in establishing themselves as the religious leaders (a dynastic line which remains today). Although a relatively instable period, they managed to keep Morocco independent for nearly three centuries.

Colonial Era

Spain and Portugal had been nibbling at the coast of Morocco since the 15th century, but it wasn't until the middle of the 19th century that the powerful European nations grew more interested in Morocco's strategic importance and rich trade resources. Finally in 1912, the Spanish and French agreed to split the country so that a strip on the Northern coast and the Sahara south of Tarfaya fell to Spain and the rest became a Protectorate to France. At the same time, Tangier was declared an international zone.

Initially, the French, under General Hubert Lyautey, were sensitive to Arab culture. Existing Moroccan towns were left in tact and French new towns built alongside the medinas. A solid infrastructure (railways, roads, education) was created and Rabat was made the new capital. It brought peace and unity for the first time to former strongholds of mountain rebels, but although the Sultan remained in power, he was little more than a figurehead. The newly educated Moroccan middle classes demanded greater rights and stirred Islamic feeling to inject a sense of unity into the revolt.

Indepence 1956

During WWII fierce nationalism developed and Sultan Mohammed V inspired the nationalist Istiqlal Party, which finally secured Morocco's independence in 1956. Tangier was also secured but Spain retained the northern towns of Ceuta and Melilla (which they still hold today). Since then, under King Mohammed V, his son King Hassan II and grandson, the current more liberal King Mohammed VI, Morocco has enjoyed a relatively stable period, which has seen economic growth despite a continuing border dispute over the Western Sahara.

On the withdrawal of Spain from the Western Sahara, 350,000 unarmed Moroccan volunteers were sent on the Green March in 1975 to annex the territory. While King Hassan's move gained him popularity with his countrymen, nationalist Saharawis backed by Libya and Algeria were less than pleased and embarked on a guerilla war against Morocco. In 1991 a cease-fire brokered by the UN was entered into, but the future of this southern region remains undecided.

Government

Constitutional monarchy. The current Head of State is King Mohammed VI(aged in his late 30s). The king nominates the prime minister and appoints members of the Council of Ministers based on his premier's advice. A liberal constitution ensures open discussion and more religious tolerance than in other north African countries, but poverty is still a problem.

Food & Drink

Moroccan cuisine is good and tasty but don't expect fine gourmet cooking in the European sense. From street stalls to opulent palace restaurants, Morocco boasts a huge variety of eateries. Both are worth trying at least once, though you should check the hygiene of the former, and be prepared for mountainous 5-course feasts at the latter. There is also some excellent, slightly exoticized French cuisine and a lively cafe culture, though you may find a dirth of simple and attractive mid-price restaurants.

The staple food is couscous – piles of steamed semolina granules topped with meat, fish or veg – yummy and very filling. The other important dish is the tagine, a conical earthenware dish containing a flavoursome stew (usually vegetables and meat or fish), cooked over a very slow fire and eaten sizzling hot with flat bread to mop it up. Recipes use fresh local ingredients and include lamb with prunes and almonds, or chicken with lemon and olives. Both these dishes often require several hours' advance warning – which in smaller establishments may include time to go and find the ingredients!

Other delicious and generally safe meat dishes are kebabs (meat on a skewer or brochette) and kefta (meatballs). Sample them in one of the smoky open air stalls of Marrakesh’s Djema el Fna square. Take a ritual wander up and down the lanes to a ceaseless barrage of "Oh! my friend...", and then choose a seat on one of the benches beneath a string of naked bulbs. The menu is usually chalked up, prices are usually negotiable, the meat is usually perfectly safe (thanks to a high turnover – you’ll be hard pushed to linger for more than 30 minutes).

Meals often start with a thick, sometimes spicy soup called harira, usually lentil based with vegetables and meat stock. Sitting with crowds of hungry Moroccans in a streetside cafe at sunset and tipping the elegant little bowl gratefully to your mouth can be an abiding memory – and all for the princely sum of 4Dh. Salads are good with chopped herbs often added.Dates, nuts and prunes are cheap, tasty and and everywhere – including in savoury cooked dishes.

Mint tea is the staple drink, brewed unhurriedly from green tea and mint leaves, then poured from an ornate pot at a great height. Delicious, healthy and part of a delightful hospitality ritual, it can become almost addictive.

Freshly squeezed orange juice is ubiquitous in spring, alongside bitter lemon or grapefruit presses, and milky banana or avocado shakes.

Imported beer, spirits and wine (plus some local robust reds) are available in certain shops and hotels, but a special - and expensive - licence is required to serve them. Consequently, only the upmarket tourist venues do so, and at distinctly un-Moroccan prices.

Tap water is generally safe, though in mountain areas there is a small risk of livestock-borne giardia, while in the southern desert areas the threat of bilharzia means you should avoid all contact with slow-moving or stagnant water.