This is a piece I’ve been working
on for a while now, as it is my best intention to write about things, one
should really try or experience once in Morocco. Now, there are some things,
you can either best or only try if you have a local on your side. That’s the thing
with Islamic countries. However, Morocco is one of the most liberal Muslim
countries where tourism is an important aspect of the local economy and
tourists are welcome at most places which are not religious or separated by
gender. I hope you all enjoy this piece and if you have anything to add, just
let me know in the comment section below.
My
advice: have a local friend to visit
Moroccan people are great, kind,
friendly, intelligent, have an amazing hospitality and they are excellent
hosts. Motivated to visit a country to visit a friend is always the best
motivation too. Having a Moroccan friend to visit is possibly the greatest way
to be introduced to Moroccan culture. You can get to many places where you
wouldn’t be able to get, if you are a foreigner and you are alone. You will also
avoid all the general tourist stresses, stay safe and can enjoy some family
life there, which is a key aspect to the local culture. Not to mention the yummy
homemade food.
1. Get in a real Moroccan souk and enjoy the atmosphere
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| Traditional Moroccan souk |
Every single Moroccan city has a
souk and a Medina (old-town) these two often correlate. It is a very unique
experience to get in a souk, to see all the thousands of goods there, which you
wouldn’t be able to see in your home country and yes, just embracing the local
atmosphere is something very special and you shouldn’t miss out on it.
Souks is a traditional Arabic style marketplace which includes hundreds of stands offering just everything you can imagine. The souks located in a Medina are generally easier and nicer to visit, for the reason that these are located in the narrow streets and they are covered from above, to protect both the goods and the customers from the very intense sunlight, especially during the long summer periods.
As in the case of Hamam, souk is a collective word for every open air markeplace, therefore make sure, before you head somewhere called a "souk" that it is a traditional style one.
The best traditional souks and Medinas can be found in Fez, Marrakech and Rabat, but as mentioned
before, every city has it in a way or form.
2. Buy Moroccan souvenirs
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The Hand of Fatima is widely sold all across Morocco
and it serves as the best easy-to-carry souvenir |
Morocco is a real cornucopia of
goods, no matter you want to buy something small as a souvenir or something
bigger: Moroccan style has conquered the world of international interior
design: in terms of lamps, seats, tables, tea –pots and tea –kits, rugs, leather
ware, they are all great to buy and they can also act as key pieces of
decoration to your home.
And as an extra, once you find out the best way to
carry them home, and the best place to buy them, they can save you tons of
money too! Remember all those lamps cost at least 3 times as much if you want
to buy them in your homeland.
My personal favorites as souvenirs: key chains, hand of Fatima ( sold in every size imaginable ) I'd like to write more on the importance of the Hand of Fatima for the Moroccan/ Arabic culture. It is basically an object that serves to protect a person or the home of a person. If you look around, during your walk, you will be able to spot tons of hands of Fatima shaped door-knobs, decorations, hangers on or above the door of lots of houses. And if you cannot get to see them outside, then you can bet that there is at least one of them inside.
The cult of the Hand of Fatima is also very interesting because it is in real supposed to be Haram (disapproved) according to the Sunni Islamic culture which has strict laws on not letting people put their faith in any object or other person or other god, different from Allah.
3. Try Moroccan peppermint tea
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the traditional Moroccan mint tea served in coloured
glasses and traditional teapot |
By now, most people have heard
about the health benefits of peppermint tea. But Moroccan peppermint tea is
something special and so is its serving! The tea itself is made out of strong
black tea served with a ton of fresh mint leaves that will give the tea that
real fresh minty flavor. As for its key benefits, mint is a natural refresher,
an immune system booster and it gives you energy throughout the day.
The best
times to consume mint tea is for breakfast and in the afternoon hours, but there are
people who also drink it at later times. For a more detailed information on Moroccan Mint Tea check out my newest blog on Moroccan Cuisine and Recipes on http://karasmoroccantips.blogspot.hu/
4. Visit a Moroccan Hamam
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visiting a Hamam is a unique and very cleansing
experience |
This program is also something
you can almost only exclusively try if you go with either your friend or his/
her family members. Although the word Hamam means any sort of bathroom in Arabic,
Hamam are traditional Arab style bathing places, where people use a good amount
of soap, scrubs and with the help of the always dense steam, in the end of the
whole process you will feel very clean and refreshed.
Hamam is not a place
where people go every day: it’s a place which people visit monthly or before
special occasions. In case you are in Morocco as a tourist and have no chance to visit a real authentic hamam, you can still enjoy the much more luxurious hamams you can get to find in the big hotels, out of which you can get to find numerous in all the key cities of Morocco. If you are exclusively looking for Spa Hotels in Morocco, then look out for my newest piece on Spa Hotels in Morocco coming soon!
5. Watch and experience a traditional Moroccan
wedding
If you are in Morocco during the
summer period ( before or after Ramadan ) you can be pretty sure that you will
witness a traditional Moroccan wedding which is a huge street show, that
generally continues on the roof of a house. Sometimes hundreds of people
attend, there is a very unique music going on throughout the street-walk made
with special long trumpets and you can also spot all the presents the happy
young couple received from family and friends as they are carried after them
with a car, truck or in a coach pulled by a donkey. The beautiful bride sits in
a very unique looking heavily decorated coach on her own.
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| Bride is taken across town like this |
This is a great and loud carnival to watch on the street, generally starting in the early evening hours often
lasts until the early morning. If the party is on a rooftop close to you, you
can be rest assured to capture tons of local tunes (unfortunately sometimes to
the cost of your sleep too).
6. Eat a good Couscous – possibly homemade
Couscous, the real family meal is
part of Moroccan culture and if you get the chance to enjoy one in family or
friends’ circle definitely do so. In case you don’t still order one at a local
restaurant because it’s great and tasty. This meal is served in its own bowl,
traditionally it’s a Friday meal (Friday being the holy day in Islamic culture)
and everyone eats from the same bowl using their right hands. Couscous is full
of lovely boiled vegetables, healthy amounts of meat and it’s a very tasty and
copious meal.
If you would like to learn more about Couscous and its recipe, check out my blog on Morocco's trademark meals in my Morocco Cuisine blog.
7. Get a henna
Henna as a body painting art and
a friendlier alternate to tattoos is getting extremely trendy all across Europe
but where else would be a better place to get one then in one of its homelands
Morocco?
Henna also serves you with a vivid memory of your visit and can last up
to 2 weeks on your skin. Before getting a henna, have a look at the current and
earlier works of the henna maker and always arrange the price ahead. Also, always ask them to do a probe as some ingredients of the pastry can lead to quite painful allergic reactions ( this unfortunately happened to me the first time I got a henna).
8. Take part in a desert excursion
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Moroccan desert tours are widely
popular and a must-do if you visit
Morocco |
Desert tours are extremely popular
in Morocco and if you are staying around Marrakech you shouldn’t miss out on
seeing the huge Sahara with your own eyes. Riding a camel is also an experience
you won’t forget that’s for sure. As an extra, if you go on a desert excursion
you can get to see the gigantic sandcastle – like Ourzazate / Ait Ben Haddou,
the scene of several movies, because it’s so unbelievable unreal in its beauty
it will literally feel like you are transported back in time. If you can,
enroll in a tour that also visits the gigantic Todra Gorge, another natural
wonder of Morocco.
The newest additions to desert tours include hot air balloon trips, which you should definitely try!
9. Visit a Riad - even without sleeping there
Morocco is literally full of
beautiful Riads, the traditional homes of the richer, now turned into hotels
and are also the places where you can get to see some of the most beautiful
gemstones in terms of traditional interiors. A Riad –with the word meaning “
garden” is a building that is totally
closed from the outside, however it has a lovely atrium, a courtyard in the
inside, that includes a beautiful garden, a beautiful Moorish style well and
either a pond, a lake or a swimming pool even, where guests can sit, swim
relaxed. The guestrooms can also be reached from the inner atrium area, their
larger windows, doors and patios also face the inner courtyard.
These buildings
are great examples of Islamic way of living in privacy, yet in luxury unseen to
the strangers’ eyes and today, Morocco gives home to some of the most beautiful
Riads in the world.
10. Get closer to Morocco' s Islamic arts, architecture
and culture
Morocco is a real gem when it
comes to learning about both the medieval and the modern Islamic arts and
architecture. Housing tons of museums, mosques, old Medinas, souks you will get
to see and learn about local Islamic arts and architecture without having to
visit a museum.
Moroccan culture has been influenced by a large variety of other cultures all of which have left their unmistaken marks on today's Moroccan arts and architecture. These cultures include the Moorish-Andalusian, the ancient culture of all the Rifi and other Berber tribes who lived in Morocco long before the Arabic conquests begun and also, as a lesser known fact, the Jewish culture and today Morocco has the largest collection of Jewish remains out of all the other Islamic countries.
Every town and city has a great collection of beautiful
architectural pieces therefore you can be rest assured to find beautiful
buildings, wells, gardens, Riads , mosques in every single one of them.
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