Morocco, A Womb of "One Thousand and one Night"

You may hear about "One Thousand and One Night" when you were a child. More or less, my mom always read its story before I falling asleep. It sounds like a myth. Thus, I always consider Morocco as a place in myth since then. Today, I gonna recommended five top worthy places to visit in Morocco, following by travel tips.

Top 1. Tétouan

If you like the ocean, please don’t miss Tétouan. This is an amazing city for rest, enjoying the sunshine and ocean activity. Tétouan is a seaside village with a country famous Médian. You can book an Airbnb inside of the Médian, which is located on a hill that you can have a whole view of the city. Besides, you can take a taxi to the beach, where is 20 minutes away from the city center. I would recommend the great seafood over there. 

Top 2. Sahara, the must-go place

You must know the world’s biggest desert located in North Africa. If you go to Morocco, you can plan a three days desert trip to visit this world-famous nature landscape. You can start this desert trip either from Fès or Marrakech. The visitor groups are always formed with 10-15 people. The trip will pass through Casa of Ait-Ben-Haddou(a lot of movies shooting here), Ouarzazate, and a Valley. During the night, you will see millions of stars, Galaxy, and even shooting stars. You will enter the Sahara by camel. 

Top 3. Fès, the ancient capital of North America during the Idrisid Dynasty since 789. 

As the ancient capital, Fès reached its zenith since 8 century. You will find the culture in Fès mixed by Arabian, Sahara area local people, and the Jewish. You can explore the Médian in Fès, but I’m sure that you can not walk out of there by yourself. people call the Médian in Fès maze. Alleys are similar to each other but full of things to explore. You can taste the local dish in the Médian. There are three major dishes in Morocco called Couscous, Tagine, and Khubz. You can also take a cup of local tea, but don’t let the vendor put too much sugar. Cause Moroccans are heavy sweet takers.  

Top 4. Casablanca 

Many people think Casa is the capital of Morocco, but it’s not true. The Capital is called Rabat instead of Casa. Casablanca is famous for the movie named “Casablanca”. The city is located on the west coast of Morocco facing the Atlantic Ocean. Casablanca has an International Airport that all tourists can fly directly from the EU or the US. My first time entering Morocco departed from Barcelona, and there is multiple airline fly between Morocco’s cities and Spain. Casa is the economic center of Morocco due to the contingency in transportation. Most of the import and export businesses pass through Casa, including tech equipment, clothing, and food. There is even a Chinese Market selling cloth in Casa. As for travel, I can’t say Casa is the best choice. But if you transit there, here are some places to visit. 

Top 5. Marrakech. The place I love the most, but also hate the most.

Do you know the brand “YSL”? The brand name from the genius designer named Yves Saint Laurent. He spent almost half of his life in this city because Marrakech gives him inspiration for art and design. He had built a house here, which now redecorated to be a museum in memory of this genius artist and designer. He said Marrakech told him what is color and how to use color. 

Besides, Marrakech has a lovely market in the square. I love Marrakech because this city drags me into the myth “One Thousand and One Night”. I hate it because it's too beautiful and too popular to be nice to foreign visitors. So be careful with your wallet. 

Tips:

1. DRESS APPROPRIATELY

Overall, guys can dress however they like, but women need to dress more conservatively. Although you see many tourists wearing whatever they want, we chose to cover up as much as possible to avoid unwanted attention. Even if you’re traveling with a group of guys, you may still get harassed. Some of the girls in our group got groped on multiple occasions even though we were paired off with a male buddy.It was mostly really old men, and it happened more often in crowded places. When visiting mosques, you need to cover down to your wrists and ankles. For the ladies out there, keep a shawl/scarf handy (this one is reversible and great for traveling light)

2. CURRENCY AND COST

More established shops will take credit cards, but most smaller markets, street vendors, and cabs will not. Be ready with the local currency. The Moroccan Dirham (DEE-Rahm) goes for roughly 9.6 Dirhams (DH) per 1 USD or 10 per 1 euro. We thought things would be cheaper in Morocco, but because of how touristy the country has become, the prices were comparable to Europe.

3. LEARN TO HAGGLE

If you’re shopping in the markets or medinas, you will have to learn to haggle. I know some people have strong opinions about paying full price for the sake of “charity”, but selling is like their national sport and haggling is an integral part of their culture. More likely than not, they will still get the better deal, but keep in mind if you are willing to spend the time, you can get items for at least 25-50% of the starting price. Know what you’re willing to pay before you start the haggling process and walk out if you can’t get the price you want. They may call you back in multiple times. Also, you may want to bargain with your cab drivers before you get in the cab. Most of our rides within the city cost 30 DH. If they demand more, our guide told us to hand them the money and walk away. Luckily, that didn’t happen to us, because we always firmly set a price before the ride. If you’re looking to buy a carpet or anything with a higher price tag, do your research before you head to Morocco. People get tricked into buying them as “an investment” to sell later all the time. Don’t fall for their sales tactics and the local guide’s added pressure to buy.

4. FRIDAYS ARE HOLY DAYS AND PREPARE FOR HOLIDAYS

Keep in mind that it is a Muslim country, so pay attention to their holidays otherwise you might be there when everything is closed. Also, most shops and attractions will close on Friday since it’s their holy day. A friend of mine went during Ramadan and told me it was very difficult to eat meals. We happened to arrive in Morocco on Eid al-Adha, where they were slaughtering and sacrificing animals on the street. All shops we saw closed that day and most shops were closed the following day. Plus it was a bloody mess, most of which we avoided. Below you can see what is usually a crowded marketplace is deserted.

5. WHAT LANGUAGE DO THEY SPEAK?

Moroccans speak a mixture of Arabic, Berber, English, and French. You’ll be fine with English in most of the larger cities, but you’ll probably need a translator in the rural parts of the country.

Here are a few basic Arabic words that came in handy:

• Hello (Peace Be With You): Salam Alikome (salaam a eleikum)
• Thank You: Choukran (shokran)
• No Thank You: La Choukran (la shokran). This one is useful when you have a bunch of street vendors hassling you to buy something.
• Watch Out: Balak. Although you won’t use this yourself, you’ll most likely hear this in the medinas or souks (outdoor markets). Locals will say balak if coming by with a mule, motorcycle, or cart to warn you to either get the side or get run over.

6. ASK BEFORE TAKING PHOTOS (AND YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY)

When you’re walking through the markets, be careful when taking photos of people and shops. Unless you are purchasing something, they may get angry at you and even demand money for the photos. When we took photos of the snake charmers, we paid 20 DH. Some may even hassle you for more, so again, it’s good to first establish a price before taking a photo.

7. BRING TOILET PAPER WITH YOU EVERYWHERE

Don’t expect bathrooms to have toilet paper. Be prepared with your own and also have some hand sanitizer available. A lot of public restrooms have a small fee as well so if you see an attendant be sure to ask the price before using the bathroom.Though they’re not flushable, I like to bring my kleenex germ removal wet wipes on all my trips to wipe my hands when I don’t have easy access to bathrooms.