General: Morocco

Morocco ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The North African country of Morocco is one country my partner and I have always wished to visit and we were lucky enough to fulfil this earlier on in the year. We decided to head to Marrakech and explore this mythical city and the surrounding area for a fortnight. Marrakech ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marrake ch, which aptly means the 'red ...
...hustle and bustle of people buying and selling, haggling and calling out to potential customers. We stayed in the old part of the city, within the Djemma el Fna, or the old square. This is where you want to be to experience the real Morocco away from the high rise buildings of the modern city. The square is a huge and fascinating place, dominated by the Koutoubia Minaret, the tallest building in Marrakech (see picture below). However, as this is ...

nickyturnill 06.03.2007 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

In Morocco, children speak every language under the sun. I am almost tempted to say that they could probably pick up very quickly any other languages that may be found throughout the galaxy and the entire universe… that is… when it comes to asking for a dirham (Moroccan currency), a dollar, a euro, a pen, a sweet or anything that you happen to be holding at the precise moment when they spot you. At first, it is extremely annoying, for, although ...
...seem to understand any, including their own. Body language will not work either. Violence quickly becomes tempting, but you soon realise that their begging is due more to some sort of mechanical intrinsic feature endemic to the soil upon which they were born. They recite their begging in a manner devoid either of tone or expression, usually starting in Spanish; if you ignore them, they will switch to English, French, German, Swahili, Kirghiz and ...

Librelola 20.09.2005 (20.10.2005) · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

It all started late one night... Because Kathy and I were the last two people to order our tickets from www.travelocity.com, we ended up on a 7:30 AM flight from Heathrow to Madrid. This necessitated catching a 4 am bus from Oxford. So, not having slept a wink, Katherine and I met at the Oxford bus station at 3:45 am on the morning of November 30. Although these travel arrangements were less than ideal, they did at least allow me to verify that the ...
...we got to Heathrow, we had about an hour to kill before our flight, so we went to an airport cafe. Kathy had crepes. I, working on the theory that breakfast is what one has after one has slept, decided that no type of food would be inappropriate for me at this point. So I ordered the "breakfast pasta" which consisted of (seriously) linguini with bacon and cheese in an olive oil sauce with a fried egg on top - strange combination! On the flight to ...

Laura_Elliott 08.09.2002 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

I felt almost dizzy in the sunshine, disorientated, excited and a little scared. Everything was so different, my senses were almost over powered with new sounds, sights and smells. For this was Morocco a land of contradictions and I was quite alone. I made my way slowly across the square to find a cafe so I could sit for a while and adjust to my surroundings. I ordered a juice and took it to an upsatirs balcony so I could overlook the Jemaa el Fna, ...
...square in Marrakesh. I now felt much more secure, part of it all and yet safe. The square was a buzz of people and happenings. I could see dancers, jugglers and even a fire eater. There were stalls selling all sorts of foods, often heated or kept warm on charcoal stoves. I had said to myself before setting out from England that I wanted to see the unusual and Morocco certainly provided me with this. Morocco, tucked away in the north west corner ...

Sexy-Kay 28.09.2002 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

I went backpacking in June 2007 with a freind and the first place we started was in Morocco, which is in North Africa and it very different to anywhere else I visited on the trip. Every city had something unique about it and the people changed alot between each city. For example In Cassablance the dress code for women is much more relaxed than in Marrakesh. The first place we went to was Marrakesh. We landed here on a flight from Luton with Ryanir. ...
...soon as we enetered the airport you could tell that you were no longer in Western Europe where everything had to run smoothly and quickly! We waited for about 30 minutes to get through passport control, got our bags only to join another que for about 45 minutes to get some money changed over. They had no money exchange open and everyone from the flight all wanted to get money changed over. When the staff eventually found a banker they only found ...

crazyfishUK 30.09.2007 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

I visited Morocco in the Summer of 1999. Its only a short plane journey, only four hours from London.The country was totally different form anything I'd ever seen in my life before. When visting Morroco you truly feel have left Europe, althoough some architecture is similar to that in parts of Spain It looked like the scenes from Aladdin.There is lot of cultural aspects to explore in Morroco. On our stay in Morroco we visited the ancient cities and ...
...see in Morroco were the Atlas Mountains and the the extremley baking Sahara dunes in the desert. (I think they were both equally brilliant but totally different aspects of the country) Most people in Morroco speak Arabic but French is often spoken too, the country having been under French rule at the beginning of the 20th century. While in Morroco we also visited a berber villiage, which was a bit of a culture shock so various Berber languages are ...

Pacyesangel 02.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

Nearly ten years ago I decided to do a spot of Eurailing, and ended up in Morocco.I found Morocco very entertaining, even though I arrived there with a serious case of sunburn from lazing around on Gibraltar, and instantly developed the screaming abdabs as soon I set foot on African soil, I suspect this was from Spanish food though, rather than anything I ate in Morocco. On arriving in Tangiers we were beset by multilingual locals trying to punt ...
...option is to say you’ve already got some, don’t mouth off and offend people if there’s an alternative. This sets the scene for Morocco, it’s a madcap continuum of demented salesmen, all selling the best of the best. We stayed in a nice enough hotel here (Noel Coward used to frequent it) . Luxuriously, it sold alcohol. If you’re a pisshead gobble as much as you can at every opportunity, as bars are rare here. Headed to Fez after this on the train, ...

jambo6 25.07.2000 (23.12.2000) · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

Asalaam alaykum! Peace be with you. Welcome to Morocco. Only four hours flying time from London, you can enter a magical and completely different world. From the ancient cities and kasbahs of Meknes, Fes and Marrakech, to the stunningly beautiful Atlas Mountains and the baking but equally beautiful Sahara dunes in the desert. Arabic is one of the main languages, however, French is important too, the country having been under French rule in the first ...
...languages too, but the people are very friendly and many have a limited command of english too. They appreciate you making the effort and at least greeting them in Arabic or French, and this is useful too if you want to bargain for pottery, carpets, wooden crafts etc. I travelled throughout the country for two weeks on an organised trip with Exodus UK (an excellent company not just for the holidays they offer, but also for their stance on the environment ...

ZooStephen 25.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

My first trip to Marrakech was less than a year after 9/11. It took two hours to muster enough courage to leave my riad by myself that first morning due to all the terrifying thoughts rolling around in my head. When I travel in Europe, I blend in. I stood out in Morocco, which made me feel like a target. I have come to regret those initial thoughts and views of the Moroccan peoples because of my now 7-year friendship with a local city guide, Mustapha ...
...to me by the travel agency who arranged my trip. I had taken the advice of many travelogues that recommended hiring a city guide for a day, just to familiarize myself with the city and navigate the souks. Showing up at my riad on foot was the first of many surprises that Mustapha and Marrakech had for me. Mustapha led me down narrow labyrinthine streets with 20-foot tall desert-pink hued walls fitted with humble doors every so often, which led into ...

HGSultan 01.01.2010 · Read full review
Review of General: Morocco

Although I'm sure that for many people Morocco can be a marvellous experience, I'm afraid my stay there was disappointing, not to mention a little scary. I'd been backpacking on my own throughout Western Europe and enjoying myself immensely, when I decided on a whim to take a ferry from Algeciras (Spain) to Tangier. On arrival, feeling a bit daunted by the hoards of touts milling around the arrivals bay offering to 'change money' or 'guide you to ...
...other backpackers who were planning to take the overnight train to Marrakech, and decided to join them. During the time I hung out with my new found companions we were often harassed by taxi drivers and people who wanted to sell us things or 'guide' us, but once I was on my own again it was a different story. Suddenly in addition to the above it seemed that every second male I passed (from young teens to middle-aged men)would catcall, follow me ...

gennymutant 08.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

In '98, I went on what was billed a Morocco mystery tour which was organised by Escape from Samsara, a club in Brixton. The name was certainly apt as you did not know what was around the corner. From the Andalucian like medina of Chefchaouen, to the ramparts of Essaouira, to the desert sands of Zagora it was mysterious and a bit magical. The people were friendly and welcoming to varying degrees, often helping us out with any difficulties. We camped ...
...in the pure clear airs of the Atlas. To be honest trying to do Morocco in 2 and a half weeks was slightly foolhardy, you could only get a glimpse. But I know that being in the middle of the High Atlas after our Ford Transit van broke down (we tried a short cut and it didn't work!), you just felt a million miles away from Britain. The air was so pure and fresh, no wonder the Berber people living there looked in such great health. Some highlights ...

blinderben 15.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

As a seasoned independant traveller I booked up a short holiday to Morrocco on my own feeling i needed a few days of R&R and a break from the winter gloom. Landing in Marrakesh is an assualt on the senses with throngs of people making noise, strong smells of food everywhere and a vibrant array of colours, although the city does have a red hue to it. The country was incredible and I enjoyed wandering round the souks of Marrakesh and lazing on the ...
...very restrictive and tiring being a woman alone. Everywhere I went I was hassled by men talking to me, shouting comments, being groped and just generally making me feel very uncomfortable. I felt my only respite was the female only Hammams that I visited almost daily. I would therefore recommend that women think very carefully about going to this country alone, in spite of covering up and acting appropriately I was still never left alone! ...

camdenjen 18.12.2006 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco

I'm back after a while and I've decided to review dear morocco this time because, well, it simply is just lovely. So it's located North Africa. Can't say much of the trip though because I was sick part of the time (just some minor allergy). But it all faded once we began for that peaceful desert town of Ouenajeum (correct me if I'm wrong) where we got to witness the nomads' way of living! We slept in tents that looked like those in a Joseph the ...
...I was especially interested in that Tajine dish they served us for dinner. Cooked in a special pot (got to try it...almnost scorched my finger,hehe.) Pork, chicken, (was there lamb or camel meat in there? I don't care!) it was awfully delicious! Then we gazed at the stars some hours. I wonder how different they looked from the different sides of the world; from there it looked as firey as the desert that morning we came... ~to be continued~ ...

tee-chan 15.09.2007 · Read full review
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Review of General: Morocco