Morocco and I
I have a long and romantic relationship with Morocco, an amazing country, which also happens to be the one being closest to Europe, both culturally and geographically. Ever since I was small I was amazed by the beauty of this country which I came to know about, through my father’s travels there. I do still have the seat and the lovely bronze plate he brought from there.
To be totally honest, Morocco is a fantastic country, a place where I would be happy to live. First of all it’s extremely colorful:
- you want beaches, Morocco has extremely beautiful or adventurous beaches both on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. There are beaches which are the surfers’ paradise.
- You want mountains and hiking? You can get it: the picturesque Atlas mountains have some of the best and greenest hiking trails in Morocco: even snow is frequent there! The wild springs running from the top of the mountains make this area really not even showing it’s in fact in a country that’s supposed to be all desert.. talking about which:
- You want desert: you can get it. Morocco is also a gateway to the world’s largest desert the huge Sahara. There are thousands of agencies and private agents who take tourists to the Sahara, introducing them to the legendary Beduin lifestyle. In case this is not even for the tourists: Morocco has plenty of cities and villages and a high number of Beduins living in this region.
- You want international lifestyle: you can get it: Morocco is not really that much of a traditional Muslim country: it’s way more colorful than that. This along with the fact that the country has been a French colony for a pretty long time makes several parts of Morocco a paradise for French speakers, while English is widely spoken by everyone. In fact, people even talk Spanish in the Northern areas.
- It’ s a great cultural mix: apart from the majority of people who are Arabs, Morocco has multiple so-called natives or Berbers who are said to have been living in the area long before the Arabic occupants have arrived in the country. The Rifis and the other Berber nations all have their own language and culture, however due to the centuries that have passed nowadays it’s rare to distinguish them from Arabs.
- You want big cities: Marakech and Casablanca are slowly but surely growing to become the trade and business centres of the whole african region. Casablance is in fact more a French than an African city, with its contemporary art-deco buldings and French being the top foreign language in the region. Marakech is a beauty on its own, being extremely huge with multiple districts ranging from rich to poor, from extreme modern to very traditional you can find the best of both worlds in the red city.
- You want the real Oriental culture and lifestyle: you can find it in every single Moroccan city or village, if you know where to look for it. The heart of every Arabic city is the Medina or Madina, the old town part, which is traditionally housing the oh so famous beautiful souks – marketplaces where you can really get to meet and feel the Arabic culture and lifestlye.
I ’ve been so lucky that I could visit some of the biggest and most beautiful cities of Morocco, namely Casablanca, Marakech, Fés and Rabat. I have lots of vivid memories about all these great cities, they do have their own importance in my life for different reasons. I got to fall in love in Morocco so much that I even got to marry a Moroccan guy. That’s what everyone would call a real, deep commitment to a land and a culture and to this day I’m glad that I’ve done it as it gifted me with so many amazing memories.
That’s why I’ve decided to write about Morocco in my blog: to share some of the knowledge I have learned about the people, the culture the art and the history of the cities I’ve visited, each one of which are really one of a kind on their very own way.
I hope you will enjoy these series of articles. Containing lots of information, memories, toughts and tips on travelling to Morocco.
Karas Blog 