Morocco Travel Guide

The North African nation lies on the northwestern periphery of Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar from the southern tip of Spain. The country has the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Algeria to the east and Mauritania to the south. Relatively flat, fertile coastal plains stretch along the Atlantic coast. The Atlas Mountains make a diagonal divide across the country, breaking it down into the Anti-Atlas, High Atlas and Middle Atlas (from southwest to northeast). Most of the land to the east of the High Atlas and in the south is desert. A smaller mountain range, the Rif, extends across the north of the country.

Morocco's earliest-known inhabitants, who arrived as early as 8000 BC, were the ancestors of today's various Berber tribes. The country's location—a crossroads between Africa and Europe, and East and West—lured invaders, such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals and Byzantines. At the end of the seventh century AD, Muslim Arab armies began pushing westward across North Africa. By 705, most of the territory from Tangier to the Draa Valley had been conquered. The Berber tribes gradually converted to Islam, and the Arabic language was introduced. In 711, a predominantly Berber army conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula, adding it to the Islamic empire.

Morocco has been ruled by six Arab and Berber dynasties: Idrissid (789-926), Almoravid (1062-1147), Almohad (1147-1269), Merinid (1248-1465), Saadian (1525-1659) and Alouite (1664-present day). The Almoravid and Almohad domination extended to much of Spain and parts of Algeria. Likewise, Jewish and Muslim immigrants from al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) left a distinctive Andalusi mark on parts of Morocco as well. Morocco was the only North African country that did not belong to the Ottoman Empire.

Several European powers tried to control the mouth of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast at one time or another. Portugal controlled several cities between the 15th and 16th centuries, including Ceuta, Agadir, El-Jadida, Essaouira and Tangier. The Spanish presence, which began in the 15th century, lasted longer—culminating in Spain taking formal possession of areas in the mid-19th century. The rest of Morocco came under the control of France in the early 20th century and then gained independence in 1956. Spain surrendered most of the territory it held but still controls the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco also claims.

Sultan Mohammed V led his country to independence and then ruled as king until 1961, when his son, King Hassan II, took over. Before his death in 1999, Hassan initiated some modernization programs, but his reign is also referred to as les annees de plomb (Years of Lead) because of state violence against opposition parties and dissidents. His son, King Mohammed VI, initiated a process of reconciliation in which past human-rights abuses were examined, compensation was paid and a framework for ensuring that basic human rights are protected going forward was put into place. Some economic, political and social reforms have been made, most notably the Mudawana (family law) passed in 2005. Although the country has a parliament and separate judiciary system, they aren't very strong compared to the near-absolute power of the king. Further reforms are under consideration.

The fate of the Western Sahara (called the Southern Province in Moroccan officialese) remains a sensitive issue within the country. The area had been controlled by Spain until the Moroccan military took over in 1975—much to the dismay of the local Saharawi people. They formed the Polisario Front and began waging guerilla war against Morocco. A cease-fire was signed in 1991, but a final decision on who should rule the territory has not been reached, despite ongoing negotiations involving the U.N.

Morocco's attractions include colorful markets brimming with local handicrafts, Marrakesh, Fez, antiquities, beautiful architecture and design, shopping, beaches, diverse scenery, religious shrines, great food, watersports, Atlas Mountain scenery and Tuareg culture.

Morocco will appeal to the somewhat adventurous and experienced traveler who wants to see an exotic culture and lie on nice beaches. Don't travel there if you're offended by aggressive local vendors and their commission men.

Morocco has several distinctive musical traditions. Joujouka, a village south of Tangier, is famous for its Sufi-inspired trance music—a mystical blending of horns, flutes, lutes and drums that is said to bring peace, elevate consciousness and even heal the sick. Gnaoua music, which is also referred to as trance music and is purported to have healing qualities, mixes syncopated rhythms with sacred elements and is performed by the descendants of slaves brought to Morocco from Mali, Guinea and Ghana. Andalusian orchestras in several cities perform a classical form of Arab music that traces its roots back to the Muslim court of medieval Cordoba, Spain.

Paleontologists have discovered the remains of several dinosaur species in the Kem Kem sandstone formation of southeast Morocco. The finds include bones from Carcharodontosaurus saharicus (a shark-toothed lizard from the Sahara), which was a fearsome creature at least as big as Tyrannosaurus rex.

Jews have lived in what is modern-day Morocco for more than 2,000 years, but the size of the community is steadily shrinking. Although there were approximately 265,000 Moroccan Jews before the creation of the state of Israel, today they number around 5,000. Most live in Casablanca.

In cultural and linguistic terms, the majority of Moroccans are Berbers (or Imazighen). Although they are often referred to as a single group, there are distinct divisions of Berbers, primarily along linguistic lines. Each one has its own dialect, although Tamazight generally refers to the entire group of Berber dialects. Arab influence is also very strong, and it too can be traced back to several different tribes and regions.

Technically speaking, a casbah is a single fortified building, but the word is sometimes used to describe an old quarter, especially one with a citadel. A ksar (plural, ksour), on the other hand, is a group of residential or storage buildings surrounded by high defensive walls.