Memorable, magnificent Morocco!
 

I spent 3 weeks, as a solo woman, in Morocco in October 2024 – and I couldn’t have had a more delightfully memorable experience in this magnificent country!

In this trip report, I’ll present my itinerary and a few notes about my preprarations. I'll then describe what I liked least, what surprised me most, and what I liked most about my experiences there. Questions are welcome at any time!

My itinerary:

· Overnight flight from DC to Casablanca; immediate private transfer to El Jadida (1 night)
· Bus to Essaouira (2 nights)
· Bus to Marrakesh (4 nights)
· From Marrakesh, I had a private driver take me through Tizi n’Tichka, Télouet, and the Ounila Valley to just outside Ait Ben Haddou in Tamdaght (1 night)
· Through Tizerzit and Foum Zguid to the desert at Erg Chigaga (2 nights)
· Through Tamegroute, Kasbah Cheikh Arabi, & the Dras Valley to Tinghir (1 night)
· Through the Todra Gorge and Azrou to Meknes (2 nights), with a day trip to Volubilis from Meknes
· Train to Fez (4 nights)
· Train to Rabat (2 nights)
· Train to Casablanca (1 night)
· Flight from Casablanca to DC

Planning: I used multiple guidebooks to plan this trip. For my purposes, the Moon Guide was most useful, with the Rough Guide coming in second. This trip was my first experience with the Lonely Planet’s new format. I must admit that I’m not enamored of the new organization, but I did find enough useful information to be willing to try another. In comparison to these three, the guidebooks from Eyewitness, Fodor’s, and Insight Guides held fewer unique bits of useful information, IMO.

Language: As is my habit, I began Pimsleur’s Arabic lessons a few months before my trip. Unfortunately, life intervened; I discontinued my studies. By the time I reached Morocco, I knew a few essential Arabic pleasantries; no more. And I didn't know any words of any of the Berber languages spoken in Morocco,. IME, quite a few people engaged in the tourism industry in Morocco spoke English, but French is much more common. (How I wished I knew more than a bit of French!) I had booked lodgings where I could expect English to be spoken (and it was), so I can’t say that language was a problem for me – except that I prefer to be able to interact with people to at least some extent, and my opportunities for that were more limited that I’d have liked.

I found Morocco visually stunning, so I may post a few too many photos. You can always set your preferences to hide them! As an introduction, I found Morocco to be a land of exquisite Moorish architecture, Here's an example for Meknes's Dar Jamai Museum:

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In contrast, there were also once beautiful lanes in great need of attention. For example, here's a view of a street in El Jadida's “Cite Portuguese,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).

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Morocco is a land vibrating with color, like these pomegranates at a market in Essaouira:

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And also of ruggedly barren mountains, as seen here in the Atlas mountains between Ait Ben Haddou and Tizerzit:

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And I found it to be a land of contrasts -- amazing contrasts! Take a look (a close look!) at this view of a market / alley in Marrakesh:

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And even with so much of a person's life in public view, it seemed to me a country where much is hidden, not unlike the pomegranate seeds shown above. To give just another hint of what I mean by that, here's a door to the Kairaouine Mosque and University in Fez:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...430e49620.jpeg

Perhaps that’s given you a sense of what I experienced….

Next up: What I liked least

Thanks kja. I'm looking forward to your report.

Yo Kja, great to see that you had a successful trip to Le Maroc. Those shots of el Jadida and the pomegranates are top-shelf.
It was also important for us all to read that comparison of guidebooks. Moon has just released some new editions to various countries. Did you try any Reddit online sources? They can be useful.
I'm with TP--time now to read more from your report.

I am done. the solo woman in the land of contrasts

Overall, my experience in Morocco was extremely positive, but I’ll start with the few things that I found less to my liking. Let’s get these (few) things out of the way! This post deals with some regional or national issues.

Evidence of the earthquake that struck the area near Marrakesh in 2023. I don’t mean unsightly rubble (though there was, of course, some of that, if less than I expected) – I mean the evidence of the hardships local people have suffered as a result. As just one example, the once magnificent Kasbah of Telouet was severely damaged in that earthquake. As a result, tourists can only visit the exterior (and many people skip it entirely) and a once-vibrant community supported by tourists is now struggling. Here’s a glimpse of what remains of the Kasbah of Telouet.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8500c350a.jpeg


Evidence of drought in parts of Morocco. An area south of Casablanca to Essaouira (and beyond) had been suffering a multi-year drought. Roads were lined by parched fields and dying trees. Even drought-resistant eucalyptus were clearly failing and crops had been badly affected. I took this picture from the bus from El Jadida to Essaouira.

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Evidence of the hardship of life for many Moroccans. For example, a stop at a pottery cooperative in Tamegroute seemed to me to give glimpses into how hard it is to earn a living in parts of this country. I can’t imagine that OSHA would approve of this work site! BTW, the structures with arched entries are kilns.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0826b5190.jpeg


Vanishing arts. Morocco is a place with centuries of artistic traditions, and many of these traditions are, to my delight, being maintained. But not all. While in Fez, I took a fascinating half-day tour during which I was introduced to several artisans. (Arranged with Culture Vultures, I highly recommend this tour!) A few of the men I met (yes, they were all men) were, quite literally, the last in Fez – or even in all of Morocco – to practice certain crafts. The last man to adorn saddlery using traditional techniques, the last maker of damascene, the last man to weave brocade without the advantage of a Jacquard loom…. Of course, some of these changes are a mark of progress: the children of several of these artisans, who might have taken over their traditional family endeavors, have gone to college and so have chosen other careers. But conversations with these artisans had a bittersweet quality: Even the proudest of them acknowledged sadness about the impending loss of their traditions.

Here's the last weaver of brocade in Morocco, Abdelkader Ouazzani. The masses of knotted strings are what control the placement of the warp threads. One can see why most weavers switched to a Jacquard loom!

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...26e7920be.jpeg


Next up: Some things that made tourism in Morocco a bit irritating from my perspective….

Oops! I missed some text:

@ tripplanner001: I'm glad to know you're reading along!

@ zebec:

Reddit can put a traveler in direct contact with a local culture. So one can get caught up instantly with (municipal) news. In addition, you can always post your queries there for locals to answer. We recently did that with Santa Barbara and got lots of useful info straight from the horse's mouth. I find Reddit's norm of approval-rating to be little more than a junior high school popularity contest, but looking beyond that silliness can say that it ranks as a good new addition to the research tool box.

Thank you for that Meknes musical tip. We were in that town but had to rush through without seeing that museum.
I am done. The upcoming irritants

@ zebec: Thanks for that insight into the value of Reddit for trip planning!

- -

Continuing my comments on the things I liked least about traveling in Morocco, I turn to things that were really just mild irritants:

Gate closures in ancient cities. In age-old pedestrian city cores (or medinas), such as those of Fez and Marrakesh, some “neighborhood” gates close at certain times, and golly gosh, can you believe that google maps doesn’t always show these closures? So, while I was generally awed by the accuracy of google maps in these labyrinthine areas, I admit that I found it frustrating to come upon a closed gate. (Especially when I ended up at the SAME closed gate again later. Sometimes, again and again. Sigh.) In many cases, teenage boys stood outside these closed gates, ready to guide one to one’s destination. At least one of my guidebooks had warned against relying upon them. I’m not sure if that’s good advice or not, as I was generally able to find my way on my own: After all, roaming the medinas was one of my goals! But I did accept help twice when I had a reservation that didn’t allow a more leisurely meander. In the first case, in Marrakesh, a group of young men quickly guided me to my destination and refused to accept a tip for doing so. In the other case, in Fez, two young men guided me and then berated me, vociferously, for offering what they considered insufficient recompense.

Taxis. I found it challenging to learn how to deal with “petit” taxis – the ones that cost less, are shared, and are usually flagged down streetside. As I understood it, one negotiates the price to a particular location before entering. As I was to learn, the driver might decline your request because they have already committed to going a different direction or because you offer too little or whatever. And I always found it hard to know what to offer. I often asked people at restaurants or museums (etc.) what I should expect to pay; I appreciated that input, but wasn’t always able to negotiate a price in the specified range. But hey, the prices were less than the “grand taxi” prices, they weren’t at all unreasonable (actually, quite cheap by DC standards), and really, it was up to me to decide what to pay. Not a bad “problem”!

Crowds in Marrakesh. It seems that Marrakesh is now firmly on the path of many tourists, often visiting with tour groups and so worried that they might lose sight of their guide that they will march over anyone or anything that seems in the way. Argh. Yogi Berra’s words come to mind … but I went anyway and was glad I did! This shot, in the Palais de la Bahia, was taken in a rare small gap in the crowds. Yikes! (I blurred the faces in this photo, and others, unless the person was performing or otherwise identifiable.)

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Wine. I like to have a glass of wine with my meals. and as a break now and again, too. I knew that wine would not be available at all restaurants or hotels in Morocco, particularly in the medinas, and so I had researched my options in advance. As a rule, my research was successful. Nonetheless, it was a challenge that merits mention on this, my “least liked” list. (I found it ironic that Meknes is near one of Morocco’s main wine producing areas, but it was the place where I had the hardest time finding any.) Here’s one example of an enjoyable glass of wine; as was common in Morocco, wine was served with a bit of something tasty.

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That rounds out my list of ‘least liked” aspects of Morocco. Not a long list, IMO, or a list that would suggest skipping a visit to this magnificent country!

Next, I’ll turn to some surprises,

Yikes on the crowds in Marrakesh. I hope you enjoyed parts of the city without crowds. We had the opposite experience as we arrived in Marrakesh in December 2021 when Morocco closed its borders due to the omicron variant; other than some locals, everywhere was quiet and we wouldn't have mind a few more folks, in nothing so everyone was not on us when we walked through the souks.

@ tripplanner001:
Next installment later today….

I expected glorious Moorish architecture and extraordinary crafts and wonderful food … and I encountered and savored each of these things. But before I comment on those eagerly anticipated delights, let me turn to the things that most surprised me:

The colors! I definitely had not expected such a brilliant palette!

The intense blue of the fishing boats in the harbor of Essaouira:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3812e0866.jpeg


Striking blues were evident in many locations in Morocco, including Rabat’s medina:

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“Majorelle Blue” was inspired by these blues and is contrasted with other bold colors in the glorious Majorelle Garden in Marrakesh. (The name of this particular shade of blue is actually trademarked!)

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And then there were the contrasts of deep green foliage against russet and ochre and golden sandstone under a bright blue sky, typical of vistas I encountered through many parts of the Atlas mountains, particularly on the Atlantic side. Stunning!

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There were also amazing fruits and other foods in just about every produce market (like the pomegranates shown above) and glorious blooms in various gardens and peacocks at Chellah and tiny shops entirely devoted to vividly colored spools of thread in Meknes (a center of for traditional Moroccan embroidered linens, which IMO can be quite beautiful) and so many other encounters with vivid, unexpected color. Photos available on request!


Next, a few more surprises.

We began our Moroccan journey in Casablanca and ended in Marrakesh. The country decided to close when we were at the Todra Gorge. While foreigners were not allowed to enter Morocco, they were allowed to leave. We left when planned although because the flight from Casablanca to DC was cancelled, we had to fly to Paris and return home from there. On the ground, there weren't restrictions at all and all the sites were open. Other than locals and other tourists we could count with our fingers, we mostly had the museums and palaces to ourselves. The only place we saw any real gathering of people was at Jemaa al Fna Square. We missed having other tourists to interact with; the atmosphere was most notable in the souks in Marrakesh, especially when compared to what we experienced in Fez just a few days earlier.

@ tripplanner001: So you were able to see much of what you hoped to see before the limits were imposed? I hope so! But even if that's the case, it’s unfortunate that you weren’t able to experience some places with a more lively atmosphere. I’m not surprised that Jemaa el Fnaa still had gatherings of people – it’s so central to the life of many residents of Marrakesh (as I understand it) that I can’t imagine it would ever be truly abandonded. And as a vast open space, I’m sure it seemed safer than just about anywhere else in the medina. But it must have seemed strange without crowds. Actually, the whole experience must have been rather odd!

- - -

Now, for some more surprises:

As one of the last photos I posted shows, the landscapes of Morocco were often breathtaking. More generally, I was gob-smacked by the variety and beauty of the natural scenery. In many ways, it makes no sense at all that I consider this diversity a surprise – I had planned my trip to include Atlantic beaches and Atlas mountains and Saharan deserts. Even so, I was not prepared for how magnificent I would find these diverse ecosystems. Here are just a few other examples:

The Atlantic, from Essaouira's Skala de la Kasbah:

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Another section of the Atlas Mountains, near Tinghir:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0e3d033d1.jpeg


The desert at sunset:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9f7ac064a.jpeg


Speaking of the desert, I had no idea of how much it varied from place to place; how much vegetation there was in hidden corners, and most of all, how spectacularly beautiful I found it or the areas near deserts. TOTALLY unexpected!

Here's a view from near Ait Ben Haddou:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2e2d29ef2.jpeg



Next up: a few more surprises.

Wow. Absolutely gorgeous photos - that blue!

The closure of the country to incoming visitors did not impact the attractions. Everything was open but before and after. Definitely unusual in many respects.

I am in total agreement with you on the variety. Of the cities, I most enjoyed Fez, but the varied scenery between Fez and Marrakesh was what wowed me the most - Todra Gorge, Erg Chebbi, Mount Toubkal, Ait Ben Haddou...

@ Travel-Nerd:@ tripplanner001:Next installment in a bit….

A few more things surprised me so much about my experiences in Morocco that they merit mention:

Water in the desert! By complete chance, I came to the desert just after an extremely rare rainfall. (Tragically, a few people died in the initial downpours and associated flooding before I got there.) Lake Iriqui had been dry for about 50 years – literally! But there it was, shimmering and rippling with the breezes. How fortunate I was to see it! People throughout the region were thrilled and awed by it.

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Storks! Astoundingly extensive flocks of storks! Countless numbers flew over Meknes at sunset and Chellah didn’t seem to have space for even one more of those immense nests. A sign there indicated that more than 70 nesting white storks who live there most of the year. Who knew? (Not I, obviously.) Here’s a shot of Chellah’s minaret.

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Cats! Lots of well-fed, well-cared for cats. I saw them sitting quietly next to all sorts of things I’m sure they would have loved to eat – but I never saw one indulge. And every evening, I saw dishes left out for them. It would seem that the people of Morocco have determined that it’s better to have happy rodent-capturing critters than hungry strays. Here’s one example from the fish market in Essaouira.

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Next up: What I liked most.

Unexpected surprises, at least of the memorably wonderful kind, are among the things I enjoy most about travel in general. That said, I plan my trips to ensure that I see and experience things I expect to enjoy, and it is to some of those amazing aspects of this trip that I now turn.

What I liked most:

My desire to see Moorish architecture and ornamentation was a driving force behind my decision to make Morocco a priority, and I was not disappointed! Palaces, riads, medersas (aka madrasas ... there are various spellings for Islamic schools), tombs… There were stunning mosaics and stucco work and woodwork and paint, all with exquisite attention to detail. I’ve already shown a photo of Meknes’s Dar Jamai and just a bit of Marrakesh’s Bahia Palace; now I’ll offer just a few more examples. (Oh, it has been hard to choose! I hope I'm not posting too many pictures.)

Here's a view of the Ben Yousef Madrasa in Marrakesh:

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And the detail of the ornamentation around its mihrab:

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Also in Marrakesh, Dar el Bacha was richly ornamented:

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Here's a door frame from that same palace / museum:

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Ceilings were often magnificent; here’s one in Fe's Palais el Glaoui:

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Incredible workmanship was evident even when roaming Fez’s medina – this canopy was over a doorway that wasn’t even marked!

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And in Rabat, the interior of the Mausoleum of Mohammed V – built in a traditional style, but with modern materials -- is IMO utterly, breathtakingly glorious!

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fc7dc7d1d.jpeg

Next up … more of what I liked most….

What I liked most, continued:

While traditional Moorish architecture held sway with my heart, I was delighted by the other architectural styles I encountered in Morocco. In addition to some striking very modern buildings in Rabat, my favorites included:

The Almoravid Koubba in Marrakech is IMO a magnificent example of early Almoravid architecture.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...af2df6630.jpeg

There are also some wonderful examples of Almohad architecture in Marrakech. Here’s a view of the Koutoubia Mosque:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fbb34d1ec.jpeg

Any number of cities had districts filled with Art Deco or Art Deco influenced buildings, some quite beautiful. As I understand it, that was often the result of expansion of cities during the time when the French controlled the area, which happened to include the years of Art Deco’s greatest popularity. A fan of Art Deco, I was happy to see them! And Morocco’s Art Deco buildings often include elements of traditional Moorish design, resulting in a style sometimes termed “Mauresque.” Here’s one in Casablanca:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...607b7c981.jpeg

Next: What I liked most, continued….

I can see that the number of views of this thread consistently increases, day by day. I hope that means that someone, or perhaps several people, are finding value in it. I hope so!

- - -

What I liked most, continued:

In addition to Islamic-influenced and later buildings, Morocco holds some amazing remnants of ancient civilizations.

The Roman city of Volubilis was extensive. Its mosaics (in particular) caught my eye.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5bf2e3d34.jpeg


Chellah, in Rabat, mixes Roman ruins with Marinid ones, with gardens and peacocks and the aforementioned storks in delightful abundance.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...25672f8b9.jpeg


I found the earthen fortifications built by the Berbers impressive. I’ve already shown an image of the earthquake damaged kasbah at Telouet; here’s an image of a restored one, the Kasbah Ellouze.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02311090c.jpeg


Next up, if I continue … more of what I liked most….

Still following along and enjoying.