3 Things To Consider Before Visiting Morocco

Morocco features prominently on Instagram and Pinterest as a favourite destination. The most drool worthy feeds portray the North African nation as if set in a fantastical past, a place of magical carpets and wish granting djinns. Indeed, visiting Morocco has been one of the most memorable, impressive travel experiences for me thus far. Unequivocally, it has been one of the most inspiring places I’ve been. It is somewhere I implore you to visit. Morocco embodies beautiful imperfection - much of which is in the eye of the beholder. With that said, the following tips for visiting Morocco are based on my preferences and are by no means objective.

In this post, I've decided to discuss just three topics: Dressing, Eating and Shopping. Below are things related to each of those topics that you may want to consider before planning your trip to Morocco.

EATING

I really wanted to like Moroccan food but after two visits there filled with underwhelming eating experiences, I can't claim that I'm a fan of the cuisine. Maybe in fairness, I should mention that I don't eat meat unless it's sea food. That self imposed restriction makes eating in many countries difficult. Knowing this, I try to be flexible when I travel to places with cuisines that aren't very vegetarian/pescatarian friendly. Also, I usually take snacks to fill in for meals. Unfortunately, I failed to pack enough of those supplies this time around. Apart from the fact that there weren't many vegetarian options (couscous, veggie tagines, breads and limited fruits were pretty much what was available for non meat eaters...salads and soups in some places), the food was just so bland! I'm not someone who likes very salty food but I do like deeply flavourful food. (I’m Trini, afterall). That the food wasn’t particularly tasty was baffling because every where I turned spices were being sold. Maybe it comes down to the combination(s) of spices Moroccans use.

Maybe the third time returning will be the charm.

Something else that stood out to me was that a few places, which several popular bloggers highly recommended were disappointing. I wondered if those individuals' palettes were vastly different from mine or if they had a majorly different definition of what constitutes delicious food. Based on their rave reviews, I was expecting the food to be amazing but left feeling annoyed by what I thought was unjustified hype. I suppose it’s possible that the meat dishes tasted considerably better than the veggie ones I had. Two of the eateries I'm referring to are Cafe d'Espices and Nomad (their desert was totally yummy though). Out of all the meals I had in Morocco, I can only think of one that I found delicious and it was somewhere my friend and I just happened upon. In case you want to check it out, the name is 16 Kawa and it's located right by the YSL Museum/Majorelle Garden. We ended up returning to eat there a second time. Their address is 34 Rue Yves St Laurent, Marrakech 40000

*By the way, there is a restaurant/cafe on the premises of the Majorelle Garden but they were closed by the time we arrived.

SHOPPING

Quite likely, the most intense experience you will have while visiting Morocco is shopping in the souks. Unless you’ve been in another of the world's most frenetic markets, the souks of Morocco will probably be overwhelming. However, if you know what you're in for, you’ll enjoy the adventure and walk away with some treasures. To prepare you, let's start with the fact that souks are giant mazes. As a foreigner, it may be tricky finding your bearing. Some of the alleys bear names but since they look dizzyingly alike and the signs are usually hard to find, those names don't help that much. Google maps and other gps apps are kind of hit or miss too. My suggestion is to take business cards for places including shops that you want to revisit and have the vendors write directions and landmarks in Arabic for reference. (The same applies to riads and restaurants etc.) Also, locals seem to do better with recognising places/addresses written in Arabic than those in French.

Another important aspect of the shopping is the interaction with the vendors. Vendors tend to vie for potential customers' attention in boisterous and sometimes, unexpected ways. Some make jokes in calling out to you, some outrightly show irritation if you end up not purchasing from them. My advice is to be polite yet firm and make a game out of navigating the souks.

Let's now proceed to the price situation. The reality is that in most shops there are no set prices. Haggling or negotiating prices is part of the culture as elsewhere on the African continent. Vendors expect you to haggle. With that said, vendors will probably inflate the prices due to knowing that you aren't Moroccan. Knowing how to haggle will prevent you from paying more than is reasonable.

I suggest starting at 1/3 or 1/4 of the price you would want to pay in the US, and haggle from there.

DRESSING

The answer to the question of how to dress in Morocco is not a black or white one. I think a few factors come into play. For example, will you be in urban areas like Marrakech or Casablanca or in rural ones? Will you be going in the height of summer or towards winter? Will you be travelling alone as a woman or accompanied by a man? One thing is definite though: Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country. It is, in my opinion, a moderate Muslim country but it's still a Muslim country in which one of the social mores is modest dressing. I noticed that many young Moroccan women wear Western clothing and many show their arms and hair. I enjoyed seeing how even those who covered their hair and bodies were often so stylish. I secretly took style notes from these chic hijabis. Notwithstanding this degree of self expression, I don't recall seeing any Moroccan women walking around wearing booty shorts or revealing tops.

On the other hand, I did see quite a few tourists dressing a bit more daringly. I preferred dressing conservatively there. This didn't take away from my feeling like I was expressing my sense of style as usual. Watching those young Moroccan women convinced me even more that leaving something to the imagination in terms of how we dress doesn't necessarily equate to not being creative or modern. Additionally, dressing conservatively but comfortably in a place with an infamously warm climate is doable.

I hope that these tips are useful. I look forward to hearing about your Morocco travel adventures including if you've already gone. Tell me what you thought and what tips you have.

Photos of me by Naphtali Doty. Photos of landscape and scenery by me.