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MOROCCO
Capital: Rabat (RBA)
Area: 171,000 sq miles/
444,600 sq km
Population: 24,500,000
Religion: Sunni Moslem
Currency: Dirham (MAD)
Electricity: 220 volts
Language: Arabic, French
Note: Western Sahara or Spanish Sahara is
currently considered part of Morocco. It
will be covered under Morocco.
Home of the Berbers, Morocco assisted the
Arabs with their invasion of Spain in 711
AD, eventually gaining control over much
of Spain in 739. Numerous dynasties ruled
Morocco over the next several centuries
until the 17th century, when European
influence arrived. Morocco was divided
between Spain and France in 1904.
Independence came in 1956, and control of
Western Sahara was gained in 1979.
Morocco is a fabulous country rich in
history, culture, great food, magnificent
scenery, and shopping.
Morocco is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean
and Mediterranean Sea on the north, Algeria
and Mauritania on the east, the Atlantic
Ocean on the west, and Mauritania on the
south.
Only 9 miles/14 km from Europe across the
Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco is a world
away. The Atlantic coast is sandy and long.
Parallel with the coastal strip extend the
very high, long, often snow-covered Atlas
Mountains, which reach elevations up to
13,661 ft/4,164 m. The barren, dry, and
rocky mountains slope eastward to the
Sahara Desert. There are numerous rivers,
although many of them disappear before
they travel very far from the Atlas
Mountains. The longest Moroccan river is
the Moulouya, which empties into the
Mediterranean Sea. Nearly half of the
southern portion of Morocco is what was
Western Sahara or Spanish Sahara.
Nearly all of you will love Morocco. It is
rich in culture, music, history, ruins,
fabulous architecture, great shopping,
brilliant colors, nomadic desert tribes, winter
snow skiing (although not world class),
camel markets, and excellent food.
You will most enjoy visiting Morocco
between November and May, when the
climate is mildest. June through September
can be rather hot, especially in the lower
elevations. The Atlas Mountains are cooler
year round and can have snow and quite
cold weather during winter months.
Touring
Casablanca (CAS) is the major international
airport in Morocco, but most cities and areas
are served by frequent and acceptable
internal air service. Escorted motorcoach
tours and chauffeur-driven cars with guides
are the best ways to see the country. Local
buses, taxis, and trains are quite acceptable,
especially if you travel first class.
We suggest the following program for you
to gain a good overview of Morocco:
Day 1 Day 5
Arrive Casablanca (CAS). We suggest you Spend the day in nearby Meknes (FES). An
imperial city, it has the Royal Stable, gates

visit the Great Mosque, Royal Palace, the

market, and observe the Atlantic Ocean, but
stay only a few hours. Drive to Rabat.
Overnight. of Bab Mansour, great shops, and beautiful
architecture.
Day 2
Rabat (ra BAHT) (RBA). You should see the Day 6
Royal Palace, Drive to Erfoud via Midelt/Er Rachidia. Er
Tower of Rachidia has a
Hassan, the Foreign Legion
Mausoleum, fortress. Erfoud
and nearby has the Bordj Est
Oudayas Tower, which
Kasbah. offers a fabulous
Overnight. view of the Sahara
and nearby Roman
Day 3 ruins. Overnight.
We suggest you drive to Tangier (tan JIR)
(TNG). You Day 7
should see Continue to Tinerhir, located on the eastern
the Royal
Palace,
wander
through the
souks and
casbahs, the
Medina, Hercules Caves, and enjoy the
coastal scenery. Overnight.

Day 4
Drive to Fez/Fes (FES). This imperial city
has the walled
city, mosques, slopes of the high Atlas mountains. We
Royal Palace, suggest you visit the impressive Todra
Sultan’s Palace, Gorge and enjoy the desert area. Overnight.
Bou Jeloud
Gardens, and the Day 8
Medina. Continue to Ouarzazate (OZZ). This is the
Overnight. land of the Berbers with quite different
architecture and lifestyle. Overnight.
Day 9 a Casbah, camel rides along the beach, a
Day trip to Zagora, a French Foreign Legion mixture of desert and mountain scenery, and
is a good place to stay while exploring the
surrounding area. (2-4 days)

Goulimine (goo luh MEEM) (AGA)

—This desert town at the southern end of
the country offers you nomadic tribes, camel
markets, a fabulous Saturday market where
it is possible to buy a camel, and many other
town, which has markets, a nomadic Tuareg terrific things. (1-3 days)
tribe, desert scenery, and many other sites.
Western Sahara (VIL, SMW)—The
Day 10-11 area known as Western or Spanish Sahara
This day will bring you to Marrakech (muh covers nearly half of the southern portion of
RAHK ish) Morocco. This region encompasses
(RAK). Called approximately 102,703 sq miles/267,028 sq
the “Red City” km, and is primarily a livestock-raising and
because of the mining area. It is also a land of immense
stones used to
build the
buildings,
Marrakech is
not only famous,
it is interesting.
You should see
Medina, Bahia
Palace Museum,
Koutoubia
minaret, tombs,
and many other desert terrain with sporadic spots of grass
sites. and mountains. The highest mountain is
2,700 ft/823 m high. In the film, “Lawrence
of Arabia,” the scene at the well, when the
horseback rider comes from the distance,
resembles what most of the area looks like:
Day 12 heat, nomads, camels, desert, and caravans.
Drive to Casablanca (CAS) to depart Discovered by Portuguese navigators in the
Morocco, or visit other areas. 15th century, it was Spanish traders who
arrived soon after in 1476, and established a
Should you have additional time, we suggest trading post. Even though they abandoned it
you visit some of the following areas: in 1524, the Spanish still claimed the
territory from Cape Blanc to Cape Bojador
Agadir (ahg uh DIR) (AGA)— and ruled the country until 1975, when it
Located on the was divided between Mauritania and
Atlantic Ocean in Morocco. Mauritania gave up its claim in
southern Morocco, 1979 to Morocco, who currently governs the
Agadir has great area. The locals still seek independence.
beaches, excellent Very few of you will come here, as most
hotels and resorts, have never heard of it, and there are
relatively few tourist facilities available. The
main city and principal airport is Laayoune
(EUN). (1-2 days)
Money and Travel Tips:
The local currency is the Moroccan dirham
(Dh or MAD), which is divided into 100
centimes (c).
There are 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, Dh 1, Dh 2, Dh
5, Dh 10 coins, although coins smaller than
20c are rarely seen these days. Notes are
available in denominations of Dh 10, Dh 20,
Dh 50, Dh 100, and Dh 200.
While the dirham is the only currency
officially accepted in Morocco, some hotels
may accept your EUR/USD unofficially.
It's illegal to bring local currency out of the
country, so you can't get dirhams outside
Morocco. By law, exchange rates should be
the same at all banks and official exchanges.
Make a note of the exact rates before you go
to make sure you're getting a fair deal.
Don't expect to see many banks in the souqs
or medinas, although in larger cities there
are often ATMs near the main gates, and
even one or two inside the large souqs You
may also encounter "helpful" people who
will exchange dollars or euros for dirhams.
Unofficial exchange on the streets outside
souqs or medinas doesn't seem to exist.
Besides banks and dedicated exchange
offices, major post offices provide
exchange, and work until late hours. There
are several exchange offices in Casablanca
airport.
ATMs can be found near tourist hotels and
in the modern ville nouvelle shopping
districts. Make sure that the ATM accepts
foreign cards (look for the Maestro, Cirrus
or Plus logos) before you put your card in.
Try to have as much small change as
possible and keep larger bills hidden
separately.
Remember that bargaining in the souks is
expected. It is not really possible to give an
accurate indication of how much to start the
bargaining at in relation to the initial asking
price, but a general idea would be to aim for
approximately 50% off. Prices are set on a
daily, even hourly basis, depending on how
much has been sold on a given day (or
period of hours), while also reflecting the
vendor's personal estimation of the potential
client.
It must also be said that, as is true for
buyers, not all sellers are actually very
good at what they do. A vendor that is
completely disinterested or even
aggressive is unlikely to give a good
price. Move on.
Source:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Morocco#Buy
Public Holidays:
• Muharram 1 ~ Muslim New
Year
• Rabi' al-awwal 12 ~ Birth of the
prophet Muhammad
• Shawwaaiil 1 ~ Eid ul-Fitr
• Dhu al-Hijjah 10 ~ Eid ul-Adha
• January 1 ~ New Year's Day
• January 11 ~ Proclamation of
Independence
• May 1 ~ Labour day
• July 30 ~ Enthronement
• August 14 ~ Oued Ed-Dahab
Day
• August 20 ~ Revolution of the
King and the People
• August 21 ~ Birthday of King
Mohammed VI
• November 6 ~ Green March
• November 18 ~ Independence
Day