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Other cities in Morocco
Country introduction
For Westerners, Morocco holds an immediate and enduring fascination. Though just an hour’s ride on the ferry from Spain, it seems at once very far from Europe, with a culture –( Islamic and deeply traditional – that is almost wholly unfamiliar. Throughout the country, despite the years of French and Spanish colonial rule and the presence of modern and cosmopolitan cities like Rabat or Casablanca, a more distant past constantly makes its presence felt. Fes, perhaps the most beautiful of all Arab cities, maintains a life still rooted in medieval times, when a Moroccan empire stretched from Senegal to northern Spain while in the mountains of the Atlas and the Rif, it’s still possible to draw up tribal maps of the Berber population. As a backdrop to all this, the country’s physical make-up is also extraordinary: from a Mediterranean coast, through four mountains ranges, to the empty sans and scrub of the Sahara.
All of which makes Morocco an intense and rewarding experience, and a country that is ideally suited to independent (or, for activities, small-group) travel. If you have time enough, you tan cover a whole range of experiences - hike in the Atlas, drive through the southern oases, relax at the laid-back Atlantic resorts like Asi¬lah or Essaouira, and lose yourself wandering the old streets of Fes or Mar¬rakech. It tan be hard at times to come to terms with the privilege of your position as a tourist in a country with severe poverty, and there is, too, occasional hassle from unofficial guides. But Morocco is essentially a safe and politically stable country to visit: the death in 1999 of King Hassan II, the Arab world’s longest-serving leader, was fol¬lowed by an easy transition to his son, Mohammed VI. And your enduring impressions are likely to be overwhelmingly positive, shaped by encounters with Morocco’s powerful tradition of hospitality, generosity and open¬ness. This is a country people return to again and again.
All of which makes Morocco an intense and rewarding experience, and a country that is ideally suited to independent (or, for activities, small-group) travel. If you have time enough, you tan cover a whole range of experiences - hike in the Atlas, drive through the southern oases, relax at the laid-back Atlantic resorts like Asi¬lah or Essaouira, and lose yourself wandering the old streets of Fes or Mar¬rakech. It tan be hard at times to come to terms with the privilege of your position as a tourist in a country with severe poverty, and there is, too, occasional hassle from unofficial guides. But Morocco is essentially a safe and politically stable country to visit: the death in 1999 of King Hassan II, the Arab world’s longest-serving leader, was fol¬lowed by an easy transition to his son, Mohammed VI. And your enduring impressions are likely to be overwhelmingly positive, shaped by encounters with Morocco’s powerful tradition of hospitality, generosity and open¬ness. This is a country people return to again and again.