Story#155
Marrakech at first light
At six in the morning the Jemaa el-Fnaa is empty except for cats and a man sweeping. By nine it is a market, by seven a food court, by eleven a drum circle. Same square, four cities.
Morocco
One of the largest car-free cities on Earth, a blue town, and goats that climb trees.
10 entries · 5 stories, 5 fun facts
Morocco at a glance
The practical numbers, before the stories.
- Capital
- Rabat
- Currency
- Moroccan dirham (MAD)
- Official language
- Arabic and Amazigh (Berber); French widely used in business
- Climate
- Mediterranean on the north coast, Atlantic and mild on the west, arid inland, cold and snowy in the High Atlas.
- Best time to go
- March–May and September–November
- Time zone
- UTC+1 year-round, moving to UTC±0 during Ramadan
- Driving side
- Right
- Plugs and voltage
- Type C / E, 220 V
Worth knowing: The dirham is a closed currency - you cannot buy it before you arrive and should spend it before you leave.
Planning a trip to Morocco
The decisions that determine whether the trip works, whichever country you are going to.
Fes el Bali is one of the largest car-free urban areas anywhere, where goods still move by donkey through streets that were laid out before the printing press. Chefchaouen is painted in a dozen shades of blue that get refreshed by hand each spring. In the southwest, goats genuinely climb argan trees for the fruit.
The entries here also cover the three glasses of mint tea and what each one means, the solar complex at Ouarzazate that stores heat in molten salt to generate power after dark, and the medina navigation rule that works eight times out of nine: if the street narrows you are going the wrong way.
Entries from Morocco
Story#159
The tea ritual
Three glasses: the first bitter as life, the second strong as love, the third gentle as death. Our host poured from a great height each time and would not let us leave until all three were drunk.
Story#162
Sand in everything
Two months after we came home I found Saharan sand in the spine of a paperback. It had crossed a continent inside a book and I could not bring myself to shake it out.
Story#165
Blue in every doorway
There are at least nine blues in one alley and the paint is refreshed by hand each spring. A woman repainting her step let me help for two minutes and then politely took the brush back.
Story#285
Berber hospitality
We knocked to ask for water and were served lunch. When we tried to pay, our host looked offended, then wrapped bread for us to take up the pass.
Fun fact#494
Morocco has blue and white cities
Chefchaouen's lanes are painted in dozens of blue shades, a tradition variously credited to Jewish refugees and to repelling insects.
Fun fact#496
Fes has a car-free medina
Fes el Bali is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, where goods still move by donkey.
Fun fact#497
Morocco built a giant solar plant
The Noor complex uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and can store heat in molten salt to generate power after sunset.
Fun fact#500
Goats climb argan trees
In southwest Morocco goats climb argan trees for the fruit, a sight that has become a roadside attraction.
Fun fact#585
The Atlas Mountains hold snow
North Africa has ski resorts. Oukaimeden near Marrakech sits above 2,600 metres and opens most winters.
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