"So why Morocco?" - I was asked by many of my friends. I thought it'd be a good idea to clarify this question, especially for friends from Israel who might have some misconceptions or misunderstanding about my choice.
I've never been to Africa before. Of course Africa is huge, has 54 or 56 countries (depending on how we count them). I hope Morocco is the first, but not last African country I visit. It's just the beginning of the journey of discovery on a new continent.
Unfortunately some countries of Africa are indeed politically unstable. I wouldn't travel today neither to Burkina Faso, where coup d'etat happens frequently, nor to Nigeria which is partly under control of extreme Muslim military groups, nor to Eritrea.
I've never been to a Muslim country before. There is tons of brainwash going on in Israel which cause a lot of people believe that Muslim countries are dangerous, and they are all unfriendly to us, or are unsafe. I picked a safe and stable country, where the Arab Spring didn't happen and which is is not any kind of enemy of Israel. Although the two countries don't maintain bilateral diplomatic relations, but Israeli groups get visas to Morocco and Moroccans can also visit Israel. For the sake of simplicity I entered with my EU passport. From Israel's point of view there is no problem with this, since Morocco is not one of the 9 enemy countries (which are: Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen).
I decided not to accept the axiom provided by my environment, overcome the bias, made my homework, took a reasonably low risk and travelled for the first time in my life to a Muslim country, which happened to be in Africa.
Now that I'm back in Berlin I can tell it was worth the effort. Morocco made its way up on my trip ranking to number three (first is New Zealand, followed by Japan).
I found very nice and happy people in Morocco, without any tensions or fights. This kind of reality of Arab population is hardly to imagine in Israel. They adore the Jewish heritage, maintain the old synagogues and cemeteries, and exhibit the Torah scrolls they found.
I found stunning landscapes in the Atlas, the Rif and the Sahara, exquisite art, intricate design and very a rich tradition. The country is set back in time with 80 years at least compared to Western Europe, but it adds to the adventure.
I found tastes and smells like nowhere else in the World. Tageens, hand rolled couscous, Berber spices, mint teas, mechoui lamb, sweets and different variations of Harira soup.
Having said all that I'm happy I don't live in Morocco.
The five times a day muezzin call is disturbing if you're not religious, or have other religion. The chaos is sometimes huge. No private sphere exists in public places, and it exists hardly in riads or other houses. There are also absolutely no gay rights. Gay people are banned, and might even sit in jail for their "blasphemy". Men and women don't typically hang out together. Men socialize with men, and women with women.
Morocco is recommended for the intermediate-advanced traveller who knows some basic French. If you haven't explored Europe yet, haven't visited a bit of Asia, or a bit of South America, don't go straight to Morocco, because it requires some slightly more sophisticated travelling skills than a well developed and travelled European country or the US. I even learned the Arabic alphabet as a part of preparations for the trip. It didn't hurt.
The next posts will include photos too. Enjoy!
I've never been to Africa before. Of course Africa is huge, has 54 or 56 countries (depending on how we count them). I hope Morocco is the first, but not last African country I visit. It's just the beginning of the journey of discovery on a new continent.
Unfortunately some countries of Africa are indeed politically unstable. I wouldn't travel today neither to Burkina Faso, where coup d'etat happens frequently, nor to Nigeria which is partly under control of extreme Muslim military groups, nor to Eritrea.
I've never been to a Muslim country before. There is tons of brainwash going on in Israel which cause a lot of people believe that Muslim countries are dangerous, and they are all unfriendly to us, or are unsafe. I picked a safe and stable country, where the Arab Spring didn't happen and which is is not any kind of enemy of Israel. Although the two countries don't maintain bilateral diplomatic relations, but Israeli groups get visas to Morocco and Moroccans can also visit Israel. For the sake of simplicity I entered with my EU passport. From Israel's point of view there is no problem with this, since Morocco is not one of the 9 enemy countries (which are: Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen).
I decided not to accept the axiom provided by my environment, overcome the bias, made my homework, took a reasonably low risk and travelled for the first time in my life to a Muslim country, which happened to be in Africa.
Now that I'm back in Berlin I can tell it was worth the effort. Morocco made its way up on my trip ranking to number three (first is New Zealand, followed by Japan).
I found very nice and happy people in Morocco, without any tensions or fights. This kind of reality of Arab population is hardly to imagine in Israel. They adore the Jewish heritage, maintain the old synagogues and cemeteries, and exhibit the Torah scrolls they found.
I found stunning landscapes in the Atlas, the Rif and the Sahara, exquisite art, intricate design and very a rich tradition. The country is set back in time with 80 years at least compared to Western Europe, but it adds to the adventure.
I found tastes and smells like nowhere else in the World. Tageens, hand rolled couscous, Berber spices, mint teas, mechoui lamb, sweets and different variations of Harira soup.
Having said all that I'm happy I don't live in Morocco.
The five times a day muezzin call is disturbing if you're not religious, or have other religion. The chaos is sometimes huge. No private sphere exists in public places, and it exists hardly in riads or other houses. There are also absolutely no gay rights. Gay people are banned, and might even sit in jail for their "blasphemy". Men and women don't typically hang out together. Men socialize with men, and women with women.
Morocco is recommended for the intermediate-advanced traveller who knows some basic French. If you haven't explored Europe yet, haven't visited a bit of Asia, or a bit of South America, don't go straight to Morocco, because it requires some slightly more sophisticated travelling skills than a well developed and travelled European country or the US. I even learned the Arabic alphabet as a part of preparations for the trip. It didn't hurt.
The next posts will include photos too. Enjoy!
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