VISIT TO FASCINATING MOROCCO

The Kingdom of Morocco is a fascinating country that strikes one by its rugged vastness, huge mountains, breath-taking landscapes, the diversity of its population that comprises Arabs, Berbers, Nomads, among others and its wonderful arts and crafts, and colourful history that goes well back to ancient times. My wife and I spent two weeks trekking this beautiful country with a group of fellow Canadians and we loved every moment of our two-week stay.
Our trip began on November 06 and ended two weeks later, that is on November 21, 2015. And we all had a wonderful time together. The friendship and camaraderie in the group that grew, was contagious. At the end of our trip, we all parted with lots of wonderful memories of the two weeks we spent together. The weather was splendid throughout our visit. It was the beginning of the cool season in Morocco, I was told, and probably the best time to visit this fascinating country although summer is generally extremely hot and torrid, I was told. However, Morocco still draws a large number of tourists all year round. The air temperature at that time of the year was generally mild and soothing all through the day — except in the mornings when it would be a trifle chilly and, the same in the afternoons when the sun went. A sweater or a light jacket was enough to feel comfortable.  
Morocco is located at the northeastern tip of Africa and embraces both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, that constitute its natural northern borders and which offers the country some wonderful coastlines and are the sites of some posh resorts. No wonder the area is a favoured attraction to the many tourists who visit the country the year round. As a matter of fact, tourism in Morocco is big and contributes some 10% to the kingdom’s GDP.
Casablanca: Morocco’s largest city
We began our visit to Morocco in the beautiful City of Casablanca on the Atlantic coast and which has justly become famous because of the classic 1942 Humphrey and Ingrid Bergman Hollywood movie of the same name with its famous Rick’s American Café, which has been recreated in the City by an avid fan and which to-day, is a major attraction to the city. As a matter of fact, Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and is also often referred to as the business capital of the Kingdom.
Morocco is a land with breath-taking landscapes and scenery — particularly in the south which reminds us, in many ways, of the barren, rugged and harsh landscapes of U.S.A. mid-west — more particularly, Arizona and Nevada that have served as backgrounds to so many Hollywood westerns. Indeed, the Moroccan landscape with its natural decor also reminds us of the many spaghetti westerns that were shot there in the 60’s and 70’s. As a matter of fact, Morocco offers itself — even today — as a preferred locale for many movies — particularly for costume and period dramas made by Hollywood or European movie-makers. So much so, even today many top-notch producers, like Dino de Laurentis, have permanent studios of their own in Morocco.  I was told that more than forty movies are shot partly or in full annually in the Kingdom. Among the well known movies, we can name such famous Hollywood flicks like Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, Prince of Persia, The Mummy … Also, worth mentioning is the fact that the last James Bond movie, S.P.E.C.T.R.E., was also shot in part in Morocco — in Tangier to be exact. However, it is interesting to point out that the classic « CASABLANCA » mentioned above and which made the Moroccan city famous and helped put it on the map, was NOT shot in Morocco at all. In fact, the entire movie was shot in studio sets built in Hollywood.
–« What an irony! » our Moroccan guide observed not without a shade of sarcasm in his voice.
Casablanca is always lively and teeming with people and ever-busy traffic. It seems it does not sleep. The boulevards are splendid: large and often decked with stately rows of date-palm trees. Indeed, Moroccans are enamoured with vegetation and water. One sees parks, flower-gardens and fountains everywhere. As a matter of fact, almost every house has one fountain in the front-yard. Moroccans show great reverence for water, which is definitely a symbol of life in a region that is dominated by large swatch of barren desert sands and scant vegetation. The Sahara Desert is not far from the southern Moroccan border.
Most Moroccan cities, villages and towns are walled — some dating back to the medieval times — with superbly designed and decorated gates that are real masterpieces of Moroccan art and architecture which stand in beautiful contrast with modern structures. Within the confines of the walls lie, what the Moroccans call the medina (city), which are generally little gems in themselves in terms of architecture and layout and are always teeming with activities. The medina is the real hub of Moroccan everyday life  — and that in the kasbah within which are Squares fitted with countless narrow alleys and little shops displaying all kinds of Moroccan goods and wares like carpets, rugs, jewelleries, leather goods, potteries etc. Interestingly, there are no cars in the kasbahs.
Morocco, as a tourist haven, has a lot to offer to visitors in terms of exoticism, beaches, art works and crafts as displayed in home decorations, jewelleries and handicrafts. The population of Morocco, which hovers around thirty-eight million people, comprises mostly the Arabs and the Berbers — a nomadic desert people. Today, the Arabs constitute 60% of the population while the Berbers account for about 40%. The Arabs, who came to the land by the end of the sixth century, brought with them the religion of Islam and they eventually converted the Berbers to their faith. Today, close to 95% of the Moroccans are Muslim by faith with a small group of Jews and Christians. More than half of the Moroccan population are in its twenties.
The history of Morocco goes way back to Roman times. There are several ruins testifying to the Roman presence in the ancient city of Volubilis, which is a must for any visitor just for the joy of seeing the many relics and ruins dug out from the area and where every item is very artfully displayed with appropriate plaques and inscriptions for the benefit of visitors to the site throughout the year. Excavations for Roman ruins are still going on in that ancient city.  Besides, Morocco, in ancient times, was known as Mauretannia  — not to be confused with present day neighbouring state of Mauritania.

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