About Morocco
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General information
Visa
Check if you need it with the Moroccan consulate in your country. Journalists and people that work in human rights organizations can be rejected, so if it is not your main occupation try to avoid these terms.
Insurance
Since 2016 is a must.
Unusual limitations
Professional photo- and videocameras. If the customs officer claims your technique to be professional, you should not show your pride because of his mistake – it will cost you a camera. Better try to explain that this is an amateur (non-professional) camera.
Electricity
220 V / 50 Hz. Electrical sockets in Morocco are of types C and E (French). You should buy an adapter in advance, if you need it. If your devices have a flat plug with round pins you will easily use it with type E.
Languages
Arabic and Berber (Tamazight). Note: both languages are unreadable for people who use Latin or Cyrillic alphabet. Spoken Moroccan Arabic (Darija) differs much from modern standard Arabic and from dialects of people from the Middle East. Other common languages are French (~32% of population) and Spanish in the north of Morocco (~15%).
Religion
Sunni Islam (>98%).
Currency
MAD, Moroccan dirham (is subdivided into 100 santimat). You need to present passport for exchange. Save the exchange bills – otherwise you won’t be able to change MAD back into USD or EUR. It is prohibited to export MAD: as soon as you cross the border (pass the passport control), your MAD will turn into nice pieces of paper. Duty Free shops don’t accept MAD. Be prepared and change your MAD in advance. Rate for July 2019: 1 USD = ~9,5 MAD; 1 EUR = ~11 MAD.
Note: in Morocco you can’t pay everywhere using a credit card like one does it in Europe or in the USA. The amount of places in Morocco (where cashless payments are excepted) I would compare probably with Thailand. Going out, make sure that you have enough cash with you.
Cultivation of cannabis
Makes the relations with the EU complicated (80% of consumed in Europe hashish comes from the Rif region).
South
The headache of Morocco is a disputed territory of Western Sahara. That’s why the area of Morocco varies from 710 850 km2 (40th in the world) to 446 550 km2 (57th).
Population
~36 million people.
Kingdom
Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
Driving in Morocco
Drive on the right (like in the USA, Germany or Russia).
Speed limits: urban – 60 km/h, rural – 100 km/h, motorways – 120 km/h.
Vaccination
No specific vaccinations are required.
Imperial cities of Morocco
3 former capitals:
- Fez
- Marrakesh
- Meknes
Аnd the present capital:
Important information
Save a phone number of the embassy (consulate) of your country. It can be useful in the case of emergency.
Tips
Are not a must, tips are up to you.
Toilets
Can be found:
– In restaurants, cafes and hotels (it depends on the owner, will you use it for free, if you haven’t bought anything, or no; a “big sad eyes” look works better in non-touristic places),
– Inside of the most museums and gardens (can be not free of charge),
– On the public transport stations (bus, railway, grand-taxi etc., usually ~1 MAD).
Some facts about Morocco
– One of the most amazing Moroccan sights are the goats that climb argan trees. You can meet them on the way from Agadir to Essaouira.
– The highest peak (Toubkal mountain, 4165 m.) is located in national park, which is 70 km. away from Marrakesh.
– The Canary islands are opposite Morocco.
– In 2017 Moroccan government has banned burqa (its sale, production and import).
– According to the law all the rights for the child are assigned to the father. That’s why women from CIS (that are married to Moroccans) prefer to give birth in native countries.
– A lot of movies are filmed in Morocco. F.e. «Sex and the City», «Prince of Persia», «Gladiator», «Alexander», «Babel», even some scenes from «Game of Thrones» were filmed in Essaouira and Ouarzazate.
– In Russia Morocco is associated with sweet and tasty citrus fruits. Well, I can state that they do export the best fruits – travelling through Morocco I couldn’t find oranges sweeter than I usually buy at home.
The rest of information can be found in this category.
