Culture & Etiquette
678 questions · page 10 of 19
What is the Moussem of Moulay Idriss and can visitors attend?
The Moussem of Moulay Idriss is an important religious pilgrimage and festival honouring Moulay Idriss I, founder of Morocco’s first Muslim dynasty, held in the holy hilltop town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun near Meknes and Volubilis. It usually takes place in late summer, drawing thousands of pilgrims for processions, prayer and celebration.
Read the answerWhat is the Timitar Festival in Agadir and when is it held?
Timitar is Agadir’s free open-air music festival celebrating Amazigh (Berber) culture and world music, usually held in summer (around July). On stages across the Atlantic resort city, Amazigh artists share the bill with global and African acts, drawing big, relaxed crowds for several nights of seaside concerts.
Read the answerWhat is spiced Moroccan coffee (qahwa bahara)?
Qahwa bahara — “spiced coffee” — is Moroccan coffee infused with warm ground spices, usually cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, clove, black pepper and toasted sesame, sometimes a whiff of ginger or aniseed. The spices are ground into the beans so each cup tastes deeply aromatic, faintly sweet and warming rather than sharp.
Read the answerWhat is a Moroccan breakfast spread like?
A Moroccan breakfast is a generous spread, not a single plate: warm breads (msemen, baghrir, khobz, harcha) with olive oil, honey, amlou, butter and jams; a dish of olives; eggs or khlea; soft white cheese; sometimes bissara or soup; and always glasses of sweet mint tea or milky coffee.
Read the answerWhat kinds of bread does Morocco have (khobz, batbout)?
Morocco is a bread country. Everyday khobz is a round flat-domed loaf used as both food and utensil. Batbout is a soft, pillowy stovetop pocket bread. Add semolina harcha, flaky msemen, lacy baghrir, barley khobz dyal chair, and round mkhamer — bread is at every meal and scoops up every dish.
Read the answerWhat is Moroccan honey and amlou for breakfast?
Morocco produces prized single-flower honeys — euphorbia (daghmous), thyme, orange blossom, jujube (sidr), carob and wildflower — ranging from intensely bitter to delicately floral. At breakfast they’re drizzled over bread, baghrir and msemen, and paired with amlou, the rich argan-almond-honey spread, for dipping.
Read the answerWhat dairy does Morocco have (raib, lben)?
Morocco’s traditional dairy is built on cultured milk. Lben is tangy, thin buttermilk drunk with couscous to cool and aid digestion. Raib is a softly set, lightly sweet fermented yogurt-like dish. You’ll also find jben (fresh white cheese), smen (aged butter) and creamy avocado-and-milk shakes.
Read the answerWhat olives does Morocco have and how are they cured?
Moroccan olives are sorted by ripeness and cure: firm green olives cracked with garlic and chilli; mellow violet (pink) olives; soft black olives; and meslalla, salt-cured wrinkled black olives. They’re dressed with preserved lemon, herbs, harissa or argan oil and appear at every meal, from breakfast to tagine.
Read the answerWhat dates are famous in Morocco (Medjool) and how are they eaten?
Morocco’s southern oases grow superb dates, the most famous being Mejhoul (Medjool) — large, soft and caramel-rich. They’re offered with milk to welcome guests, stuffed with almond paste at celebrations, simmered into lamb tagines, and eaten to break the Ramadan fast at sunset alongside harira.
Read the answerWhat sweets are served at Moroccan weddings and celebrations?
At Moroccan weddings and feasts, tiered platters carry honey-dipped chebakia, almond-stuffed kaab el ghazal (“gazelle horns”), crumbly fekkas and ghriba biscuits, briouat pastries soaked in honey, sellou energy paste, stuffed dates, and the showpiece sweet bastilla — all served with endless mint tea.
Read the answerWhat nuts and dried fruits should I try in Morocco?
Morocco is heaven for nuts and dried fruit: local almonds (the backbone of its sweets), walnuts, pistachios, peanuts, and roasted-salted seeds, alongside plump dates, dried figs, apricots, raisins and prunes. They’re piled in souk stalls, stuffed into pastries, simmered into tagines, and nibbled with mint tea.
Read the answerWhat is Moroccan street snack culture like?
Moroccan street snacking is a daily ritual: sfenj doughnuts and msemen in the morning, steaming snail soup (babbouche) and roasted chickpeas mid-afternoon, grilled corn, fava beans, sweet potatoes, maakouda potato cakes and merguez sandwiches from carts, all cheap, fresh and eaten standing among the crowds.
Read the answerWhat soups does Morocco have besides harira (chorba, hssoua)?
Beyond harira, Morocco has bissara (thick fava-bean purée with olive oil and cumin), chorba (a lighter vegetable-and-pasta broth), hssoua (a soothing barley- or wheat-flour soup, sometimes milky), and simple lentil and seasonal vegetable soups — each finished with good oil, cumin and a squeeze of lemon.
Read the answerWhat preserved foods does Morocco have (smen, preserved lemons)?
Born of a pre-fridge climate, Morocco preserves brilliantly. Smen is salted butter aged for months into a pungent, cheese-like cooking fat. Preserved lemons are salt-cured whole lemons whose mellow rind flavours tagines. Add khlea (confit spiced beef), salt-cured olives, dried fruit and sun-dried tomatoes and peppers.
Read the answerWhat is a Moroccan afternoon tea / goûter?
The goûter (kaskrout/le-goûter) is Morocco’s cherished late-afternoon tea break, around 5–6pm. Families gather over endless mint tea or coffee with msemen, baghrir and harcha drizzled with honey and butter, plus sweet pastries, bread with jam or amlou, olives and cheese — a relaxed social ritual, not a quick snack.
Read the answerCan you do a film-location tour in Morocco around the Ouarzazate studios?
Yes. Ouarzazate is the heart of Morocco's film industry, home to Atlas Studios and CLA Studios, both open to visitors. A film-location day pairs a working backlot tour with nearby Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified kasbah used in dozens of major productions, for a genuinely cinematic experience.
Read the answerCan you do a Game of Thrones filming location tour in Morocco?
Yes. Morocco doubled for several Game of Thrones settings: Ait Ben Haddou stood in for the slaver city of Yunkai and the gates of Pentos, while Essaouira's ramparts and harbour played Astapor, where Daenerys frees the Unsullied. A two-stop tour links the desert kasbah and the Atlantic coast.
Read the answerCan you do a Gladiator or Hollywood film tour at Ait Ben Haddou?
Yes. Ait Ben Haddou and the Ouarzazate studios hosted Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy and many more. A Hollywood film tour walks the real kasbah locations and the standing studio sets where these epics were shot, with a guide pointing out exact scenes.
Read the answerCan you do a Star Wars location tour in Morocco?
Partly. Most of the famous Tatooine sets are in Tunisia near Tozeur, not Morocco. But Morocco's southern deserts and Ouarzazate studios have featured in other science-fiction and fantasy productions, and the dune-and-kasbah scenery delivers the same otherworldly, galaxy-far-away feel that Star Wars fans are chasing.
Read the answerCan you do a Jewish heritage tour of Morocco?
Yes. Morocco has one of the oldest and best-preserved Jewish heritages in the Arab world. A heritage tour visits the historic mellahs (Jewish quarters) of Fes, Marrakech and Essaouira, restored synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and the museum in Casablanca, telling a story that stretches back over two thousand years.
Read the answerCan you do a Roman ruins tour to Volubilis in Morocco?
Yes. Volubilis, near Meknes, is Morocco's finest Roman site — a UNESCO-listed city with triumphal arch, basilica, columns and remarkably intact floor mosaics. A half- or full-day tour usually pairs it with the nearby holy town of Moulay Idriss and the imperial city of Meknes for a rich day of history.
Read the answerCan you do an architecture and design tour of Morocco?
Yes. Morocco is a paradise for design lovers: intricate zellige tilework, carved cedar and stucco, monumental palace gates, medersas, and the courtyard riads that influence designers worldwide. A tailored architecture tour spans Fes's medieval medersas, Marrakech's palaces and gardens, and contemporary design studios.
Read the answerCan you do a street art tour of Morocco?
Yes. Morocco has a growing street-art scene, anchored by major murals in Casablanca, Rabat's Jidar festival, and the famous painted town of Asilah, whose annual arts festival fills its medina walls with murals. Tours pair these with traditional crafts to show both the contemporary and heritage sides of Moroccan visual culture.
Read the answerCan you do a craft and artisan workshop tour of Morocco?
Yes. Morocco's crafts are world-class and still made by hand. Workshop tours let you sit with master artisans — potters in Fes and Safi, zellige tile-cutters, leather tanners, brass-chasers, weavers and woodcarvers — and often try the craft yourself, from throwing a pot to weaving a small rug.
Read the answerCan you do a women's cooperatives tour of Morocco?
Yes. Morocco has a strong network of women's cooperatives, most famously the argan-oil collectives of the Souss region near Essaouira and Agadir, where Berber women press oil by hand. Visits show the full process, support women's livelihoods directly, and often include weaving and culinary cooperatives too.
Read the answerCan you do a Berber or Amazigh culture tour of Morocco?
Yes. The Amazigh (Berber) people are Morocco's indigenous population, and their culture is the country's living foundation. A dedicated tour takes you into Atlas mountain villages and Saharan oases to meet families, share meals, learn about Tamazight language, music, weaving and the traditions behind the tea and the textiles.
Read the answerCan you do a coffee and tea culture tour of Morocco?
Yes. Mint tea — "Berber whisky" — is the soul of Moroccan hospitality, poured from height with great ceremony, and a tea-culture tour shows the ritual and the regional twists. Morocco's spiced coffee (qahwa) and lively café culture, especially in cities like Casablanca and Tangier, round out the experience.
Read the answerWhat is the tipping etiquette in Morocco (who and how much)?
Tipping is expected but modest. Leave roughly 10% in restaurants, round up for taxis, and give a few dirhams to porters, parking attendants and café waiters. Tip your guide and driver more generously at the end of a tour — think 100 to 200 dirhams a day between a couple.
Read the answerWhat is the photography etiquette in Morocco (people, places)?
Always ask before photographing people — a smile and a gesture toward your camera is enough. Some will say yes warmly, others will decline, and a few performers expect a few dirhams. Markets, mosques and military sites have restrictions, so look for signs and follow your guide.
Read the answerWhat is mosque / religious site etiquette in Morocco?
Non-Muslims cannot enter most working mosques in Morocco — the grand Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the main exception, with guided tours. Dress modestly near any religious site, remove shoes where required, stay quiet during prayer, and never photograph worshippers without asking.
Read the answerWhat is the etiquette when invited to a Moroccan home?
It is a real honour — accept warmly. Bring a small gift such as pastries, dates or something from your country, remove your shoes if others have, greet elders first, and eat with your right hand from the shared dish. Accept tea and food graciously; refusing outright can feel like a slight.
Read the answerWhat is gift-giving etiquette in Morocco?
Give and receive gifts with your right hand or both hands, never the left alone. Good gifts are pastries, dates, fine tea, sugar or something from your country. Avoid alcohol unless you know the household drinks, keep it modest, and do not expect a gift to be opened in front of you.
Read the answerWhat is greeting etiquette in Morocco (handshakes, cheek kisses)?
Greet with a handshake using your right hand, often followed by touching your hand to your heart. Cheek kisses (two or more) happen between friends of the same sex. Let women extend their hand first — some prefer a hand on the heart instead of contact. Say "salam alaikum" and take your time.
Read the answerWhat is dining etiquette in Morocco (eating with hands, sharing)?
Meals are shared from a communal dish, eaten with the right hand using bread to scoop. Eat from the section in front of you, wash hands before and after, and accept seconds graciously. Say "bismillah" to start. In restaurants, cutlery is normal; in homes, follow your host's lead.
Read the answerWhat is etiquette during Ramadan for visitors to Morocco?
Travel is fine, but avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public during daylight out of respect for those fasting. Dress modestly, be patient with shorter business hours, and join the magical evening iftar when the fast breaks. Tourist hotels and some restaurants still serve meals discreetly.
Read the answerWhat is bargaining etiquette in Morocco (how far to push)?
Haggling is expected in souks and friendly, not hostile. Greet the seller, ask the price, counter at roughly half, and meet somewhere in the middle with a smile. Walking away politely is fine and often lowers the price. Stay good-humoured, and never bargain hard if you have no intention to buy.
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