Culture & Etiquette
678 questions · page 13 of 19
What is the history of Chefchaouen?
Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 in the Rif mountains as a fortress against Portuguese expansion. It became a refuge for Muslims and Jews fleeing Spain after 1492, which shaped its Andalusian character. Long closed to outsiders, the “Blue City” gained its famous blue-washed lanes in the 20th century.
Read the answerWhat is the history of the Glaoui, the pashas of Marrakech?
The Glaoui were a powerful Berber clan from the High Atlas who rose to dominate southern Morocco. Thami El Glaoui became Pasha of Marrakech in 1912 and, allied with the French protectorate, ruled as one of the country’s richest, most feared men. His role in deposing the sultan in 1953 led to his downfall in 1956.
Read the answerWhat is the history of Moroccan Jewish communities?
Jews have lived in Morocco for over two thousand years, with communities swelling after the 1492 expulsion from Spain. They lived in the mellah quarters of cities like Fes, Marrakech and Essaouira, shaping trade, craft and music. Most emigrated after 1948, but synagogues, cemeteries and shared traditions remain.
Read the answerWhat is the history of Tangier and its international zone?
Tangier is an ancient port at the gateway between Africa and Europe. From 1923 to 1956 it was governed as an International Zone administered jointly by several foreign powers, becoming a famously cosmopolitan, freewheeling city of spies, writers and traders before being reunited with independent Morocco in 1956.
Read the answerIs a tagine or couscous more of a must-try in Morocco?
Pick tagine if you want the everyday dish that defines Moroccan home cooking — slow, varied, available daily. Pick couscous if you want the once-a-week ceremonial centrepiece traditionally served on Fridays. Most travellers should eat both, but tagine wins on sheer frequency and range.
Read the answerIs mint tea or coffee the better Moroccan drink to try?
Choose mint tea if you want the authentic ritual that defines Moroccan hospitality — it is woven into daily life, ceremony, and welcome. Choose coffee if you prefer a strong, French-influenced café culture. For a first cultural experience, mint tea is the unmissable one.
Read the answerIs a riad breakfast or a café breakfast better in Morocco?
Choose the riad breakfast for a generous, homemade spread — fresh msemen, eggs, jams, and fruit served in a peaceful courtyard, usually included with your stay. Choose a café breakfast for people-watching, strong coffee, and a quick local rhythm. Riad breakfasts win on quality; cafés win on atmosphere.
Read the answerIs an Amazigh village or a desert camp a better cultural stay?
Choose an Amazigh (Berber) village stay for genuine daily life — home cooking, farming rhythms, and real interaction in the Atlas. Choose a desert camp for the iconic dunes-and-stars experience. The village is the deeper cultural immersion; the camp is the more iconic, scenic overnight.
Read the answerIs a guided food tour or wandering for food better in Morocco?
Choose a guided food tour for your first day or two — a local fast-tracks you to the best, safest stalls and explains what you are eating. Choose wandering once you have your bearings, for spontaneity and discovery. The tour gives confidence; wandering gives freedom.
Read the answerWhat Moroccan sweets and pastries should I try?
Seek out kaab el ghazal (gazelle horns of almond paste), almond-and-honey briouats, chebakia (sesame flower cookies fried then dipped in honey), sellou (a toasted flour-almond paste), ghriba shortbread, sfenj doughnuts and feqqas biscotti. Most pair perfectly with mint tea.
Read the answerWhat are the main Moroccan breads?
The everyday loaf is khobz, a round semolina-flour bread used as edible cutlery. Beyond it: msemen (flaky square pancakes), harcha (semolina griddle cakes), batbout (soft pita-like pockets), baghrir (thousand-hole crêpes) and rghaif. Bread is central to every Moroccan meal.
Read the answerWhat Moroccan soups are there?
The famous one is harira — a tomato, lentil, chickpea and herb soup, especially at Ramadan. Also try bissara, a thick split-pea or fava-bean purée drizzled with olive oil and cumin, and chorba, a lighter vermicelli-and-vegetable broth. All are eaten with khobz bread.
Read the answerWhat Moroccan salads and starters are there?
A Moroccan meal often opens with a spread of small cooked salads: zaalouk (smoky aubergine), taktouka (peppers and tomato), cooked carrot, beetroot, and a fresh chopped tomato-and-onion salad. Sweet-and-savoury orange-and-cinnamon salad and herby chickpeas also appear, all scooped with bread.
Read the answerWhat Moroccan grilled meats and brochettes are there?
Look for kefta brochettes (spiced minced lamb or beef), classic skewers of marinated lamb, chicken or liver, merguez sausages, and mechoui — whole slow-roasted lamb pulled apart by hand. Grills come with bread, cumin, salt and harissa, often from medina charcoal stalls.
Read the answerWhat are good Moroccan vegetarian options?
Morocco is excellent for vegetarians: vegetable tagines, the salad spread (zaalouk, taktouka, carrots), bissara bean soup, lentils, vegetable couscous, briouats with cheese, and bread with olive oil and amlou. Just confirm dishes are cooked without meat stock, which is sometimes used.
Read the answerWhat does a Moroccan breakfast include?
A Moroccan breakfast is a spread, not one dish: fresh breads (khobz, msemen, harcha, baghrir) with butter, honey, olive oil, jam and amlou; eggs or khlea; olives and fresh cheese; sometimes bissara soup; plus mint tea, coffee and orange juice. Leisurely and generous.
Read the answerWhat Moroccan snacks and street food are there?
Street food highlights: sfenj doughnuts, msemen and stuffed savoury pancakes, kefta and merguez sandwiches, snail soup (babbouche), maakouda potato fritters, grilled corn, roasted chickpeas, fresh orange juice, and bowls of olives and dates. Best sampled in medina squares and markets.
Read the answerWhat Moroccan drinks (non-alcoholic) should I try?
Top of the list is mint tea, the "Berber whisky." Also try fresh orange juice, avocado-almond-milk shakes, panaché fruit blends, almond milk, freshly pressed pomegranate, spiced coffee (qahwa harra), and cold raïb (fermented milk). Sweet, fragrant and everywhere.
Read the answerWhat food is eaten during Ramadan in Morocco?
The fast is broken at sunset (ftour) with dates and milk, then harira soup, chebakia honey cookies, briouats, sfenj or msemen, hard-boiled eggs and fresh juices. A later, lighter suhoor before dawn often features bread, eggs and sometimes harira again. Family and ritual are central.
Read the answerWhat food is served at Eid in Morocco?
Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan brings sweets, pastries and a festive breakfast — msemen, baghrir, sweet couscous and trays of cookies with mint tea. Eid al-Adha centres on lamb: grilled offal first (boulfaf), then roasted, tagined and slow-cooked mutton over several days. Family feasting throughout.
Read the answerWhat does a typical Moroccan lunch look like?
Lunch is the main meal in Morocco. It often opens with cooked salads and bread, then a shared central dish — a slow-cooked tagine, or couscous on Fridays — eaten communally from one plate with bread and the right hand. Fresh fruit and mint tea close it. Leisurely and family-focused.
Read the answerWhat does a full Moroccan feast (diffa) include?
A diffa is the grand Moroccan banquet for weddings and honoured guests. It typically flows: sweet-savoury pastilla, then one or more tagines, then a mountain of couscous (or mechoui), then fresh fruit and pastries, all closed with mint tea. Many courses, shared, over hours.
Read the answerCan I drink alcohol in Morocco (quick answer)?
Yes, but discreetly. Alcohol is legal for tourists and served in licensed hotels, riads, upscale restaurants, and bars. It is not sold openly in the medina or most local cafés. Supermarkets like Carrefour and Marjane have a licensed section. Drink in venues, not on the street.
Read the answerHow conservative is Morocco for tourists?
Moderately conservative, but relaxed toward tourists. It is a Muslim country where modest dress and discretion are appreciated, especially in rural areas and medinas. Cities like Marrakech and coastal Essaouira are liberal. Cover shoulders and knees, and you will move comfortably anywhere.
Read the answerDo I have to haggle for everything in Morocco?
No. Haggle in the souks for crafts, rugs, and souvenirs, where prices are flexible. But supermarkets, pharmacies, modern shops, restaurants, and metered taxis have fixed prices — paying the asking price is normal. When in doubt, look for a price tag.
Read the answerCan I wear shorts in Morocco?
Yes, but with judgement. Shorts are fine at the beach, by the pool, and in resort areas. In medinas, villages, and religious sites, longer, looser clothing covering the knees is more respectful and draws less attention. Lightweight trousers keep you cooler and more comfortable anyway.
Read the answerIs English widely spoken in Morocco?
Less than French, but growing fast in tourism. In hotels, tour operators, and main tourist areas, you will find good English. Off the beaten path, French and Arabic dominate. A few words of French or Arabic, plus a translation app, smooth out any gaps.
Read the answerWhat is a traditional Moroccan wedding like?
A Moroccan wedding is a multi-day celebration, not a single party. It typically unfolds over two to seven days with a henna night, ritual baths, the negafa (bridal stylist) presenting the bride in successive jewelled outfits, and the amariya — an ornate carried throne — paraded into the hall amid music, ululation and feasting.
Read the answerWhat are Moroccan birth and naming customs?
A new baby is welcomed with the sebaa — a naming celebration on the seventh day. The name is announced, often after relatives or the Prophet's family, an animal may be sacrificed, the baby's head is sometimes shaved, henna and kohl are applied for protection, and the family hosts a feast of relatives and neighbours.
Read the answerWhat is Ramadan like in Morocco for a visitor?
During Ramadan most Moroccans fast from dawn to sunset for a month. Days are quieter and many cafés close until iftar — the sunset meal that breaks the fast with harira soup and dates. Evenings come alive late into the night. Visitors can travel respectfully by eating discreetly and joining the joyful nights.
Read the answerWhat is Eid al-Fitr like in Morocco?
Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan. Moroccans wear their finest, attend a special morning prayer, then spend two or three days visiting family, exchanging gifts and sweets, and giving children money and new clothes. Tables overflow with cookies and pastries. It is joyful, family-centred and largely private.
Read the answerWhat is Eid al-Adha (the sheep festival) like in Morocco?
Eid al-Adha, the 'Festival of Sacrifice', commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son. Families buy a sheep and sacrifice it on the morning of Eid after prayers, sharing the meat with relatives and the poor. It is Morocco's biggest holiday — solemn, communal and centred on charity and family.
Read the answerWhat is a moussem (saint's festival) in Morocco?
A moussem is an annual festival held at the tomb of a marabout (a local Muslim saint). It blends pilgrimage and celebration: people gather to seek blessings, alongside markets, music, feasting, and sometimes spectacular horseback fantasia displays. Famous ones include Moulay Idriss, Imilchil's betrothal moussem, and Tan-Tan.
Read the answerWhat is the meaning of the evil eye (nazar) in Morocco?
The evil eye (l'ain, or nazar) is the widespread belief that envy or excessive admiration can bring misfortune. Moroccans guard against it with the khamsa (hand of Fatima), the number five, blue beads, phrases like 'mashallah', and protective henna or kohl, especially for babies, brides and prized possessions.
Read the answerWhat is baraka (blessing) in Moroccan belief?
Baraka is a spiritual blessing, grace or beneficial power believed to flow from God. It can reside in holy people (saints and their descendants), sacred places like shrines, certain objects, and acts of generosity. Seeking baraka — by visiting a saint or receiving an elder's blessing — is woven through Moroccan religious and daily life.
Read the answerWhat is Ashura in Morocco?
Ashura falls on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram. In Morocco it is a largely joyful family occasion, especially for children — marked by gifts of toys and sweets, dried fruits and nuts, splashing water (zamzam), drumming, and bonfires (chaala) lit on the eve, alongside fasting and charity for the devout.
Read the answer