about morocco
With thousands of kilometres of undeveloped Mediterranean and Atlantic coastline, and land borders with Algeria and Mauritania, Morocco is a rugged land of mountains, plains and desert. It's home to Africa's highest range of mountains north of the equator, a portion of the Sahara desert and is approximately twice the size of the UK, but with only half of the population. It's the most western of the North African "Maghreb" countries and lies just across the Straits of Gibraltor from Spain, just a three to four hour flight from the UK.
Morocco is an up and coming tourist destination with infrastructure and attractions to cater for a range of styles of tourism, but at the same time vast tracts of the country remain almost totally undiscovered. With a culture largely definied by religion (Islam) and geography, it has become widely recognised as the closest true "culture shock" to Europe. Whether in the ancient medinas of Fez or Marrakech where metal workers ply their trade in cave-like holes in the wall, or in remote villages where cloaked figures shuffle into tiny mountainside mosques, this difference in culture can be experienced in equal measure. Indeed Morocco is as much about atmosphere as anything else.
Of course there's more to it than that, like the heady exoticism and vernacular moorish architecture of Marrakech and Fez, the dreamy valleys, adobe villages and crisp snow-capped mountains of the High Atlas, the encroaching dunes of the Sahara desert, the virgin surf beaches of the Atlantic coast, weathered 11th century desert kasbahs rising out of date palm oases, rolling plains of wheat and high pastures of wild flowers where nomads roam, crumbling remains of ancient civilisations.......... and so on.
What's more you'll always be welcome in Morocco, something abundantly clear when you arrive in any town or village across the country. Most Moroccans judge people on their individual merits and are delighted to share a cup of mint tea with any visitor regardless of colour or creed. Indeed the Atlas mountains, already quite exceptionally picturesque, are made all the more beautiful by their inhabitants. In addition, these mountains offer visitors the luxury of space - something becoming more and more difficult to find in more developed countries - throwing up virtually limitless possibilities for discovery and adventure. And all this across a landscape as varied and enthralling as any country the size of Morocco can offer.
Whatever you decide to do in Morocco, enjoy your trip.
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