Morocco, From Coast to Desert

I have a lot of respect for NY Times as one of the most objective major newspapers and really admired the extensive article from August 2016 about the Middle East situation, Fractured Lands. However, as a travel agency owner and resident of Morocco for the last 10 years, I was expecting a little more insight and less inaccuracies. Among others: there are unspoiled beaches a little outside of Agadir: the fisherman's grottos in Tifnite or between Mirleft and Sidi Ifni. Just outside Ouarzazate, the author could have visited at least 17th century UNESCO world site Ait Benhaddou or palm grove of Skoura with its century old kasbahs, irrigation system, pottery district and local souks. Merzouga was somewhat authentic 15 years ago but nowadays resembles more an attraction park. The dunes at Erg Chigaga are almost deserted and close to Zagora , there is a Jewish synagogue, still standing. Sahari is a wine region around Meknes; ‘ Miyya dirham’ means ONE HUNDRED not one thousand dirhams; in Dades no one sells local roses, but rose water for medical and cosmetic purposes, and so on. By the way, did he ever read 'The Sheltering Sky' ?
On the plus side, the article invites to traveling to Morocco, which is rather good news.

“Best trip of my Life”
I miss many things about my trip to Morocco- sleeping in the desert, camel rides, shopping in Fez, learning about the Berber people and nomads, and the beautiful drives throughout the amazing country. One thing that I especially miss, is our guide, Mubarak, who was able to make this whole thing possible. Mubarak took care of us during our 5 day trip and made our trip comfortable, and care-free. He was very knowledgable, and was able to create and adjust an itinerary that would be ideal for the amount of time we had in Morocco. He picked us up with a sign and a big smile and made sure that it ended with big smiles. He was more than accommodating and went out of his way for us. I trust this man 100%, he has the warmest heart, and we felt nothing but safe with his guidance. I would recommend Mubarak as a guide to anyone.

My husband and I have travelled extensively and always independently but decided to book a desert tour during our honeymoon. we Started our tour Marrakech and Ended it in Marrakech, The things we saw were amazing too. The snow covered High Atlas and Middle Atlas mountains, we visited several Kasbahs such as Kasbah Amridelt the best being Aït Benhaddou and Oasis, and some impressive valleys like Dades Valley where we spent our first night in a beautiful hotel as well as Todra Valley & Draa Valley.
The highlight of the trip was a camel trek out into the Sahara, with a berber camel guide to sleep in a berber camp. Riding a camel is a bit of an adventure, but you really need to do it! The camp is very basic & authentic, drum players came to our camp to sing and entertain - and sunrise was awesome. From the initial tentative communications by email to arranging the detail of the tour to the actual tour itself everything has been faultless. All correspondence has been prompt, informative and clear and the physical tour was of a high standard, exceeding our expectations. We often didn't notice we were on a tour, we just felt like we were trekking independently with some new friends who didn't mind carrying bags, setting-up camp, cooking, cleaning and having a chat - That was priceless to us. We are sure we will return to Morocco at some point in the future and we will not hesitate to book another tour with ( Marvelous-moroccotours.com )

In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time,and the Sahara Desert .
for all kinds of Tours and trips in Morocco contact: http://rovemoroccotravels.com/

My husband and I had a wonderful 8 days tour with Morocco Excursions Company (Website : Morocco-Excursion.com ). Our driver and guide, Hassan Iriki, did a wonderful job. He was always punctual and made sure that we were comfortable and well fed through out our trip. He became like a friend to us during our 8 days in Morocco. When he left us at Marrakech my husband and I both really missed him and wished he could have made it to the airport with us the following day. Hassan Mouhou was equally as awesome. We met him in Merzouga and he gave us a tour of the desert and also kept us entertained during our 1 night in the tent out in the Sahara. I will never forget the hospitality I received from the lovely people that I have encountered in Morocco and hope to be able to return again someday. I whole heartedly recommend Morocco Excursions to anyone who wish to explore Morocco and the Sahara.

My daughter and I did a 5 day tour of Morocco with Marvelous Morocco Tours and had an excellent time trekking the country. Our guide, Iddir, was phenomenal, and we came away from this trip with so much gained knowledge. The tour was organized well and we have no complaints. Excellent hotels and meals, not to mention a very reasonable rate. We saw so much, making this tour a great a value. Looking forward to our next trip, I can't praise Iddir enough - he is a safe driver, very knowledgeable about the local area, traditions and people and very happy to share what he knows and answer questions. We had a wonderful desert tour and camel trekking and will be recommending this tour to others. ( marvelous-moroccotours.com )

We had an amazing experience in the desert. Very nice welcoming and hospitality.
It was unforgettable adventure with beautiful view, delicious dinner in camp, marvelous night sky and relaxing silence. On top of it the most magic sunrise one can imagine!
Trip to dunes is must do! ! !
[email protected]
http://cameltripsmorocco.webobo.biz/
https://www.facebook.com/cameltrips

This author presents an unfortunately superficial, racist, stereotypical, and outdated view of Morocco that uses Paul Bowles as a narrow point of reference. This is quite unfortunate - perhaps more forgivable in the 'average' tourist, but much less so from a travel writer and especially from the Times.

I went to beautiful Morocco in July and I travelled with Said from Morocco Gift Tours who organized for me my tour. Everything was so exciting! I could see so many tthings of this wonderful country and I was taken everywhere, even to the most hidden and interesting places, thanks to the very good organization of every single day.
Ask Said http://moroccogifttours.com/to plan your trip to Morocco: you will be satisfied.

I have made 3 trips to Morocco, the first 2 on photo tours and the last solo to Essaouira-fewer tourists and charming people. I stayed in the Medina at a lovely small hotel whose staff were fluent in Arabic, French and English. Since I am linguistically challenged (English only) this made the trip easy. If the opportunity arises please try to stay at Ryad Watier [www.ryadwatier.com ] ... and give them regards from Joan in New York.

Having been to Morocco many times over the years, I hope this article is inspiring to the armchair traveler who wishes to dream a superficial dream, and wake up content, having understood nothing. What a load of pablum. Virtually unreadable. Dishonest and shallow. How hard can it be to write this? Really, this article shows that some people just won't learn a thing from travel.

Mr. Sherwood writes beautifully and evocatively, painting a magical word picture of his short visit to Morocco. Was it superficial, as some commenters have suggested? I have no way of knowing' but fair is fair: this only a travel piece in a newspaper. As a photographer, I would say the photos were more than adequate to illustrate the wonderful writing.

Morocco is magical!

My partner and I spent 3 and a half weeks in Morocco in early 2013. We got in in Casablanca and made our way to Essaouira, Marrakech, Ourzazate, the Sahara, Fez, Chefchaouen and Tangier, before taking the ferry to Spain to continue our travels. As 2 women, I must say there were times we felt a bit harassed, mostly in the medina in Fez. We then made the decision to hire a guide for that day and while that came with other issues (being brought to shops "just to have a look"), that at least solved the harassment portion of the complaint. Overall, we felt safe throughout our trip. In fact, on the one night we stayed in the desert, we even met a Japanese woman who was travelling on her own and she was telling us that she has had no issues. I think you just need to have your wits about you and not take unnecessary risks. I still think back fondly to the time we spent in Morocco. It is such a beautiful country with warm people. I think as travellers, we need to always have respect for the host country. Abide by the customs and try to blend in. I would love to go back to Morocco one day to see how it has changed.

In mid-winter 1963 I went to Morocco for a couple of weeks of sunshine. I came back 4 months later. It was a trip that embraced the desert. Taroudant was barely a village, but one hotel had been built. Ouarzazate was a dusty village, but little more. I stayed in oases that barely had names. I rented a 15th Century palace in Tangiers for $16 for the month. Met the Bowles and the kids seeking dope, the SM Englishwomen, and the gays from a bit of everywhere, with a few pedophiles along the way.

Beyond the cities was a wondrous world of people, places, and traditions that had not changed for centuries. The country was full of beauty, of great people, what we'd now call exotic. Then the king gave Jackie Kennedy a palace in Marrakesh and the jet set moved in, followed by the Club Med set then by articles like this that makes the picture-takers run through beauty and get chains of junk food and hotels to destroy what was charming.

Interesting comments to the article which was okay. My understanding is that the desert at Merzouga is not the Sahara which actually lies further south. We took an amazing 18 day trip with two friends through a company, Around Morocco....with a young, extremely knowledgeable guide...we went to many of the areas described in the article but because of our amazing guide, really felt we got to know the country in a way different from being on our own. People were extremely friendly and whoever mentioned that Morocco is really a Berber country seemed accurate to us. We sometimes just sat at a cafe and watched people for several hours, in places like Rissani. We were never stared at nor made to feel out of place. Food was excellent, accommodations also excellent ranging from small family run establishments, to Riads in the larger cities....but no big hotels. For anyone worried about going to Morocco, we would recommend Around Morocco...they are quite personalized once you get in the van and you will learn so much. Do go, it is a magical place.

"Miyya(t) dirham" means "hundreds of dirhams" in Arabic. "Alef dirham" would mean thousands of dirhams.

We did a similar trip a few years ago, but decided to go to Essaouira, which is also on the coast, instead of Agadir, and I would highly recommend it. We also visited Fez - another gem - and after Merzouga, on our way to Essaouira, we spent a night in Skoura, an oasis town, in a wonderful little hotel owned by a Spanish couple. We also stopped at a little hill village, I believe it was called Ait-Ben-Haddou, a World Heritage site, along with many other tourists, but still not to be missed.

Sounds great but could a woman travelling alone have made this same trip without being constantly harrassed? I rather doubt it.

Good article, however the quality of the accompanying photography is sadly lacking. At least the text can transporting us in our imagination to this magical oasis to observe the dunes in the half-light of dusk or dawn. This journey is amazing and indelible--the true definition of wanderlust.
(Now I'm pretty certain all the camels in Merzouga are named Bob Marley.)

Think twice before you go. I spent a whole week there, one day, and I won't likely go back!

After spending two weeks in Morocco I have to say that the Sherwood's piece misses the wonder of this country. He continues the American stereotype of Morocco as a land of desert and dromedaries and little else. Morocco is so much more than I had expected. Fes and Marrakech are my two favorite cities. If you are planning to go an important thing to do soon after you land but not at the airport is to change 500 ($52) dirham into small change, mostly 5 ($0.50) and 10 ($1.) coins with some 20s ($2.). You will need these small amounts for tipping which is important when you are taking pictures of individuals You will need a guide to traverse the alleyways of the medinis in Fes and Marrakech. Do not take pictures of police or army and always ask before taking a picture of an individual or shop. Tipping 5 to 10 dirham is customary. It is a wonderful country to which I will return one day.

I traveled to Morocco several years ago with my family, and it was one of the most amazing trips I have ever taken. Go to Morocco.

I too have visualized Morocco as a compelling place to visit, based largely on the evocative writing of Dorothy Gilman in 'Caravans' - quite a remarkable, if highly fictional, book. However, I found this article depressing. Who would want to go to Morocco to visit movie sets, European resorts, and eat the kind of frou-frou cuisine you can find in any upscale NYC restaurant? Of course we can't expect places like Morocco to be "sealed in antiquity", but modernizing to accommodate wealthy Western leisure and to harvest Western money seems sad. Pragmatic I realize, but sad.

I loved seeing these off-the-beaten track suggestions. Next time I return, I will definitely veer from the regular tourist destinations. Also, I found that the bargaining was not as intense in Morocco as it is in other places in the Middle East. Shop owners won't run after you to get you to buy something if it's below their ultimate asking price, which definitely wasn't the case in other places. I also found these tips especially helpful for my trip: http://www.pinkpangea.com/2014/11/7-things-wish-knew-traveling-morocco/

A British man (Ray Cole, 70) was recently arrested and jailed in Morocco for four months, simply for being gay. For all the attractions the country may offer heterosexuals (or gays, too, if they have luck on their side), gays should be cautioned that simply BEING homosexual is a crime there. The Briton was a grandfather, and Moroccan officials for some time wouldn't even tell his family where he was held (a prison in which he was forced to sleep on the floor). He was lucky, in fact, because he had family concerned about him. A tourist who has nobody to advocate for him or care about his fate might have fared even worse. People should consider their identities and personal circumstances before risking travel to Morocco.

It's great to see such wonderful coverage in the NY Times on Morocco. I wish it were however richer and deeper and not such a drive by story so to speak. No true up close experiences and it was not such an authentic take on what Morocco is or has to offer. I am a Marrakech based travel agent and an American Jew. I've travel and lived in Morocco since 1999. Moroccans are known for their hospitality and the country is peaceful for both travelers and foreign residents. There is a large expat community in Marrakech, Essaouira and Fes along with Tangier. Morocco is not an Arab country and it is a Berber country hence its culture and people are primarily Muslim Berbers who are moderate and for the most part open minded. Morocco's most beautiful regions are often in the rural areas as the country boasts magnificent valleys, gorges and wonderful beaches along with the desert. There's no ISIS or ISIL and not any reason to be Islamaphobic. There's probably a better chance of something not so great happening in the USA or Europe then in Morocco.

This article is a well written, compelling read but the actual insights about Morocco are not particularly deep. All you did was ride a bus (or series of buses) from Agadir to Merzouga and go on a guided camel ride which any poor shlep tourist can do. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, but presenting it as some kind of life-defining adventure seems a little overdone.

One easy piece of advice. When in the desert cities never, ever eat from a buffet. That way evil lies and the mad rush over the mountains to civilization will not ease a troubled stomach.

The idea of Morocco for Westerners is a romantic one with a lot of phony appeal that has been dimmed by the rise of the Islamic state. I always wanted to go, but I don't think that will happen now. The French expatriate community is getting jittery and the value of beautiful homes built for Western Europeans is heading south.

The writer says that there are hardly any American Tourists in Taroudant, maybe because of their lack of speaking at least some French. Visiting Morocco, though, European tourists often make it to this magical place, and if need be one can always find a multi lingual guide.

I just wonder why Mr. Alvarez did not mention La Gazelle d'Or, a small boutique hotel covered in bougainville close to Taroudant, and a little paradise all by itself. Driving up to it one would think it is a private home, not a hotel.

When I asked a friend of mine about the advisability of my touring Morocco, he thought it would be a bad idea because of the prejudice against Jews he had perceived from casual remarks overheard. (He is not Jewish.) With my last name I guess I would only be asking for trouble were I to visit Morocco.

I m so happy to read one article about my home town in N TIMES. Morocco is one of peaceful country, yr welcome in agadir

Great article. This trip is on my "to do" list and after reading this article I want to go even more.

Very intriguing! I'll pick up The Sheltering Sky on the strength of your recommendation.

This bring back such colorful memories of my adventure through Morocco almost 7 years ago. It is a magical place. The sight of the Sahara at dawn was worth the 2 hour camel ride each way to the dessert camp through a sandstorm. My muscles may have been sore, but its that bright orange dessert and incredible sky that has stayed with me. Its not a place to be missed in your lifetime.

We went last January which was a great time to travel. Hardly any tourists in the big cities and great weather. We didn't have time to get out to the desert, but did the Casablanca, Fez, Marrakesh then back up the coast. One cool spot was Taghazout, a surf town on the coast.

I am in Marrakech as I write this headed out on a similar excursion - I am a 62 year old Anerican woman traveling solo. Have found the Morroccan people welcoming and kind and have never felt in any danger. I was here as the immolation of the Jordanian pilot news broke; I wept along side many concerned devout Muslims...it is a wonderful place not to be missed.

I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Taroudant in the 1980s--the first PCV in that town. At that time, it really was somewhat off the beaten tourist track--and pretty hard to get to unless you went over the mountains in a souk bus or took the long way around via Agadir (again by bus) and then grand taxis to Taroudant.

I visited there again in 2010 and couldn't believe how much it had changed--starting with the super highway from Marrakech to Agadir! Where I had once bought vegetables, there was a cell-phone stand. Where my house once stood, they'd put up a hotel. There was an X-Box store where the butcher used to be, and satellite dishes had replaced the upside-down couscous pots people used to put on their antennae to get better TV reception. It took me about a day to rearrange my mental furniture and get over the fact that the scene of one of the seminal experiences in my life had not remained forever frozen in time--at which point I realized that the Taroudant I knew 30 years ago (and assumed had been just the same as how I found it for a thousand years) had probably changed quite a bit already in the decades since Paul Bowles first arrived in Morocco. Which is to say: It's still a great place to visit, not for the souks and the shops and the restaurants which will come and go, but because of the generous people who live there.

About five years ago, my wife and I hired a guide and toured Morocco, including the route vividly described by the author of this essay. Our experiences included, among other things, an overnight visit to the self-same desert encampment operated by the hotel in Merzourga (hometown of our Berber guide). We are both sixty-somethings, and reasonably well-traveled, but this trip was without question the most fascinating, exotic, and eye-opening that either one of us had ever undertaken. Morocco is a remarkable country (the first by the way, to recognize American independence in 1776), whose people are warm and open, whose food is wonderful, and whose scenery is almost beyond description. If you have just one trip to take - go to Morocco.

Thank you for this article. I have read "The Sheltering Sky" so many times --- it is a fantastic book. I too, have the dream of tea in the desert, without the sand filling the cups.

Seems like a wonderful journey. My hesitation concerns only my reluctance in making my cinematic debut in an Isis video.

This is the same insipid stuff that people have been writing for years, without any real insight whatsoever. I live in Taroudant part-time and it's a shame people read this kind of pap and believe it.

Back again ... It seems that my 83 year old fat fingers or fat mind is mangling this post. McDonald's subs were a big hit. As it turned out, the meat and cheese subs were eclipsed by the overwhelming demand by the troops for peanut butter and jelly on French bread. It seems, that amid the exotic surroundings of Maroc, the tug of yearning for home and it's memories of favorite foods, was not to be denied.

Wonderful account of a mystical world. One that I experienced in 1953-4, when stationed at Port Lyautey in then, French Morocco. I was in a U.S. Navy. anti-submarine Patrol Squadron (VP-26) based at a French Air Base. We enjoyed weekend liberty trips to Fez, Marrakech and tha Atlas Mountains and environs.
At the time, it felt like a time warp back to the Biblical era and aside from the sets from subsequent movie productions, it has remained unchanged. In my day, there was a McDonalds, perhaps the original, which I operated, sub-rosa, in our barracks. The food served up on the French base was ineditibl even

Mr. Sherwood, I find your writing compelling and very gratifying to read. A great read.