MORE FACTS
| Visas: Most visitors wont need a visa. Travellers are usually issued with a 90-day stamp on arrival. Public holidays: New Years Day; Eid ul-Fitr (End of Ramadan); Throne Day (3 March); Eid ul-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice); Islamic New Year; Labour Day; Fête Nationale (23 May); Prophets Birthday; Youth Day (9 July); Qued-ed-Dahab (14 Aug); Al-Massira (6 Nov); Independence Day (18 Nov). Good buys: The best place to find beautiful and bargainous items is at the souk. Look out for leather goods, silver jewellery, copper and brassware, rugs and ceramics and dont be too shy to barter. Local dishes: Moroccan cuisine is as rich and varied as its culture. Favourites include tajines, dates, olives and nuts, and kefta (seasoned mince lamb). Funny fact: Half the population of Morocco is under 20. Whats more, there are 12 times as many cows as there are human beings. Good reading: For a sense of the history of the country, check out Medinas: Moroccos Hidden Cities, a collection of images and poems by French photographer Jean-Marie Tingaud and Morocco's foremost author Tahar Ben Jelloun. Walter Harriss account of the years leading up to the French Protectorate, in Morocco That Was, is hard to put down. And Peter Maynes A Year in Marrakech is an entertaining read, inspired by the Morocco of the 1950s. |