Visiting Marrakech – What you should know before you go - Part 7

General Information - continued

Female travellers need not worry about visiting the area. Marrakech is safe for solo female travellers, although you should expect to attract more than your fair share of attention wherever you go. However, avoid travelling down south on your own. The people that live here are more conservative south of the Atlas and a woman who is on her own will draw a lot of unwelcome curiosity.

Photographing people can be a pitfall anywhere in the world but you can take photographs almost anywhere in Morocco. You should however avoid it in official buildings and anything that looks like it might be police or military. Before you focus your camera on anyone it’s always best to ask for permission. This is because the more traditional Moroccans have an ingrained suspicion of any type of image. You may also be asked for money by those you photograph, especially in tourist spots and in particular around Jemaa El Fna.

Smoking and Morocco are synonymous which you will discover as soon as you enter the country.

The banning of nicotine has not yet filtered through to Morocco, and everybody smokes everywhere all the time. You will need to get used to eating in smoky restaurants and travelling on smokey buses and taxis.

The monarchy has changed since the accession of Mohammed VI and attitudes towards the king have relaxed. You may even hear Moroccans criticizing the king. Even so, the subject of the monarchy is still largely taboo and as a non-Moroccan, it’s a subject to steer clear of. It is also not a good idea to show any disrespect to the king’s image, which hangs in shops and in all public places.

Tipping is a big thing in this part of the world and you are expected to tip in restaurants and cafés, but not too great an amount. As a general guide then leave about 10 percent unless a service charge is included. You are also expected to tip porters about 30 Dh is the usual amount. If you stay at a riad you should tip the staff by leaving 100 Dh on top of the bill.

Begging is something that is prevalent in this region. It’s noticeable that Moroccans tend to give freely to the beggars that are hanging around most of the streets. This will normally be anything from 10 cents to 1 Dh and is one way of not carrying lots of small coins. One of the “Five Pillars of Islam” is charity, which is just as well as there is no social security system to support those unable to work.


Morocco is unlike most other Arab countries in that non-Muslims are not allowed to visit mosques or shrines. There are even one or two streets, which are well marked, in the medina that non-Muslims are not allowed to enter because they lead to holy places. Strangely enough, this rule is not part of Islam but was instituted by the French during their colonial rule.

Continued in part 8