Morocco Local Custom Tips by johnsakura Top 5 Page for this destination

Children

Children often come to you asking for money or a gift. You have to understand that as soon as you give something, ten more children will run at you asking for something also, they will fight between them after you give things. They turn a bit violente over a pen or t-shirt. Give things to a elder person to distribute. Sometimes that elder person will keep the gift for himself. So...what to do, study the situation well before you act.

Street Water Sellers

Water seller in rissani desert city down south.
Its normal to see people selling water on the strees for .50 or 1 DH. You have to be careful and not to drink it. Either the water is bad quality or the water containers is very dirty which may cause diseases.

Suqs

Local people buy things in local markets, not in touristic shops. Its quite an adventure going inside one of the huge suqs you can find all over the country. Market days are held 3 times a week.
On the picture ou have the Suq of Rissani, down South in Tafilalet Region, on the way to the Dunes of Erg Chebbi, Merzouga.

If you need help, you will have it

Moroccans are very helpful people indeed. If they see someone in danger or that needs help, they will come on his way right away. And free of charge of course, not like in Mauritania, just across the border.

Dont hesitate to ask for help right in the moment you need it.

Carpet sellers

Guy with carpet in berber saharian village of merzouga. This one stayed almost 3 hours to sell one carpet to me and my friend. No luck for him, non of us actually bought a carpet. They will do everthing they can to treat you nice and confortable, give you tea, just to try selling you something. Sometimes people feel bad after being so well treated that they end up buying something. Psycological pressure, they know that. they know that many people feel bad after drinking tea and not buying something. Nice trick I say...

Tarifit People

Linguistically, Berber belongs to the Afro-Asiatic group, and has many dialects. The three main dialects used in Morocco are Tachelhit, Tamazight and Tarifit. Collectively, they are known as "shilha" in Arabic.

Tarifit (or Rifia) is spoken in the Rif area of northern Morocco.

Info taken from www.al-bab.com

Tamazight People

Linguistically, Berber belongs to the Afro-Asiatic group, and has many dialects. The three main dialects used in Morocco are Tachelhit, Tamazight and Tarifit. Collectively, they are known as "shilha" in Arabic.

Tamazight is spoken in the Middle Atlas, between Taza, Khemisset, Azilal and Errachidia.

Info taken from www.al-bab.com

Tachelhit People

Linguistically, Berber belongs to the Afro-Asiatic group, and has many dialects. The three main dialects used in Morocco are Tachelhit, Tamazight and Tarifit. Collectively, they are known as "shilha" in Arabic.

Tachelhit (sometimes known as "soussi" or "cleuh") is spoken in south-west Morocco, in an area between Ifni in the south, Agadir in the north and Marrakech and the Draa/Sous valleys in the east.

Info taken from www.al-bab.com

Musicians

Musicians in tamtettoucht. This was a very special night for everyone. My friend in the village knew that some musicians were in town because of a wedding, so he inveited them to play for us. This party took place in his Kasbah terrace all night long. We had wonderful food, for me very nice couscous and for everyone else that likes meat they prepared at least 3 varieties of grilled meat cooked in a small fire also on the roof near us. Also the tea is amazingly tasty when done in real fire not in butan gaz hoven.

Women in tamtettoucht.

Meeting Berber women in Gorges du Todra:
April 2002
I was going to Tinehir from Tamtettoucht to buy some things i needed. The entire area here I wonderful. Just imagine these big canyons called the Canyons of Todra and these Berber women walking coming from their work with piles of straw on their back. They just waived and asked for "le-ma le-ma". I stopped and gave them some water which they thankfully smiled.