The favoured holiday destination of europeans, particularly high-end french tourists, morocco offers vibrant arab and berber culture, colourful souks, medieval medinas and sun-soaked beaches. Kalpana Rangan reportsA visit to Morocco will confirm that North Africa is not all desert, dunes, camels and oases. On the contrary, this exotic country is the favoured holiday destination of Europeans, particularly high-end French tourists, who flock there to unveil its mysteries. With its vibrant Arab and Berber culture, colourful souks, medieval medinas and beautiful women — a heady cocktail — it guarantees a perfect holiday. So, a recent nine-day sojourn confined to Morocco provided surprises galore. With a good dose of African joie de vivre, it offered one of the most exciting holidays this writer has ever experienced. Also known in Arabic as ‘al-Maghrib and officially referred to as the Kingdom of Morocco (pop. 33 million), the country is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. Bordering with Mauritania to the south, Algeria to the east and the coastal Mediterranean Spanish North African territories of Ceuta and Melilla in the north, Morocco is separated from Gibraltar in Europe by the narrow eponymous strait and has two coastlines — the long, sandy North Atlantic and the shorter, more cliffy Mediterranean. Far from being a sandy desert, a significant proportion of the 446,500 sq. km territory of this kingdom is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains dominate the central and southern terrain of the country and the Rift Mountains loom large in the north. Most Moroccans are either Arabised Berbers (99 percent) or ethnic Berbers, and practice liberal Sunni Islam. The medium of communication is Moroccan Berber or variants. However, most middle class Moroccans speak fluent French. Given its strategic location as the African nation nearest to Europe, throughout its history, Morocco has attracted foreign invaders including Arab rulers keen to access the Mediterranean. In its recorded history spanning 12 centuries — from the time it was founded by the Idrisid dynasty of Saudi Arabia as the first Islamic autonomous nation of the Arab world until 1956, when it wrested political independence from France and Spain — Morocco was shaped by the confl-uence of numerous Islamic and European cultures. Casablanca. Moroccos port and bustling business capital, Casablanca (5.5 million) is its most Franco-phone city featuring elegant Parisian boulevards and culture in general. Most of its buildings in New Town — a combination of Hispano-Mauresque and Art Deco styles — and its Corniche reminiscent of the Champs-de-Elysees in Paris were designed by the French architect Henry Post. Unsurprisingly, French-style cafes line the boulevards of Casablanca and most buildings, restaurants and shops sport French names. If you speak French youll feel perfectly at home in Casablanca! The usual starting point of visitors to Morocco, Casablanca was once the independent kingdom of Anfa, estab-lished by a Berber chieftain in the 7th century. By the 14th century, under the Merinids dynasty, it matured into a port city, attracting the attention of Portu-guese merchant adventurers and colonists who destroyed the town and built…
