Desert, camels, and palm trees? - fighting stereotypes about Morocco

In the last few years Morocco appeared to be one of top world travel destinations. According to CNN, tourism has more than doubled since 2002, to nearly 10 million visitors in 2011. But what makes the country popular can also based on many false facts and prejudice among travelers. How can we decipher the truth for the lies?

“Stereotypes have a little of truth,” said Achraf Kabbouri, a teacher in ILCS Rabat and Host City Specialist for Think Global School, “but it shows only a part.” To try and break down the well known stereotypes by Morocco, he set up a meeting with students from local schools and universities to help young travelers from TGS understand the culture of Morocco.

“All Moroccans are muslim”

The first what we learn about Morocco is that Islam (as a strong religion) is the only religion in the country. Surprisingly, we can easily notice the appearance of churches or synagogues, even in less touristy places.

According to Complete Morocco, a company run for tourists, there are about 100,000 Christians in Morocco and about 8,000 Jews out of 33 million people. In major cities you can notice Catholic churches, Protestant churches, and synagogues. Among other Muslim countries, Morocco appeared to be the most tolerant.

“Morocco is notable among Arab countries for its tolerant brand of Islam. The tolerant attitude may explain the country's appeal to tourists from around the world. It also accounts for the country's perceived immunity to religious fundamentalism.” - World Atlas

“It’s a strict, religious country, where girls need to cover their heads”

Of course, covering heads is a big part of the culture in all the muslim countries. But in Morocco you can see the same number of women wearing hijab/niqab/khimar as the number of women who don’t wear any of those.

“Most of girls start wearing hijab when they have their first period. But not all the girls do it. On how we perceive other people being very religious or not, it depends on our education”, says Zineb Belkharraz, a 19-year old student from Rabat, who spoke about life of muslim girls in Morocco. “Sometimes you can find some open minded people, who don’t take this fact as an obstacle, sometimes not. Sometimes you find some people, who don't treat you well and will always say to you that you are a bad muslim etc.”

According to The Moroccan News, hijab is not a symbol of a control by man. It shows self-control, power and agency. Also, as said by Prophet Muhammad, “Every religion has a chief characteristic and the chief characteristic of Islam is modesty”.

Especially in areas like Agdal, there is more freedom in terms of clothing. In the medina it might be more strict, however Morocco is known for leaving the most freedom among islamic countries. Most of the time, dress code depends on family’s beliefs and how strong relatives feel close to the tradition.

“Hijab has come from our religion, and it's mentioned in our Quran. ” says Zineb.

Even though not all the families make their children wear any cover for head, dress code in Morocco is almost always followed. It means not exposing arms, legs (mainly tights) or décolletage. Women in leggings can be seen, but it’s not recommended to wear tight clothing. Clothes and accessories are not meant to attract attention or excessively reveal the body.

“Personally, no-one has ever been mad at me,” Zineb answered, when asked if anyone forces girls to wear hijab, “But I have some friends whose parents or families oblige them to wear hijab. It always depends on how people think.”

Tip: Wearing hijab or any other kind of head cover by women travelers in not necessary, and sometimes a bad idea. If you want to blend it while having blonde hair and blue eyes, you will drag attention no matter if you cover your head or not. If it’s for cultural reasons, like accessing a mosque, it’s good, but if you are not muslim, it might be considered as disrespectful.

“Moroccans are friendly, open-minded and extrovert”

That is mostly true. Moroccans are in most cases very talkative and open, they would invite travelers for tea, to their homes or try to teach foreigner french and arabic words. That’s what every traveler is prepared for.

“Moroccans talk so much and they would try to speak French and Arabic to you, ask you about your day, try to get to know you. “ said Omar Abdall, the half polish, half moroccan man, who lives with wife and kids in Wroclaw and comes back to Rabat every holiday. “We have open souls for everyone.” He claims that his European country is missing something that Morocco is known for: hospitality.

Omar also described a unique characteristic of Moroccans and named it a “big stare.” “If they want to look at you, they will,” he said.

Tip: Be kind. Never ignore or be rude to people who just want to talk. But going to someone’s house is not really recommended. Also, don’t expect that everyone is going to be fascinated with you being a foreigner.

“Morocco is nothing but a desert”

That stereotype Moroccans find very funny. No, there is something more than just sand in this country. There are four main types of landscapes recognized in Morocco:

• Mountains, that cover most of the region of Morocco. Most famous is the Atlas mountain range that belongs to Berbers.

• Rif region, geographic diversity, as it is home to mountains, the sea, rivers, and hills.

• Sahara desert, which is only part of Morocco, not the whole country. It covers the southern part and is the only place with camels, oasis and camel rides.

• Beaches, that are a go-to on the Mediterranean coast

“The geography of Morocco is very diverse. There are mountains, coast, desert, steppe and oasis within the same territory, creating a unique country and great natural wonders” write Joao and Rita Leitao, two travelers living in Morocco, on their website called Maroccos.

Tip: Prepare for every kind of environment and every kind of weather while packing for a travel to Morocco. Even if you have a specific plan for the whole trip, you can end up skiing in the mountains or burning on a camel ride in Sahara. Take clothes for rain, for beach trips and chilly days. Just be prepared!

“Where do all these stereotypes came from?”

“Misconceptions,” Achraf summarized, “come from media.”

We have an idea about almost every country. The more travelers, the more attention from social media. And then even more travelers and tourists. Everyone has their own experience, so perspectives are different. Stereotypes appear when we take someone’s perspective as our own and spread it. What’s the best way to check what we should believe in? Experience it ourselves. Travel more!