Mahabar to Morocco

“Mahabar” means "Welcome” in Moroccan Arabic. I definitely never felt unwelcome each time I entered through the Bab Bou Jeloud, "The Blue Gate" of Fez.

As I walked into the Medina, I was always met by an intoxicating blend of sights, smells, and sounds.

Where?

Down narrow lanes beneath reeds and lamps . . . the colorful and perfumed souks of The Old Medinas in Marrakesh and Fes a 1,000 years from the cities as desert outposts for caravans are still as mysterious.

Why?

From the highest point, outside of The Old Medina in Fes, artisans work with original methods and tools, women cook the bread in the public oven, and donkeys are the only means of transport.

To travel in Morocco is to revisit an old world.

You'll want to get lost in The Old Medina . . . but here's what you need to know to “Smile: because you're in Morocco!”

DO

Travel to Marrakesh before Fes. Marrakesh is like The Old Medina of Fes for beginners'. You can navigate The Old Medina from your Dar to The Place, Jemaa el-Fna Square, where you will likely spend most of your time. Marrakesh is also the hub of other tourists' activities like camel treks into the dessert and sand boarding, so with a couple of extra days, find a guide to accompany you there.

The Old Medina in Fes has over 9,000 streets, so in order to find your way: a guide is a must! I

EAT and DRINK

When it comes to eating, "There's Fes, and everything is Fes." The cuisine of Morocco is said to be some of the best in the world. With fresh squeezed orange juice in every souk, Moroccan salads plated with a dozen dishes, and these tajines with dates and almonds, the food is "jalim," beautiful in Arabic.

For those curious, yes, you can eat camel in Morocco. At any good restaurant, you can ask the server to buy camel meat for you from the market. It will be a little pricier than other items on their menu, since “No one wants to eat that.” What they will cook for you will look and taste like sausage. But at about 20 USD, there is no better way to taste Morocco!

SLEEP

This is what 20 USD will get you in Morocco: a full bed for two, Moroccan breakfast of orange juice, bread, and tea served each morning in a lovely courtyard under an open roof, and a roof top terrace from which you can watch the hustle and bustle of your Medina.

In Morocco, a Dar is a smaller Riad which has a wide, open courtyard with a pool and some small trees kept by wealthy families. Most of the homes in The Old Medinas are Dars.

I recommend staying at the Dar Zohour in The Old Medina, Fes at just 15 t0 20 USD per night. Stepping from the door of our Dar was like stepping into "the Moroccan dream."

BUY

Morocco is a 99% Muslim country. In Morocco, beneath the towering minaret of the mosque, the day is punctuated by the sounds of prayers from the mosques, or from shop keepers as they close their shops for minutes of prayer.

When you are tired of the heat, drink "Moroccan whiskey," thé verte à la menthe, from a cafe overlooking Marrakesh’s Medina at its center, Jemaa el-Fna Square, above the crowd of dancers, monkey trainers, and snake charmers.

Fes is the artisan handicraft capital of Morocco. If you plan your trip right, you can visit Fes during the handicrafts festival.

Your guide can take you:

- to the tanneries in Fes and the dyers' souk, where skeins of silk are hung to dry in the sun near vast open leather-dying pits. Custom-made leather jackets can be sewn for you in 3 hours for about 150 USD.

- to buy rugs, where wool, cactus silk, and silk are rolled out under the feet of tourists who say "ishma" to have an attendant put a rug away and "hale" for keeping the sometimes 1,000 USD rug. Since the rugs can be sold for 8,000 USD in the United States and you can bring 6 customs-free with an American Passport, it's a good idea to buy a few.

- to a herbalist, where you can peruse argon oil medicinal creams for acne, psoriasis, eczema, jasmine, rose, and amber solid perfume bars or roller balls, and natural cosmetics made with henna. Everything should cost between 10 and 40 Dirhams.

GET THERE

By train from Casablanca to Marrakesh or Marrakesh to Fes: Buy first class train tickets, if you do not want to stand for seven hours, or sit on the steps of the open train car door, as the train passes orchards of small trees like apricots, peaches, apples, figs, and cherries in a serene, green landscape. In Morocco, first class tickets guarantee you a seat on the train for just 4-5 USD more than a second class ticket.