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Image of the old section of Tangier
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Image of a Kasbah alley in Tangier
Filled with musicians and snake-charmers, the ancient open-air markets throb with color, energy and mystery.
By Adam Scott Williams
The Moroccan night sky is powdered with fine points of light at the edge of the western Sahara. Lying on the sand, I look straight above, attempting to see the night from the corners of both eyes—at the same time. Limitless specks expand virtually 180 degrees, from horizon to horizon.
Notions of Morocco don’t commonly include this starry pleasure. Other thoughts arise: Humphrey Bogart standing in the fog of Casablanca; or Tangier, a city remembered for American expat and drug-addled Beat writer and St. Louis native William Burroughs (who wrote Naked Lunch while living there). Enter Tangier by ferry, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain, and you’re likely to meet crafty fellows who will brandish Burroughs’ historical tie to the city as a means of forging friendship—and business deals.
Of course, there is far more to this North African destination than Tangier’s convenience as an exotic day trip from Spain, its Beat Generation notoriety and a bar that harbored an unresolved love affair.
If you fly into Morocco, Casablanca is a good place to land, a hub from which to direct your compass. Casablanca is more liberal and cosmopolitan than other cities in this historically Muslim country. You can stay in the ville nouvelle. The Hotel Colbert ($10 a night) is near the central market. A little south of the center, the Hotel Plaza ($35) offers rooms with balconies and sea views. During the day, visit the Atlantic beaches and the Hassan II Mosque. At night, the hippest clubs are a taxi ride away, in the upscale beachside suburb of Ain Diab. Then snag a train—north to Tangier, Fes or the capital, Rabat; or south to Marrakesh, Essouira or Agadir—to take in older-world Morocco.
There is a medina, or old section, in each of the major cities. Cramped alleys in souks, or markets, twist past seemingly endless opportunities to buy clothing and keepsakes.
Fes is the cultural capital of Morocco. Its medina, Fes El-Bali, is one of the world’s largest. Enter at Bab Bou Jeloud, which is surrounded by tourist-friendly options for multiple-course meals that cost just 35 dirhams ($4). Multilingual color-coded signs will guide you back to Bab Bou Jeloud when you’re ready.
In Marrakesh, Place Djemma El-Fna is the heart of the medina. The life of the square kicks into overdrive when the sun sleeps, its energy drawn from open-air food stalls, musicians and snake-charmers.
Tour groups drive farther south from Marrakesh over the Atlas Mountains—passing Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO-designated world-heritage site—to M'Hamid. There, you can launch a desert excursion—and travel by camel to some remote and mysterious place where you can stargaze all night long.
Remember, Morocco uses Greenwich Mean Time and makes no adjustments for Daylight Savings. This keeps the country either one or two hours behind Spain. For flights, try British Airways (www.britishairways.com) or Royal Air Maroc (www.royalairmaroc.com/eng).
