Morocco

Morocco has heritage. It is easily accessible by scheduled flight as well as by some of the budget airlines, which means a lot of people visit Morocco. But no matter how much of an impression Morocco makes on her visitors, they make little or no impression upon her; best of all Morocco is proving resilient to globalisation: the big brands are there but when you’re standing in the medina (“old town”) there’s no doubting you’re far from home. Morocco lies so close to Europe, yet is so completely different.

If there is one Moroccan city that is a “must” it’s Marrakech which is situated at the end of the trans-Sahara camel caravan route of old, on a plain that is as flat as a billiard table (The Haouz Plain, 750 m asl) with the remote, icy, snow-caped peaks of the High Atlas forming a splendid backdrop to the city itself. The 8-miles of city ramparts remain in-tact and enclose a throng of humans who are a living market; everything from walnuts, oranges, hides and spices to carpets, camels, silk and jewels is to be found. Trading is a way of life, and shopping a full-on sport, so if you enjoy browsing, and a good-humoured haggle, you’ll love Marrakech.