1. The whole landscape of Morocco is beautiful, almost hauntingly so. The trees, the buildings, the architecture… it’s majestic and inspiring.
2. The merchants and hawkers have such an interesting way of running their craft. You see how hawkers sell fruits, vegetables, spices — and you realize that it’s how merchants traded in produce for thousands of years. They’re stacked on the ground on a blanket, stacked so elegantly and carefully. It’s much more viscerally appealing than the modernity of supermarkets, at least while visiting.
3. Very few people speak excellent English. Everyone speaks French, mixed with a bit of Arabic. You can get around, but it’s not super convenient.
4. 95% of the people are very friendly and very nice. Like, very much so. They’re wonderful people.
5. Yet, similar to Vietnam, I feel like I can’t let my awareness / danger sense drop below 65%. Morocco is quite safe apparently, but the traffic is crazy with motorbikes down alleyways, poor signage, etc. And that’s not the tougher part — people try to give you less change than your purchase cost and overcharge slightly, it’s a constant haggling culture, and touts are trying to take advantage of you and give you bad directions.
Without point #5, I would already be in love with this place as an amazing and near-perfect society to base out of (on first impression). Light Arabic music plays everywhere; it’s very pleasant. The society is stacked with carbohydrates — amazing breads, pastries, juices — so staying off of it will be a challenge; my solution is to absolutely stuff myself on excellent spiced chicken, fresh almonds, good coffee, and vegetables.
It’s lovely here. You have to be aware, and that eats up mental bandwidth… this isn’t Toronto or London or Tokyo where you can be lax. But there is a beauty, a rhythm, a music to the place. On a first impression, it is very much worth visiting.