Morocco Travel Guide - Going Out

Fusion isn't a new trend in Morocco, where the cuisine is a blend of Mediterranean, Arabic, Jewish, Persian, West African and Berber influences. Meals range from the diffa, an elaborate multi-course feast featuring elegantly presented cous cous and grilled meats, to quick bites of Merguez sausages and shwarma (spit-roasted lamb sandwich) at a curbside snak, or casual restaurant. Produce is seasonal, grown locally and typically without chemical pesticides or fertilisers. Local specialities are often grown in small quantities, so the fresh cherries you may enjoy in Sefrou might be impossible to find in Agadir. Although some sit-down Moroccan restaurants now offer à la carte menus, a three-course fixed-price menu is still common at dinner. Restaurants offer a good selection of food, including typical Moroccan fare, plus French, Italian, Spanish and fusion dishes. Many souk stalls sell kebabs (brochettes), often served with harissa (hot pepper sauce). Laws on alcohol are fairly liberal (for non-Muslim visitors) and bars in most tourist areas stay open late. Wines, beers and spirits are widely available, although drinking alcohol in view of a mosque or during Ramadan is discouraged. Locally produced wines, beers and mineral waters are a fair value, but imported drinks tend to be expensive.

National specialities:
• Harira (a tomato-based soup).
• Pastilla (a pigeon-meat pie layered with flaky dough and dusted with cinnamon and sugar).
• Couscous (a savoury semolina dish cooked with local vegetables and/or meat).
• Tajine (a rich, fragrant stew, with some combination of lamb, chicken or fish with onions, olives, almonds, tomato, herbs or dried fruit).
• Mechoui (slow-roasted, stuffed lamb or beef).
 
National drinks:
• Mint tea (aka ‘Berber whiskey') is strong green ‘gunpowder'  tea mixed with fresh mint and heavily laced with sugar.
• Coffee is French press, espresso or Turkish style.

Tipping: Tips range from a few Dirhams for cleaning service to 5-10% of total meal cost.

Morocco offers a variety of diversions nightly, including bars, discos and restaurants, often with live music or belly dancing as part of the evening's entertainment. The party usually gets started around midnight, when dining tables are shoved out of the way to accommodate serious hip-shaking, and the fashionable make their entrance in nightclubs. There are also casinos in Marrakech, Mohammedia, Tangier and Agadir. But high-stakes entertainment can't compare to the cheap, fantastic thrills of halqa, the street theatre performances by acrobats, musicians and cross-dressing belly dancers who perform for spare change in city squares across Morocco, especially Tangier and the Djemaa el-Fna in Marrakech (UNESCO's World Heritage site for oral history).

About as far as you can imagine from the typical department store, the souks are a maze of stores and artisans' workshops loosely organised by trade: leatherwork, basketry, carpets, jewellery, herbal remedies, metalworking or ceramics. These local handicrafts are produced by artisans and maalems (master craftsmen) whose techniques and tools have been handed down through generations, and the handiwork can range from charmingly rustic to flat-out astounding. To gauge what prices are considered fair, visit a state-run cooperative. Bargaining is essential in souks, and good buys generally work out at around a third of the asking price, or whatever you're happy paying. In the south, there are Berber carpet auctions, especially in Marrakech, Taroudannt and Tiznit.  For fixed prices shops, head outside the souks to the nouvelle villes, or new town areas.

Shopping hours: Mon-Thurs 0900-1230 and 1530-1900, Fri 0900-1100 and 1530-1900; large stores are open Mon-Sat 0900-1300 and 1530-1900; souks (traditional markets) are open Mon-Sun 0900-1300 and 1530-1900.