Anyone been to Morroco?

[Vudak]

Warning, spelling of countries/place names will be abhorent in this post.  It's 2am.  Gimme a break


Apparently one of my professors is taking a group of students with him to Morrocco next winter...  The cost would be $1,800USD and it would probably be a week or two excursion.  He's never been to the place, and neither has the other professor who's going, so there should be plenty of humor, and, possibly, a healthy dose of calamity.

The tentative schedule includes going to some oasis 100 miles into the Sahara and climbing the Atlas mountains.  Marakech and Casablanca would also be visited.  I hear there are some pretty neat Roman ruins outside of Marakech that I would like to see.  I'm sick and tired of flying halfway across the world to not even see some ruins!

Has anyone ever been to this country?  If you had the option, would you go?  If you've been there, would you recommend it, or not, and why?

Finally, if I do end up plunking down the tax return for this one, any advice on what to do/not do/drink the water?/etc.?

[deSelys]

I have a colleague who regularly goes trekking in the Sahara. I'll ask him for a list of tips.

[Hornet33]

I've been to Casablanca. Was there in 2001. The Palace area is nice and the worlds largest Mosque is there which is very impressive.  Other than that I found the rest of the city reminded me of a sewer, literaly. I watched people squat down on the sidewalks and take a leak or a dump. Trash was everywhere, and the air polution was pretty bad. You always have little kids following you around begging. I wouldn't go back.

[storch]

was there in the late 70's  it's a great place to go see just how peaceful, progressive and good islum is.  you want to pay to go there, they should pay you.  wild horses couldn't drag me back.

[bj229r]

Europe is crammed full of gangers who FLED Morocco..WHY would that putz want to take you there?

[Curval]

One of my colleagues decided to take a girlfriend on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  He chose Morroco.

He will never, ever go back there.

[moot]

Sounds like you better know the ropes to having a good time there.

[FiLtH]

Looks like you better choose a new target for the tax plunk.

[BlkKnit]

I was there for about 2 hours once......lets just say that an armed security contingent was assigned to us....not sure if it was to keep others out or to keep us in (was in USMC OTW to Egypt at the time)

I'm sure my experience there was not indicative of what a vacation there would be like.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Yep most likely it's not a very safe place for an American at this time.

I wouldn't go there regardless of the fact.

[Vudak]

Ok, well, I guess it looks like I'm probably not going to Morroco!

I have no idea why, of all places, Morroco was chosen, but the prof. doesn't have the say in that sort of thing so much as the various student groups do, so I dunno...

Then again, once in awhile it's good to take a vacation from hell.  Like driving down to FL with everything on the car breaking along the way.  Just makes life that much more interesting.  From what you're all telling me, this place would fit "that" bill quite nicely lol.

[Suave]

Originally posted by deSelys
I have a colleague who regularly goes trekking in the Sahara. I'll ask him for a list of tips.

What is wrong with him ? He likes to walk but hates nature ?

[deSelys]

Originally posted by Suave
What is wrong with him ? He likes to walk but hates nature ?

A desert isn't part of nature?

[Casca]

Spent three months in Morocco in the 70s, mostly Tangiers and Marrakesh and down the coast, Essaouria and Agadir.  I thought it was beautiful and historically fascinating.  Poverty certainly exists as it does in a lot of places in the world.  The kids can beg in five languages though which is remarkable in itself.  The lingua franca of the country is still French but a lot of English is spoken.

I don't have a take on safety in light of current world politics.  I probably wouldn't wander off deep into the medina by myself anymore.  I would certainly take the opportunity to go.

[takeda]

I spent 2 weeks in the North, around Tanger and Tetouan in the late eighties. I had an uncle teaching there at a spanish high-school (remnant of the colonial era). People were nice, children begged (and called my other uncle  "the American" for getting angry about that), food in restaurants was cheap and nice, but of course you shouldn't eat the fly-riddled sheep brains in the medina.

I stuck to bottled water and still crapped my guts out.

Filth is always relative, for me it wasn't any worse than any other poor place. In particular, I had the "opportunity" of visiting quite a few public WCs which were extremely clean and quite safe and well stocked, as many were guarded by a policeman with a roll of toilet paper stuck to the barrel of his SMG

I enjoyed the visit, but of course my uncle was an excellent guide having lived there for a few years.

About the Atlas thing, my brother went to climb the highest mountain there a couple of years ago. By his account it isn't your regular pic-nic: strong winds had him crawling as walking upright wasn't possible anymore and one night he had to join some locals that lived in a cave for dinner and refuge against freezing. I can't picture my usually squeamish brother grabbing rice&goat from a common pot in a cave, but well hunger can be a great mover.