In our recent Live Q&A session on secret places in Morocco off the tourist path, one such location is a stunning lake located east of Marrakech, a roughly three hour drive from the city. Perhaps because of this distance, and the fact that it is not on the main tourist routes, it is still largely known only to locals and the occasional informed tourist. You are about to become one of those in-the-know travellers. The lake is in fact a large reservoir, held back by a mini-Hoover Dam, creating one of the largest bodies of water in Morocco: Bin el-Ouidane. Mountains and rolling hills line t ..read more

This is an excerpt of the Live Q&A recording of Wednesday, April 10, "Getting off the tourist path in Morocco." Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel for even more details and tourist ideas, and particularly for the visuals that accompany our conversation. Maps, photos and more await you there! Getting Off the Tourist Path in Morocco (YouTube) List of sights mentioned (doc) We spend a lot of time talking about the great sights of Morocco, from Marrakech to Fès, Chefchaouen and Tangier, Ouarzazate and the Merzouga Desert. If you are making plans for your first trip to Morocco, an ..read more

Azdean and his local Fes guide extraordinaire, Moulay Hafid Alami, conclude their tour of the old city with a visit to the pottery and ceramic studio, "Mosaique et Poterie de Fes." Located just to the east of the medina, this is more than a simple shop selling their beautiful craftwork (and there is a lot of it!). When you arrive, you get a guided tour of the facility, starting with handling the raw clay itself, learning how it's shaped, dried and fired, then glazed and decorated. In our episode today, Azdean is taking this very tour, and you'll hear all the explanations, combined with the s ..read more

Experience the sounds and ambience of Fes in this live walking tour of the medina, during Azdean's tour in 2023. Accompanied by expert guide Moulay Hafid Alami, we start in Fes el Jdid, the 14th century quarter, learning about the Royal Palace of Fes and its seven golden doors (only created in the 1960's), and the importance of the neighboring Jewish Quarter, or Mellah, the first in Morocco. We pause to take in the quiet tranquility of the Jewish Cemetery, as Hafid tells us about the special bond between Muslims and Jews in Morocco, in Fes in particular. From there, we head over to the Burj S ..read more

This is an excerpt of the Live Q&A recording of Wednesday, March 13, exploring the vibrant city of Fez. Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel for even more details and tourist ideas, and particularly for the visuals that accompany our conversation. Maps, photos and more await you there! Exploring the Magical City of Fez, video replay Azdean, Sam and Ted expand on our recent episode on Fez (which goes over a sample four-day itinerary) and reminisce on their own experiences and memories there, while answering your questions about what to see and do in the city, a bit of history and ..read more

We have dabbled in Fès since the start of the Destination Morocco podcast, as it has made an appearance in episodes such as our tour overview of Morocco, our discovery of famous Moroccan food, or in particular from our guests' stories, such as with Chantal and her family, who spent some memorable days in and around the city: Episode 4: A Guided Tour Around Morocco Episode 14: Dig Into Genuine Moroccan Dishes in Fès Episode 22: Comfortable and Safe Family Travel in Morocco Now, we enter into our first dedicated series of episodes on this fabulous city, starting with a general overview of the ..read more

You can also watch this video episode on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/FhPkzzzYjns Ramadan in 2024 starts on the evening of Sunday, March 10th and goes until Tuesday, April 9th, followed by the feast of Eid al-Fitr, or the ‘Feast of Fast-Breaking.' Despite its perhaps solemn reputation, Ramadan is a joyful time for Muslims around the world, Morocco being no exception. As Azdean, Hiba and Sam explain in today's episode, the food is unique and better, families and community frequently come together, and it is a time for celebration and collective spirit, where sacrifice and diligen ..read more

We conclude our cultural tour of Morocco with a performance of Gnaoua (also spelled Gnawa) music, recorded live on location at a Merzouga desert camp and at a Marrakech restaurant. In between performances, Azdean sits down with Mohamed, a musician and member of the Gnaoua performers in Qser el Khamliya, a small village just south of Merzouga. Mohamed started playing when he was eight years old, and gives us some background on the roots of Gnawa music, created by slaves and nomads from Sub-Saharan countries. The music was meant to express the suffering of slaves and their longing for freedom ..read more

This episode is the audio replay of part our Destination Morocco live Q&A session, on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. You can find the video version here on our YouTube channel. Our live Q&A session this month focused on identifying useful phrases in Moroccan languages that travellers can use while in the country. As a very multilingual country, this means doing so in more than one language, which as we explore today essentially means Darija (Moroccan Arabic), Berber (or Tamazight, the original indigenous language), and French, which is still in very common use and may be at least a bit mor ..read more

Continuing on a bit further south from our last episode in Telouet, we follow Azdean on his summer tour down to Aït Ben Haddou, southern gateway to the High Atlas mountains and their stunning scenery and hiking. Aït Ben Haddou is a small town but is known for its traveller services, restaurants and accommodation, and its welcoming hospitality. In this episode of Destination Morocco podcast, Azdean sits down with Mr. Mustapha, who works at the restaurant l'Oasis d'Or (Golden Oasis), a popular restaurant located on the main road through town. Mustapha speaks extensively about Berber culture and ..read more