Product Description

Visit the Djemaa el-Fna late at night when most of the crowd is local p297. Join the locals in a public hammam and try not to flinch as layers of skin are sloughed off p443. Learn to cook from women who prepare wedding feasts in the city of romance, Marrakesh p306. Find a cure for baldness, impotence or camel sickness in markets all over the country. Five authors, two rented mules, 210 days of in-country research. Expanded Trekking chapter ­- each trek completed by footsore authors. All-new Culture chapter - meet Fatima, Driss and Amina and understand Moroccan culture through their eyes. You asked for it, we researched it - more language courses, cooking courses and sustain­able travel experiences.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34368 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Review
“…Lonely Planet, the intrepid traveler's bible...' --Los Angeles Times, April 2005

From the Publisher
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
For centuries, Morocco has been drawing poets, artists, writers and travellers in search of adventure and the exotic. For many travellers Morocco provides the first taste of Africa, Islam and the developing world. It can be quite a shock, as Morocco is, and always has been, a fascinating and often bewildering place - full of contrasting images, colorful sights, strange smells and wild experiences. For those wanting a different sort of trip, full of variety and life, Morocco provides a stimulating assault on the senses.

Morocco was known to the ancient Arabs as Al-Maghreb al-Aqsa, the Farthest Land of the Setting Sun, and stands at the western extremity of the Arab and Muslim world. On a good day you can see Spain from Tangier; Morocco has long been a gateway for Europeans into Africa and for Africans and Arabs into Europe. Today the pull in both directions is as strong as ever - economic opportunity lures ever-increasing numbers of Africans into the European Union countries, while a new generation of travellers is discovering Morocco, which has again become a very popular and hip travel destination.

However, Morocco's image is changing. The old romantic notions of a conservative nation steeped in Islamic and feudal history now jars with the contemporary reality. The medieval labyrinthine medinas of Marrakesh, Fes and Meknes are what Morocco is all about for many, but don't be surprised to hear the shrill ring of a mobile phone or a sign pointing down some darkened alley to the nearest Internet cafe. The young King Mohammed VI may be a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed and wield absolute power, but he's also president of Oudayas Surf Club in Rabat.

Morocco has a wealth of experiences to offer, starting with an astonishingly rich architectural tradition and deep cultural history, Medieval cities, Roman ruins, Berber kasbahs and beautiful Islamic monuments await. The country's numerous mountain ranges exert an enormous pull over trekkers, climbers and adventure-sports freaks, whether they be after the icy, snow-covered ridges of the High Atlas Mountains in winter or the rocky semidesert of Jebel Sarhro.

Huge sections of Morocco's isolated mountain regions still remain the sole preserve of the Berber tribespeople and their animals. Whatever hassles may be thrown at you in the hectic towns and cities, you will never doubt the legendary genuine hospitality of these gracious people.

The Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines illustrate brilliantly the tumultuous history of Morocco, with fortified cities constructed by a host of nationalities and dynasties waiting to be explored. The coast also offers fine sandy beaches (some developed, some not), numerous surf breaks and windsurfing spots, while the estuaries and lagoons support a tremendous diversity of wildlife - and they're just one piece in the jigsaw of habitats that makes Morocco such a great bird-watching destination.

Dropping off the back of the vast High Atlas (which lie across the heart of the country) and sweeping towards the vast Saharan emptiness of Algeria, are some of the most stunning arid and desert landscapes in North Africa. Among them are the kasbahs of the Draa Valley, the classic rolling sand dunes at Merzouga and the endless beauty of the coastal drive into the Western Sahara. Get off the beaten track and out into these places - they can be explored on foot, by 4WD or on the back of a camel.

Once off the beaten track Morocco can arguably become a warmer, more welcoming place. Get out into the unknown because for many, encounters with local communities form the most enduring memories of all.

Morocco is not necessarily a country where you can gracefully glide through and see everything with the minimum of fuss. Sometimes it's a demanding, frustrating place that confronts you at every turn. But what it offers is a unique experience of totally differing cultures and wildly varied landscape. Take a deep breath and dive in.

Customer Reviews

Very Useful
This is yet another informative and useful travel guide from Lonely Planet. Almost all the descriptions are very detailed and accurate. I recently came back from a rather short, but power packed tour of Morocco and this guide helped me plan the trip very well.
The supplemental information about the food, sweets, history and culture is very helpful.

It only seems to lack in providing a list of tour companies that can arrange trips into Sahara. It is very difficult for a solo backpacker to plan a trip to the desert without being ripped by the travel agents and the so called faux guides.

Uninspiring, at best
This book disappointed me. The info is cursory, at best. But what is profoundly disappointing is that there is basically *no* help in selecting or planning a trip. All that it amounts to is a catalog of places, with a summary about each place. If what you want is page after page of what, basically, you could get with a cursory web search, then this is your book. If what you want is a little help in picking what to do on a trip to Morocco, then buy something else, like the Rough Guide or even the excellent Fodor guide.

Useful guide with some shortcomings
I used the Lonely Planet Morocco guidebook this past summer in 2007 for about a three week trip. I spoke no French or Arabic so needless to say I was pretty much dependent on the guidebook to give me a basic overview of the cities I visited. I really didn't have a definite itinerary so using the information from the guide I was able to make arrangements on the go. I liked how the chapters were organized and the breakdown of logistical information was really helpful. The maps in the guidebook were pretty basic and sometimes more confusing than helpful.
I truly benefited from my use of the guidebook and without it I don't know what I would have done. However, I did have a few dislikes. First, this book is extremely heavy so I ended up ripping out pages I needed. Second, Lonely Planet devotes a good amount of pages to history and culture, which is interesting yet not always directly useful to the traveler on the road. Also, I found the descriptions of the hotels under the budget heading in Rabat and Ouzoude to be sub-par to their gushing descriptions in LP. And a negative aspect I encountered in Morocco, especially in Fes, was that hoteliers were using their exposure in LP to hawk their hotels. One place I inquired after even raised prices because they were featured in LP. The overbearing and opinioned tone of the guidebook can be off-putting as well. And, I had some of my most memorable experiences when I put aside that LP guidebook.
LP gives a rough sketch of the cities and is a great tool in researching a place ahead of time. And does a great job in serving as a jump-off point for further exploration and adventure.