Morocco (Cadogan Guides) - Softcover

Rogerson, Barnaby

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564400050 ISBN 13: 9781564400055

Publisher: Globe Pequot Press, 1994

Synopsis

Includes advice on everything from riding Arab horses through the High Atlas valleys to sleeping on mud roofs under the stars

About this title

Review

‘Barnaby Rogerson’s Cadogan Guide to Morocco is much more than a guidebook... provides a fascinating insight into the culture...' -- Vogue

‘Bursting with practical information and in-depth knowledge, Cadogan Guides also make a cracking good read.’ -- The Times

‘It’s difficult to praise the Cadogan books too highly...good writing, amusing comment and invaluable advice’ -- The Independent

‘Morocco by Barnaby Rogerson is one of the best guidebooks’ -- The Independent on Sunday

‘Rogerson is widely acknowledged as a leading expert on Morocco. Includes the most detailed hotel and restaurant descriptions ever’ -- Publishing News

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

If travel is a search for lost paradise, the Muslim Kingdom of Morocco is large and mysterious enough to prolong the quest infinitely. Morocco has been likened both to an island and a palm tree. For it is all but surrounded by three seas – the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the sand sea of the Sahara – and like the desert palm, though it
is rooted in Africa, it is watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of Europe. The country has an exoticism all of its own, created by these conflicting influences washing against its shore.

Whatever your experience of the latin temper of southern Europeans, the heady lifestyle of Morocco is more dramatic. From the moment you land, adventure assails you. In simple transactions, such as buying a kilo of oranges, there is unexpected drama, humour and competitive gamesmanship.

It is not only the sites of Morocco – the Roman ruins, the ancient cities, mountain kasbahs and elegant Islamic monuments – but also the everyday way of life that lingers in the memory: breakfasts of fresh coffee and croissants; the heavy odour of virgin olive oil; and the pyramids of fruit, vegetables and nuts which are so fresh and pure they seem like a new species altogether.

Morocco was long known in the Muslim world as Maghreb el Aksa, the land of the farthest west. It was literally considered to be on the edge of the world, a place notorious for its powerful magicians and demon-like jinn. It is a country with an intense, almost insular, awareness of itself, full of extremes to reflect the changing whims and petulant egotism of proud spirits – high mountain chains, desert plains, long rivers, lush secluded valleys, broken wooded hills and undulating farmland. But ultimately it is its people that prove most fascinating. In any one Moroccan there may lurk a turbulent and diverse ancestry: of slaves brought across the Saharan wastes to serve as concubines or warriors; of Andalucían refugees who came from the ancient Muslim and Jewish cities of southern Spain; and of Bedouin Arabs from the tribes that fought their way along the North African shore. All these peoples have mingled with the indigenous Berbers, who have continuously occupied the land since the Stone Age. The ruler of Morocco, King Mohammed VI, shares these influences, as well as being a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed.

It is a mistake to move too quickly around Morocco. Far too many visitors visit a city, suffer all the initial hassle and leave before they are relaxed enough to explore beyond the well-trodden list of major tourist sites. The frenetic energy, noisy animation, odours and
ceaseless babble of the Moroccan street initially threaten to overwhelm a visitor. Instead, in Morocco you must do as the Moroccans do. Take things slowly, and catch the afternoon siesta in order to be fresh for the evening paseo. A certain wry but friendly
sense of humour is all that is needed to cope with the anarchic but addictive lifestyle.

About this edition

• Publisher: Globe Pequot Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1564400050
• ISBN 13: 9781564400055
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Illustrator: Morrish Sophie