Capital:
Rabat. Population: about 28.5 million people. Arabs and Berbers – 99%, 1% – Europeans and Jews.
Language:
Arabic (state), French, Spanish.
Religion:
According to Homeagerly.com, Islam is the state religion of Morocco – Sunni Muslims -99%, Christians – 0.8%, Jews – 0.2%.
Geography:
the state with a total area of 446.6 thousand square meters. km., is located in the west of North Africa. In the east and southeast it borders on Algeria, in the south – on Western Sahara. In the north it is washed by the Mediterranean Sea, in the west – by the Atlantic Ocean. On the Mediterranean coast of Morocco are two Spanish possessions: Ceuta and Melilla.
Climate:
on the Mediterranean coast, the climate of the country is mild, subtropical, the temperature in summer reaches + 30-35 C, and in winter + 15-20 C. Further south, the climate is more continental, with hot summers and cool winters. It rains mainly during the winter months.
Political status:
constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the king. The legislature is the House of Representatives.
Currency:
Moroccan dirham. Banks are open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 11.15 and from 14.15 to 16.00. Saturday and Sunday are days off. During Ramadan they are open from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. Hours of operation may vary.
Tipping: It
is customary to give small tips here, but often. In restaurants and hotels, even if tips are included in the bill, it is customary to pay extra 10% of the bill. Tipping should be given to the person who served you personally.
Time is 3 hours behind Moscow, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October – by 4 hours.
Entry rules:
for entry you need a visa and a passport with a validity period of at least six months. The standard stay in the country is up to three months. There are no restrictions on movement around the country for Russian citizens.
Customs rules: the
import and export of foreign currency is not limited, but its circulation in the territory of the Kingdom is prohibited. When exporting unspent currency, you must have a bank exchange certificate. It is forbidden to export, without special permission, objects and things of historical and artistic value. There is a restriction on the import of professional photographic equipment (this does not apply to amateur photographic equipment).
Mobile communication:
GSM standard is supported. Roaming is available for MEGAFON and MTS subscribers. Roaming services in Morocco are not yet available for Bee-Line subscribers.
EXCURSIONS FROM AGADIR
Agadir
Sightseeing tour of Agadir, a resort city rebuilt in the 1960s. Visiting the port and shipyard, the Kasbah fortress, from where an amazing panorama of the bay of Agadir opens. The tour ends with a visit to a typical Arab market.
Marrakesh 1 day
Visit the ancient capital of Morocco – the red city of Marrakech. Palaces and mosques built in the deep Middle Ages have been preserved here. Visiting the medina, the old city, the ancient palace of El Bahia, visiting the ancient oriental bazaar and the famous Djamma El Fna square. Dinner at a national restaurant.
Essaouira
The real “White Pearl” of the Atlantic. Essaouira is the center of contemporary Moroccan art. In the 70s, Jimi Hendrix wanted to establish a hippie colony here. The city has a rich history that began during the Roman rule. Inspection of the medina (old city) and the ancient Portuguese fortress. Dinner.
Imuzzer
Visit to a beautiful valley and waterfalls. Along the way, the bus makes stops at scenic spots so you can take photos. Lunch at a national restaurant in a small Berber village.
Tafraout
The most picturesque trip to the mountains. Tafraoute is a pink Berber village located in the middle of the Atlas mountain range. During the journey, which lasts more than 400 km, you will meet on your way small Berber villages and ancient fortresses. Visit to the village of Tiznit, famous for its silverware and carpet factory. Lunch at a national restaurant.
Weight 4×4
A land rover ride through the beautiful surroundings of Agadir – the valley of the Massa River, where you can meet flamingos and many species of birds, dunes and wild beaches. Lunch at the ancient fortress.
Tiut-Taroudant
Donkey ride in the picturesque oasis of Thiut. Lunch at a national restaurant. Departure to Taroudant, the ancient city of Morocco, which has a second name – “Little Marrakech”. The city is surrounded by magnificent orchards of olive trees.
Berber evening
A wonderful evening in an old Berber village where you will come across traditional Moroccan dishes such as tagines and sweet couscous and wine. In between meals, you can take part in national dances.
Lots of smoke from the jug
Sweetish smoke, multi-colored vessels filled with water, long braided pipes and glowing coals. This hookah is a celebration of taste and sensations.
Hookah is one of the most famous attractions for tourists in Tunisia, the Emirates, Egypt and Turkey. However, its history goes beyond the usual oriental exoticism. Hookah smoking has long turned into a philosophy of pleasure, meditation and a ritual of understanding life.
The first hookahs were made in India, but they owe their modern appearance to Turkey. It was from here that the culture of hookah smoking began, which was brought to the Arab countries by the nomadic Ottomans.
Initially, hookah was made from coconut shells. Then the design was improved, and the most skilled artisans began to manufacture hookahs. They singled out four parts that a hookah necessarily consists of: a mouthpiece, a top, a tube and a vessel filled with water. For centuries, masters have improved their art, which is why the hookah has received not only functional, but also aesthetic value, becoming an integral part of oriental culture, history and traditions.
In the East, it is customary to smoke a hookah at dusk, accompanying this ceremony with leisurely conversations about politics, family life or women. However, the Arabs, who consider the hookah their national treasure, allow even women and children to smoke it! This pastime has become such a habitual part of long family evenings that the UAE Ministry of Health even considered it necessary to ban its use by minors.
In the East, an offer to smoke a hookah is the most important sign of trust, and a refusal can cause a storm of resentment and indignation. The scandal between France and Turkey, which erupted due to the fact that the Sultan did not offer the French ambassador to smoke a hookah with him, is widely known!
The thoughtful ritual of hookah smoking involves a number of unshakable rules that are not a sin to remember so as not to be disgraced in the eyes of experienced smokers. So…
Rule N1. Never pass a hookah from hand to hand – this is considered a bad form rule. It is better to put it on the floor so that the neighbor can reach the hookah himself.
Rule N2. Do not put it on the table, do not light an ordinary cigarette from it. One more caveat – the hookah itself has an intoxicating and relaxing property, so the use of alcohol in combination with it is completely unnecessary. However, if you definitely decide to achieve nirvana, you can add wine or other alcohol-containing drinks to the hookah, which will give the smoke a lethal force. But if your own health is dear to you, in no case do not drink this liquid – all harmful substances from tobacco settle in it.
Rule N3. Do not try to use dry, not intended for this purpose tobacco for hookah – you can seriously burn your throat! There are several types of tobacco for hookah: massil – a honey mixture, tombak – pure tobacco and zhurak, which is an intermediate link between the first two. Aromas of apple, strawberry, mint, grape, watermelon, melon, rose and licorice are often added to massil. This is the most common type of hookah tobacco. Tombak, as the most alkaloid-containing species, is usually cleaned before use as follows: it is soaked, then the smoker squeezes it several times in his hand, and only after this procedure he fills the hookah. Zhurak is mainly distributed in the Pyrenees, and in addition to fruits, contains various oils or molasses.
Those who like to get high add sour cherries or grapes to the vessel to observe their movement in the water, or pomegranate juice and rose oil to enhance the aroma. Previously, smokers added various narcotic mixtures to the hookah. For example, the Sultan smoked a mixture of opium, flavorings and crushed pearls.
In the 19th century, hookah was a fashionable attribute of ladies from European high society. A large number of photographs of dinner parties or intellectual conversations of an elite society over a hookah have been preserved.
There is a myth that hookah is much more harmful than all other ways of using nicotine. As often happens with myths, this is not true: one hookah smoking is comparable in terms of harm to smoking two cigarettes, and in terms of consistency, hookah tobacco is much softer and more aromatic than pipes, cigars and cigarillos. The tobacco used in hookahs is wet and sticky, similar to jam. After smoking, it does not burn out, but only dries out, not turning into ashes. It is 95% water vapor. The amount of resin in it is minimal, while most of the harmful substances settle on the filter. Do not forget also that the complex device of a hookah separates coals and water, significantly cooling the inhaled smoke. The smoke emitted during smoking does not dry out the throat, it dissolves very quickly in the air, leaving an unforgettable viscous sweet aroma.
There is a special aesthetics of hookah smoking that is inaccessible to idle curiosity: haste and pressure are not compatible with the long kindling and savoring of this exotic taste. It is done like this – take in more air, take a long mouthpiece into your mouth and inhale until you hear gurgling in the jug. Take smoke in your mouth, and a pleasant languor will disperse through your body. Soon there will be a state close to the wisdom of great tranquility. This is an exquisite oriental delight.
