Posts Tagged ‘travel in Morocco’

Morocco Travel Blog & Morocco Blogs Nominated for 2011 Bombies, Your Morocco Travel Guide Morocco

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Morocco Travel Blog Nominated For the "Morocco Blogs Bombies 2011"

Morocco Travel Blog, A Sensual Journey Into Morocco has been nominated for Best of Morocco Blogs 2011. The first annual Best of Morocco Blog Awards (aka The Bombies) were a huge success in 2010 with more than 1500 votes cast, major media attention around the world, and major prizes donated by Morocco Blogs generous sponsors. Morocco Travel Blog is proud to be a part of this literary and Internet effort to expand Morocco Blog contents and information about the country on the Internet. Morocco Blogs will begin the voting process on January 7th, 2011 and the nominations will be closed a few days prior.

Morocco Travel Blog was created in December 2008 by Alecia Cohen, a Moroccan Travel Specialist and former magazine publisher at Zenbu Media and of Global Rhythm magazine in the United States. Moroccco Travel Blog seeks to cover a wide variety of travel stories and culture ranging from Moroccan history, Moroccan culture, up and coming events, Morocco Tour ideas along with the Best Restaurants in Morocco and Best Riads in Morocco. A Sensual Journey to Morocco through stories and photographs is what Morocco Travel Blog is all about.

With so many new travel blogs on the frontier and blog software available to enhance blogs, what is still lacking are travel blogs that are written not only with passion, but those that include journalistic and photographic expertise on Morocco travel, the culture and its people.

Morocco Travel Blog seeks not only to offer an authentic reading and visual online experience but to take its readership into another world where they can instantly become an arm chair traveler on a Moroccan Adventure to the Sahara, an exploration to Morocco’s Imperial Cities or journey into the lives of Nomads in Berber Villages within the Middle Atlas Mountains of Southern Morocco. Morocco Travel Blog is the perfect read for those who are interested and passionate about the Maghreb.

Morocco Travel Blog would like to offer Congratulations and support to the winners and nominees of the 2010 Bombies. The following is the complete list of nominees in the order that they finished. Morocco Travel Blog was so pleased to be nominated in 2010 and 2011.

Category: Best Overall Morocco Blog
The View From Fez WINNER
Evelyn in Morocco
Ibn Ibn Batutta
760 Days in Morocco
Eat Bees Blog Braveheart Does the Maghreb
My Marrakesh Culture Vultures Fez
Everything Morocco
Cat in Rabat Dar Mystere

Category: Best Personal Morocco Blog
Pres du Puis WINNER
Evelyn in Morocco
The Good Life in Morocco
My Marrakesh Vie Au Maroc
Reflections and Experiences in Al Maghreb al AqsaThe Magic of My Universe OC Lynn in Morocco
Dar Mystere
The Struggling Travel Writer

Category: Best Morocco Culture Blog
Culture Vultures Fez WINNER
Morocco Time Moroccan Design
Fez Travel Guide Bissaha
Sou Sou Kitchen
Marrakech Xanthe Pat
Llala Lydia
Max’s Kitchen

Category: Best Morocco News Blog
The View from Fez WINNER
Morocco Times Blog
A Moroccan About the World About him
Eat Bees Blog Maghreb Voices

Category: Best Morocco Travel Blog
The Elephant Cloud WINNER
Morocco Travel Blog
The Elephant Cloud
Morocco A Go-Go
Donniell heads to Morocco
Travels with Kylie
Ben in Morocco
Oh Hey I’m in Morocco
Hey Morocco

For more information about Morocco Travel Blog or Morocco Blogs

For more information about Travel and Tours to Morocco plus highlights on Moroccan culture visit Morocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara DesertBerber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best of MarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration

Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel.We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or 1 (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

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Beat the Heat in Morocco, Top Ten Morocco Travel Tips For Summer, Your Morocco Travel Guide

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Men at Sunrise Wearing Djellabas

1. Adopt a Moroccan schedule To Beat the Heat in Morocco During Summer & Other Seasons. Take advantage of the cool early morning hours in Morocco in Summer by taking a mid-moring snack and a late lunch about 1:00 PM. Take a nap in your air-conditioned hotel room or traditional Moroccan Riad, or a dip in the pool. Around 4 PM, have a snack, and head out again around 4:30-5:00 PM. You won’t miss much, because Moroccans tend to lie low during this same time. Enjoy yourself until dark, then head off for dinner around 8-9:00 PM. Take advantage of the Moroccan night life during the cool evening hours if you’re staying in Imperial cities such as Marrakech, Essaouira or Casablanca, all which boast varied restaurants with Moroccan and International cuisine along with entertainment.

2. When going out in the morning during your Morocco Travel experience, make sure to apply sunscreen and consider wearing a hat (or hat alternative) and sunglasses (protects your eyes against cataracts).

3. If you find yourself out and about, getting overheated and exhausted, use your water bottle to wet down your face, neck, hairline, and even the top of your t-shirt or dress in the upper back, shoulder, and neck areas. You can even splash some water on your arms if necessary.

Don’t worry about looking silly–it’s far better to take care of your health when traveling in Summer in Morocco. Even though you might not see them, plenty of Moroccans (especially men, or women when in their own homes) wet down their entire head and neck under a faucet if they feel severely overheated.

Under these circumstances, try also to get to a shaded area and sit down for a little while, even if you have to ask someone in a shop or elsewhere if you may use their stool to sit on. Most are more than happy to oblige if they see you need help.

4. Drink PLENTY of water. Doctors on the Moroccan radio have advised that this is the best way to avoid serious problems. (The objective is to keep your blood thin through drinking, because dehydration is what actually leads to strokes or heart attacks in the heat.)

5. If you are not on a salt-restricted diet, enjoy the Moroccan olives! Ask your guide to take you on a visit to the olive souk, where you can purchase several varieties of olives (which don’t need to be refrigerated in your hotel room). Enjoy these at your leisure. While a bit of salt is quite helpful in preventing heat stroke in extremely hot weather, salt tablets are quite unnecesary if you like olives!

Olive souk in Morocco

6. If possible, doctors suggest spending at least a couple of hours per day in an air-conditioned location. Even short periods will give your body a break. If you are unable to do so, don’t feel shy about wetting yourself down. Your clothes will easily dry in 20-30 minutes.

In addition to your Riad or hotel in Morocco, air-conditioning is becoming more available now in some larger stores (supermarkets and malls). These make a cooler place you can go for a break.

Fresh produce displayed inside an air-conditioned Acima Supermarket in Marrakesh

7. When stopping at small shops or cafés, they often DO have cold drinks. But sometimes you have to especially ASK for them. If they hand you an unopened bottle or can which is not cold, it never hurts to aks for one that is cold. Sometimes they only give them to the people who ASK. Moroccans nearly ALWAYS ask!

8. If you should ever find yourself in an out-of-the-way place that is just unbearable at night, one trick to help with this situation is to travel with a cheap (thin) bath towel. (Even a large hand towel will do.) These can be easily purchased at any local souk. Wet it down, wring it out, and lay it on top of your body in the bed. If you have a fan to lie in front of, it will offer instant relief. If you don’t have a fan, wave it back and forth in the air a few times; when you lay it on your body, it will feel cold. This can give you some much-needed relief.

9. Remember the locals are better acclimated to the heat of summer and cold of winter, because their bodies have a chance to adjust gradually throughout the year. If you spend a long time in Morocco, especially without air conditioning (or heat in winter), your body will adjust, too. But most tourists are not here long enough for that to happen. Most fly right in to the summer heat, are only here a short time, and need to be careful by following the above suggestions.

If you should ever need a doctor, generally your hotel desk or tour guide can help find you one quickly, who even speaks some English.

10. Low-lying and coastal regions (northern and western coasts) of Morocco, such as Agadir, Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangier often have moderate temperatures with humidity, but less of both than is found in the American South, or American East Coast. Marrakesh, Fes, Ouarzazate, and other inland cities or southern areas tend to have dry, to very dry, heat, which is far easier to tolerate than humid heat.

So, to sum up, in very hot weather, avoid going out between 1 PM and 4 PM. Rest in air-conditioning, if possible. Drink plenty of water, and don’t hesitate to ask someone for a stool or chair to rest on if you become exhausted. If you become overheated together with exhaustion, soak your head and shoulders in water —put your health before appearances.

For more information about a Morocco Travel Tips

For more information about Travel and Tours to Morocco plus highlights on Moroccan culture visit Morocco’s Imperial Cities, Seaside Resorts,Sahara Desert, Berber villages, A Taste of Morocco, Magical Kasbahs, Ruins & Waterfalls, Absolute Morocco, The Best of Marrakech, Fes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration

Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or 1 (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

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Scenes From the Filming of Sex and the City 2 in Morocco, Your Morocco Travel Guide

Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Sex & The City Stars in Morocco Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis Sex in the City 2

Step into the world of the Arabian Nights with New Line Cinema’s Sex in the City 2, a fabulous wish-fulfillment movie for women, filmed in Morocco, and opening in theaters on May 28, 2010. Indeed Sex in the City has left New York for majestic Morocco. Spectacular photographs from its North African set will leave an impression on viewers of this sequel film.  Filmed in the Souks of Marrakech, actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon were spotted pounding their heals through Marrakesh’s Djemaa El Fna Square, according to the UK Daily Mail Online.

Writer/director/producer Michael Patrick King  says, “I wanted the audience to have a big, fun vacation with the girls on the screen.”  The essence of the movie is for the girls to spend one decadent week in Abu Dhabi, with all expenses paid.  Since the movie could not actually be filmed in Abu Dhabi, it was filmed in Morocco.

Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis Sex in the City 2

Filmed in Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Merzouga and Agadir, in a world of luxury, private servants, lavish rooms, and nonstop costume changes, viewers are transported into the fantasy life of Abu Dhabi.  The cosume budget for the film was $10 million.

Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, and Cynthia Nixon filming in Merzouga, Morocco

Five weeks were spent filming in Morocco.  The desert scenes were filmed on the same stretch of sand where Lawrence of Arabia was shot in the Souss-Massa-Draâ near the Ouarzazate River and Ait Benhaddou.

Mandarian Oriental Hotel Luxury Entrance, Marrakesh
Mandarin Oriental in Marrakesh

The set for the hotel scenes and room suites of Abu Dhabi was actually the Mandarin Oriental Jnan Rahma hotel in the Palmarie of Marrakesh.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Room in Marrakesh

Rooms in the Mandarin Oriental Jnan Rahma hotel in the Palmarie of Marrakesh are lavishly decorated with rich colors and this 5 Star Luxury Resort boasts a melange of traditional and Moroccan Decor.

Internationally renowned film stars featured in Sex in the City 2 include its original cast of Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw), Kim Catrall  (Samantha Jones), Kristin Davie (Charlotte York-Goldenblatt), Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes), John Corbett (Aidan Shaw), Chris Noth (Mr. Big), David Eigenberg (Steve Brady), Evan Handler (Harry Goldenblatt), Jason Lewis (Smith Jerrod), Willie Garson (Stanford Blatch), Mario Cantone (Anthony Marantino), Alice Eve (nanny), with special appearances by Liza Minnelli and Penélope Cruz.

If you are interested in experiencing the dunes of the Sahara, luxurious camping in the desert, luxurious hotels, and the souks of Morocco, contact Travel Exploration for your own private tour.

For more information about Moroccan Sex in the City 2 in Morocco or a Private Morocco Tour

For more information about Travel and Tours to Morocco plus highlights on Moroccan culture visit Morocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara DesertBerber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best of MarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration

Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806  or 1 (917)703-2078  and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

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