Posts Tagged ‘Moroccan markets’

12 Things To To in Morocco, Travel Bucket list

Wednesday, March 15th, 2017
Moroccan Covered Markets, Marrakech

Moroccan Covered Markets, Marrakech

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morocco is an an exotic vacation destination. This North African country offers a rich variety of activities whether your interested in  architecture, history, the arts, food, outdoor adventure sports or relaxation. There are a wealth of things to do for families on a vacation, couples traveling alone and also for independent visitors who tend to shy away from organized and private tours. With so many options it’s hard to choose. Moroccan Guide books claim they know the Top 10 Best Things to Do in Morocco as do the variety of Morocco travel bloggers out there. Moroccan Tour Packages sometimes can equally be adept as they don’t offer the off the beat activities that can make for the most memorable vacation. As natives of Morocco and the founders of Morocco Travel Blog, we offer intrepid travelers the idea Travelers Guide of Where to Eat, Shop and What to Do.

As natives of Morocco and the founders of Morocco Travel Blog, we offer intrepid travelers the ideal Travelers Guide of Where to Eat, Shop and What to Do. Our  list of 12 Things to do in Morocco guarantee an authentic Moroccan travel experience.

12 Things to Do – Quintessentially that have made our 2017 Bucketlist and are guaranteed to satisfy your wanderlust.

Fes Souks Tasting Tour

Fes Souks Tasting Tour

 

1. Souk Tasting, Fes Food Tour in the historic Fes medina. Old world delicacies at your fingertips when you embark on a food tour.  Try traditional Moroccan street food including dried meats, milawi, harsha, briwats, spicy sardines, spicy potato cakes, soups, olives and more. Taste an array of delicious wild honeys, discuss their flavors and health-giving properties and find out why honey is so important in Moroccan cooking and Islamic culture.

2.Glamping in the Sahara Desert’s Erg Chebbi Dunes. Go on a Desert Adventure and Overnight in a  Luxury Desert Camp  in sand dunes far away from the touristic areas. Arabian Nights Dinner fireside is served as Berber drummers serinade you. Not to be missed.

3. Marrakech Street Food, Exotic eats down Marrakech’s Tangia Alley. Evening exploration and the highlights of Marrakech Street Food Tasting. Sip Tea as the sunsets over Djemaa El Fna Square. On this exclusive guided tour you will make your way through the backstreets and sample two types of slow cooked lamb, Tangia (a Marrakech specialty, traditional Moroccan salads, a mixture of street food dishes such as a grilled sardine sandwich, merguez, or kefta, Moroccan soup and doughnuts, fresh fruit smoothies, Moroccan pastries, roasted sheep head (optional) and for the more adventurous spleen sandwiches.

4. Kicking back in Coastal Essaouira, Beach bumming it by the Sea. Stroll down the Portugese Ramparts in Old Mogador. View the picturesque seagulls as they fly across this historic old city making their way like a private chartered flight back towards the beach. Kick back and lay low with a glass of gris, visit the historic Essaouira medina or bum it by the seas. Essaouira is the first calling for those who want some R&R or a visit to Morocco and it’s also the perfect ending to a country wide private tour.

Wine & Cheese in Morocco

Wine & Cheese in Morocco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Wine & Cheese Tasting in Ounara, Essaouira. Just eight kilometers from Essaouira sits one of Morocco’s finest wineries called Val d’Argan. This winery located in Ounara is the perfect pitstop en route to Essaouira on a one day excursion. The wine tasting can include a peppering of reds, rose, whites and Moroccan Gris, all consumed with local cheeses or the option of Moroccan lunch. After you’ve washed your pallet with some Moroccan wine, head to La Fromagerie for lunch. Owned by Souri native, Abderrazzak, La Fromagerie is a and farm to table restaurant with some of the best “cheese, cheese and more cheese.” The menu is prefixed unless you request a la carte. It consists of local organic wine and home made cheeses threaded through every dish served.

6. Sking in Ifrane, the little Switzerland of Morocco. A lesser known region in Morocco is Ifrane. Unlike any other town this small villagge is located in the Middle Atlas and is over 5,000 meters above sea level. Ifrane has a Swiss Alpine village feel to it and is the winter playground for wealthy Moroccans who are in search for winter and skiiing. Ifrane boasts lush, green cedear forrests in spring, summer and fall. Just outside are Berber villages and a Middle Atlas region that is rich agriculturally. The town also hosts students year round with it’s famed Al Akhawayn University. Ifrane is an hour from Fes, a UNESCO Heritage sites and serves as the perfect excursion in summer and for skiiing in winter.

7. Exploration of Morocco’s Covered Markets. Visit Spice Souks Craft makers. With centuries-old souks, authentic craftsmanship, and tiny workshops, the shopping scene offers both old and new. Moroccan crafts are a fundamental part of Moroccan life. There are covered markets to visit everywhere in Morocco from the historical medina’s to the rural country side. Local markets (souks) in the countryside take place on every day of the week. Each region of the country has a local souk that helps supply the population with good. Some are covered markets while others are completely open air. Covered Markets offer the best insiders experience for intrepid travelers who want to see first hand how Moroccans shop. The covered markets in the medina also house charming cooperatives, some of which are run by women that produce, wood, metal, copper, wool, linen, stone, embroidery and clay into distinctly Moroccan products that have been made for centuries. The covered markets offer a perfect opportunity to Shop the Souks of Morocco in style.

8. The Ultimate Hammam experience.  Discover a Moroccan bath house. A scrub with Moroccan salts and Rose water Massage is an essential part of any Morocco travel experience. Hammams have played an important role in Morocco serving as places of social gathering, ritual cleansing and with special customs attached to them. The majority of Moroccans visit a hammam at least once a week. Book a two hour appointment and request for both a Hammam and Massage combination option.  Be prepared to be well scrubbed (in a hot room) on both sides of your body with a rough flat glove called a kiis.  This is a culturally enriching experience.

Breadbaking with the Berbers

Breadbaking with the Berbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Bread baking with a Berber Family. Meet a local Berber family in the village of Ait Ouzzine nestled between the Sahro and Tamlalt Moutnains. Sip tea with the Berbers and bread bake on volcanic rock. Make a rare speciality bread of the region called Bourafin which is a century-old tradition of gathering brush and rocks, then baking the bread in open mountain, fresh air on age old historic volcanic rock. Walk in the green fields and see how the traditional Berbers live with their gardens of herbs, livestock, and henna plants.

10. A romantic Horse and Carriage ride through the ramparts of Marrakech. A fun way to visit the ramparts of Marrakech is through a Horse-drawn carriage. Through the red hamra city, visitors will see colored horse-drawn carriges in shades of chartruse, hot pink, lemon and orange. These carriges are referred to as calche’s. There’s nothing quite like taking a caleche ride in historic Marrakech medina as your driver summons the horse to turn down small alley’s, navigate the souks, weave between old world palaces and gardens, and then sprints along beside motorcycles and new card into the ville nouvelle (new city). At sunset or even on a rare, rainy evening a calche ride will bring back memories of another century and how travelers once navigated Marrakech.

11. Take a road trip and Wander the Blue Washed City of Chefchaouen. Located in Morocco’s Rif, this small city is often referred to as the hidden jewel of the North. Chefchaouen was founded in 1947 by Moorish exilesfrom Spain. Its blueglazed houses and buildings are a tradition that comes from the town’s former Jewish population. Wandering around this blue washed city is one of the top things to do on a visit to Morocco.  It offers an imaginary experience that makes you feel as if you are inside a magifcal story book from the 17th Century. Travelers can venture into the old Kasbah that faces the exterior of the city’s walls, shop for handcrafts, taste fresh goat cheese and observe locals doing daily chores.

12. Indulge in ancient history by visting the Berber Museum in Marrakech. The intense blue house and studio of French artist Jacques Majorelle is now the Majorelle Gardens and the Berber Musuem. While visiting the Majorelle Gardens, a stunning botanical garden that became the Moroccan retreat and sanctuary for French fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent, is on everyone’s bucketlist we recommend highly not to miss the Berber Musuem. Formerly known as he Islamic Museum of Art, this new museum was renamed and launched with propert histoical provenance to honor the Berber people and their traditions. As the Berbers are the original inhabitants of Morocco and were driven in the mountains in te 7th Century by Arabs from Yemen, having as much of their history and costume on display pays a long standing homage essential to those discovering Moroccan history. With over 60o objects in the Berber Museum ranging from the Rif to the Sahara this offers vistors a compelling panorama on Berber culture. The renovation of the Berber Museum was carried out by Christophe Martin with museocologiest, Bjorn Dahlstrom. This is a must see piece of Marrakech for all travelers.

 For More Information about Things to do in Morocco 

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 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Shop the Souks of Morocco, Local Markets For Meat, Fish & Spice Markets, Your Morocco Travel Guide

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Moroccan meat market

Near the vegetable and fruit markets (souks) in Morocco, you will easily spot the meat market; small stalls specializing in particular meats: one for beef, one for lamb, one for poultry; even one for offal, or innards. These are open-air affairs. If you’re squeamish and used to the refrigerated, hormone-filled shrink-wrapped proteins in America, relax! Moroccans and other cultures have been shopping in this manner for centuries with no harm done. Also remember, when you’re cooking meat, poultry or fish, the high heat will effectively burn off any dust from the market.

Now don’t think you can sidle up and order a T-bone steak. In Morocco, the cuts of meat are not the same as in the US or EU. Also remember, the preferred method of preparing meat here is either to stew or to grill (en brochette).

Essaouira fish market

If the Moroccan town you are living in or staying is near the ocean, there will be a fish market. It is normally a building where various competitive vendors hawk their catch of the day. Be careful underfoot ~ ice melting makes for slippery footing! You may be lucky to be on the wharf when the fishing boats come in. There, fish mongers quickly clean the fish and offer it for sale tout suite. When you see the seagulls circling and crying, it’s probably because the fish innards are being thrown back into the ocean and the gulls are happy catching their lunch.

A true delight for American and Europeans is the egg vendor: Brown, white, speckled, maybe goose or duck eggs as well as chicken; Believe me ~ you may purchase a single egg! The vendor will place your egg/s in a flimsy plastic bag and you should say a little prayer to get it home without cracking. Taking an empty 6-pack cardboard egg crate to transport eggs is the best way to ensure they get home safely.

The most tasteful eggs in Morocco available are called “beldi” and come from Beldi chickens. They are natural (a form of organic eggs) and often brown or black. Beldi chickens are breed by local farmers in Morocco. These types of eggs are often best eaten boiled or used in recipes.

Fes traditional bread oven

Bread is baked at local ovens being most traditional homes in the old medinas (cities) do not have individual ovens.  Women take their freshly baked bread in a small wheeled cart bearing their aromatic delights on a tray to the baker each morning and come back to retrieve it shortly after. One can purchase various kinds of single Moroccan warm flat breads for just under five cents. YUM!

Marrakech spice market

My favorite market is the spice market. Vendors sculpt mounds of spices into great colorful cones of unbelievable sizes, some 2 ft high, arranged to entice the customer with their gorgeous hues. Each vendor has his own spice blends. One for poultry; one for fish; another for lamb, etc. Ras al hanout, translated as “spice of the house,” is used in tagines (stew). These are my favorite souvenirs to bring home but make sure you label them! Some are advertised with medicinal properties (e.g., “Moroccan Viagra,” “Acme cure,” etc.) These can be brought home as souvenirs as a goof for your family & friends. All I can advise: Buyer Beware!

In any case, it’s wise to go shopping with a sense of adventure and wonder.

And HUMOR! Moroccans are the friendliest people on earth and love a laugh. No common language required.

Happy Shopping!

By Freya Ellinwood, Morocco Travel Writer

For more information about Moroccan local markets,meat, fish and spice markets or cuisine tours

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 ofMarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel ExplorationTravel 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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Moroccan Local Markets, Fruit & Vegetable Shopping, Your Morocco Travel Guide

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

Moroccan fresh vegetable market

If you are among the lucky travelers who spend some time renting a home-away-from-home in Morocco, you’ll have the great pleasure of shopping in the local food markets. While many towns of a larger size have “super” markets offering all products ~ vegetables, tinned & paper products ~ needed to stock a kitchen, I recommend the pleasure of shopping the way the Moroccan locals shop.

First, walk your neighborhood and locate the vegetable & fruits market. Sometimes a Moroccan farmer will bring his harvest and sit on a corner with his harvest (often just one such as cactus fruits) in a basket or more of a selection artfully arranged on a tarp on the ground. Middlemen will offer a variety of vegetables or fruits at their stands in a covered building.

Moroccan Olive Souk

Fruits and vegetables are fresh-fresh-fresh from the local farm. Not flown in from Peru. This is the way to taste the real thing! Salad greens are sometimes scarce. Remember Moroccans prefer cooked vegetable salads or raw salads that do not contain greens. So if you’re craving a tossed salad, when you see a head of lettuce, grab it! Be sure to wash all thoroughly before consuming.

There are the vendors with dried fruits and nuts. In some regions there are as many as 35 varieties of dates! Try as many as you can afford. A small bag of cashews or almonds with some dates or raisins make a tasty and portable snack.

Vegetables in Moroccan Market

The pickle vendor with the vast selection of olives and pickles is difficult to resist. There are dozens to choose from, spicy and not, pink, green and black. The pickle vendor will often have hand-pressed olive and argan oil for sale, too. Do purchase a small bottle to top your salads.

In all cases, the price of any size such as a small bag of olives or a large basket of vegetables or fruits or other is somewhat negotiable. If you are of the bargaining kind, by all means, practice! To feed only myself, I find it less stressful to contain my bargaining to more costly items such as textiles and jewelry.

Cauliflower in Ouarzazate Market

Depending on the length of your stay, you may develop a happy relationship with these vendors who recognize you and make a friendly joke. Common language not required! I assure they are always pleasant

When you master the cooker (stove/range) in your rental, do experiment with your finds! Look forward to Part II of Moroccan local markets where we will explore how to shop for Moroccan meat and fish in the markets and meet spice vendors. Happy Shopping!

Freya Ellinwood, Morocco Travel Writer

For more information about Moroccan local markets, fruits and vegetable shopping or cuisine tours

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 ExplorationTravel 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.

Moroccan local markets, Moroccan fruit and vegetable markets, Moroccan markets, Moroccan souks, Fruit and Vegetable shopping in Morocco, Moroccan farmer, Moroccan markets, Morocco Holidays, Morocco Travel, Travel Exploration, Travel to Morocco