Moroccan Culture: The Soul of Morocco

Moroccan culture is a mosaic built over centuries. The Amazigh (Berber) people, the first inhabitants of North Africa, gave the country its oldest language, its weaving and pottery, and much of its music, above all in the Atlas Mountains and the desert regions.

Arabs brought Islam, the Arabic language and a literary tradition from the 7th century, while Muslims and Jews expelled from Andalusia brought their architecture, their music and their cooking. Sub-Saharan Africa left its mark on music and spiritual life, and France and Spain on the cities, the schools and the languages people use today. The result is a cultural identity found nowhere else in the world, one that values tradition and has always adapted.

Islam is Morocco's official religion and sets the rhythm of daily life. The call to prayer rings out five times a day in every city and village of Morocco, Friday midday is the main prayer of the week, and the month of Ramadan changes the pace of the whole country: fasting from dawn to sunset, then long, lively evenings.

Morocco also has a long history of living side by side. Jewish communities have been part of the country for more than two thousand years, and in Tangier's medina a mosque, a Catholic church and old synagogues stand a few lanes apart.

Moroccans speak Darija, a Moroccan Arabic full of Amazigh, French and Spanish words. Arabic and Tamazight are the official languages, Tamazight since the 2011 constitution, and many Moroccans speak more than one Amazigh language at home.

French is widely used in business, schools and shops, and in the north, around Tangier and Tetouan, many people speak Spanish too. English is spreading fast among young people in Morocco, and in the travel trade you will rarely be stuck.

Moroccan hospitality is famous around the world for a reason: welcoming a guest is treated as a duty and an honour, whether the guest is a friend or a stranger. Visitors are offered tea on arrival, in a home, a shop or a guesthouse, and are often invited to share a meal, even unannounced.

At the table, hosts insist that guests eat more, a sign of their welcome. When you are invited to a home, a small gift is appreciated: pastries, dates or a box of tea. And on the street, people will often go out of their way to help with directions or advice.

Serving mint tea, atay, is far more than offering a drink: it is a gesture of welcome and the start of a conversation. Green tea, fresh mint and plenty of sugar are brewed in a silver teapot, then poured from high above into small glasses to raise a froth on top.

Refusing the first glass is considered impolite, and the tea usually comes three times. A Moroccan saying describes the three glasses: the first as gentle as life, the second as strong as love, the third as bitter as death.

Moroccan cuisine mixes Amazigh, Arab, Andalusian and African flavours, and it is built on spices: cumin, ginger, turmeric, saffron, paprika and ras el hanout, a blend of many spices, with fresh coriander and parsley, preserved lemons, olives and argan oil.

Two dishes stand out. The tagine is named after the clay pot it slow-cooks in, with meat, vegetables and often fruit. Couscous, steamed semolina with a stew of meat and vegetables, is the family meal after Friday prayers. Add harira, the soup that breaks the fast in Ramadan, pastilla, a sweet and savoury pie, and street food such as msemmen flatbreads, sfenj doughnuts and fresh orange juice. In Tangier, local mornings start with bissara, a fava bean soup, and kalinte, a warm chickpea flan. Meals are shared from one dish, with bread to scoop up the food.

Moroccan crafts are still made by hand in workshops across the country, with skills passed down from one generation to the other. Zellige, the mosaic of hand-cut tiles, covers palaces, mosques and riads in geometric patterns. Cedar is carved into ceilings, doors and furniture, and plaster is cut into patterns as fine as lace.

Leather from the tanneries becomes bags, poufs and babouche slippers; pottery changes from region to region, from the blue of Fes to the earthy tones of Amazigh ceramics. The carpets woven by Amazigh women in the Atlas are more than floor coverings: their symbols and colours tell the story of a tribe and of the woman who made them.

Moroccan music is as varied as its people. Andalusian classical music, with its roots in medieval Spain, is played by traditional orchestras with the oud, the violin and the qanun. Gnawa music, brought by people from sub-Saharan Africa, is spiritual and hypnotic, with call-and-response singing, the three-stringed guembri and the metal qraqeb castanets.

Amazigh music changes from region to region, with the bendir frame drum and the rhaita reed pipe at weddings and festivals. In the hills south of Tangier, the Master Musicians of Jajouka play a music that fascinated the writer Paul Bowles and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones.

A few customs go a long way in Morocco. Greet people with salam alaikum, use your right hand to eat and to give or take things, and take your shoes off in a home when your hosts do. Ask before you photograph people, and accept the tea you are offered.

During Ramadan, eat and drink discreetly in the street during the day. Bargaining is normal in the souks, less so in shops with fixed prices. Most mosques are open to Muslims only; the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca welcomes visitors on guided tours. As for clothes, comfortable clothes and shoes are best for the medina's slopes; otherwise, wear what you would wear at home in Europe or the US.