MOROCCO , where the sahara meets the sea !

INTRODUCTION:
       
                MOROCCO , or " THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO " , that means the western kingdom in arabic , is a north african country , and it's the most westerly of the North African countries. It has Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, and a rugged mountain interior.
IT has a population of  over 35 million  ; rabat is the political capital , but casablanca is the largest  city , other major citie include marrakech , tanger , fes , agadir . Its rich culture is a blend of Arab, berber (African), European and other African influences.
the main religion is islam , the most spoken language is arabic , moroccan arabic , french and berber are widely spoken .

CITIES YOU NEED TO VISIT :

MARRAKESH : also known as the red city , because all the houses are painted in light red , wich give the city a beautiful look and an attractive look , marrakesh is also know for the famous " jamaa el fna " where you'll find story tellers , snake charmers , monkey trainers , musicians , comedians , acrobats , magicians , mystics , and medieval style entertainers , It has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985 , and it has been described as " world-famous square " , it's the place where moroccan tradition meets modernity , it's simply the bridge between the past and the future.

you can also visit the souks , where you'll find traditional clothing and pottery , and some of the finest moroccan and berber spices , these souks are concidered the principal shopping attraction ; you will find leather souks , spices souks , jewerlly souks , etc ...
you can visit the menara gardens , the majorelle gardens the agdal gardens and the koutoubia gardens to relax and get some fresh air .

just remember that the period between march and may is the best time to visit the city , you'll find a warm and cool weather .
TANGER : also know as " the bride of the north " is a coastal city , where you'll find a blend of arabic , berber , spanich , portuguese , french , italian and english culture , it's also known as the gate to europe due to the short distance between spain and tangier ( 15 km ) , if you visit tangier , there are 2 important places to visit : the first one is " hercules cave " , it's a cave named after a myth that say " hercules separated africa and europe , when he separated them , the cave took the shape of africa " , the cave has 2000 years of history .

the second place is cafe hafa , it's world-famous cafe , many celebrities visited this cafe ,  Opened in 1921, the cafe has retained its 1920s style of decor and through the years has been visited by numerous writers and singers, from paul bowles , the beatles  and the rolling stones . The cafe is known for its mint tea, a Tangier special brew and the unique view of the sea .

AGADIR : located in the south of morocco , agadir is one of the major "winter sun" destinations for Northern Europeans .The city has awarm summers and mild winters , many surf clubs , and surf spots , where you can find amazing waves to ride , wich attract surfers and water sports fans .

CASABLANCA : located on the atlantique ocean , casablanca is the biggest city in morocco , The latinized name of the city is a spanish word combination meaning "White House" (blanca "white", casa "house"). The city is now nicknamed Casa by many locals.
there are many shopping district and areas , but MOROCCO MALL  is the biggest and most beautiful , it's the largest mall in africa with 250 000 m²  ,The mall features a massive 1,000,000 litre aquarium that contains over 40 different species of fish. The aquarium is called "Aquadream" and was designed and built by International Concept Management (ICM). Visitors have the opportunity to take a ride through the center of the cylinder shaped aquarium with a 360-degree view of the sea life. Visitors can also go scuba diving with a professional instructor inside the aquarium .

 RABAT : the political capital of morocco , rabat where lek " bouregreg " meets the atlantique ocean , rabat got everything you want , you can visit sawmaat hassan  , or take a look at the royal palace and it's unique rangers in front of the gate , The Moroccan capital was recently awarded the second place in "Top Travel Destinations of 2013" by CNN .

    ESSAOUIRA : essaouira or mogador is located in the south , it's world-famous for its music festival " festival of gnaoua music" held every june ( 21 to 25 ) , the city is very attractive , the blend of african , berber and arabic cultures , made this city a unique one , essaouira is known for its music gnawa music , many artists visited the city and still visit it , jimmi hendrix used to visit essaouir alot , also , mick jagger , if you plan to visit the city , please visit it during the gnaoua festival so you feel the charm  of the city , but please book from now , because all the hotels and the motels get full months before the festival .

              

cultural events in morocco :
          -mawazine festival : held in rabat ( 25 may/2 june ) , many worldwide artist performed in this festival ( pitbull , scorpions , quincy jones , stevie wonder , alicia keys , santana , bb king , and many more )
         - essaouira gnaoua festival : held every june ( 21/25 ) , you can search about gnaoua music ( gnawa also ) in youtube or other website , it's also called the new woodstock .
         -casablanca international festival , "festival de tolerence"  in agadir , festival of jazz in tanger , jazzablanca ( casablanca ) and many others .