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Social Guidelines Mint tea is offered frequently in hotels, cafes, friends homes, when buying and bargaining and is part of the hospitality.People are very open and welcoming and love to invite you to take tea with them. If for example you are invited to drink tea with nomadic or village families then a few dirhams help pay for tea and sugar.
It is discouraged to hand out
money, sweets or pens to the children although they may often ask,
depending on how many tourists have visited the areas. So please observe this as this can be a problem, and the children can become more aggressive in their demands - you are not doing them any favours, and you are doing any favours for any other traveller. It creates a situation where the children see the visitors as someone for free handouts, and ultimately, they may be less inclined to look for work as they grow up. Gifts are more welcome if offered to the head of a family household, or given to schools, hospitals or village associations; the nomadic peoples often need clothing and shoes. Consult you guide about this, or ask when you e-mail us.
With the women it is a different matter - please do not try to 'sneak' photos of them as they may be offended, or even frightened if the head of the household has not approved. It takes more time and patience to photograph them, but if you exercise consideration, you may be rewarded. Sometimes you may wish to give a few dirhams for a photo but ask your guide they can help and intervene on your behalf. The official languages of Morocco are a dialectical Arabic and French. In fact, many of the people - perhaps up to 65% - speak Berber, but up until now, it was not considered an official language. The King is now trying to rectify this by having the language taught in school. The Berber think of Barbary - are the indigenous peoples and there are three main dialects spoken that of the Rif Mountains in the north, the High Atlas and desert, and the dialect to the west around the area of the river Souss and the Anti Atlas. Within these dialects, there are also many words local to a region - not an easy language to learn! The Berber is it thought, may have descended from ancient peoples, and certainly they have existed across much of North Africa for several centuries.
A few words of greeting in Arabic or Berber are greatly appreciated and you will soon learn as they are eager to teach, and of course some French helps too. What to buy what to take home as gifts for friends or family? The choice is endless! There are so many Moroccan goodies to chose from carpets, hangings, ceramics, wooden items, jewellery, lamps, glass, iron work, blankets all beautiful, beautiful!
Also, do please remember that sometimes hospitality and mint tea being offered may be a way to take you to a place to buy; it can be uncomfortable to get away from this, so avoid this situation if possible, but do not be too suspicious of everybody as you may miss a chance for something spontaneous to occur. Having a guide who can
intercede on your behalf is good and less problematic sometimes. Which isnt to say shopping in the souks cannot be a great deal of fun!! |
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Email: info@adventuremorocco.com Tel: +212 (0) 62 82 94 14 |
When photographing, the
landscape is of course free, but often it is better to ask permission to
take photos of people and they will often be more than happy to pose for
you.
You will find though that many
of the people have a gift for picking up languages, especially those who
work with visitors, and English, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese are
also spoken to name but a few languages!
Remember these people are
entrepreneurs so when it comes to bargaining they have already weighed
you up and may set a high price.
Start at a lower price and negotiate they have honed their selling
skills - but also do remember not to knock them down to a rock-bottom
price as they too have to earn their living. It is best perhaps to
decide what you think an item is worth, how much you would wish to pay,
and take the bargaining from there.