A tourist is a customer, a guide, host or driver are suppliers. Friendship does not consist of a few warm words over tea in a family that earns income from it.
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Before saying that Morocco is a tolerant country, we must agree on the notion of tolerance. A “simple” word whose meaning is totally different for a Moroccan and for a secular Westerner.
I like this old image, which clearly shows the cultural gap between the two worlds. A gap that is still there, despite the suits and ties worn by the employees, and that goes way beyond clothing!
It had been brewing for a long time, and every time I returned to Germany I felt less and less at home. But in the end, Germany had never been my home.
Ashura is festive in Morocco, with rites common to the whole country, such as the drumming and water games of Zem-Zem, and rituals specific to one village or another, such as the Ashura of the Jews of Goulmima
The tradition is the negotiation of the fine, which will eventually be paid directly to the police officer for a small fee. Modernity is the new highway code and the radar, not yet in operation.
The Paris-Dakar raid is an event in Morocco, but a destructive one. It passes through the desert with no opportunity to enjoy it, with a catastrophic ecological impact.
Buying in Morocco means knowing how to haggle. This ritual has its own simple rules, so you can buy with pleasure, without emptying your wallet
