Travel Writing about Morocco - Part 3.

Those who have been following our series about travel writing will be pleased to know we have found an article that does not indulge in all the cliches (mysterious, forbidden... unchanging...) but gives a pretty factual account. Our only complaint is that we would have loved a bit more detail - but, hey, nobody is perfect.

The author of the story, Jeff Glorfeld, writes for Sydney Morning Herald and you can find his full article there.

Here is an extract.

The Moroccan roads we travelled are much like Australian two-lane highways. But imagine sharing the Midland Highway with high-powered German racers, ordinary rigs like ours, old trucks with their huge loads precariously teetering, slow-moving farm machinery being driven to the next harvest, horse-drawn wagons, low-powered motorcycles carrying families of four, bicycles and pedestrians. Through it all he drove with patience and aplomb while answering our questions about the countryside and trying to teach us some basic Moroccan phrases. And some of the best food we had were tagines (stews) at the roadhouses he took us to.

Morocco is a wonderful country, full of beauty and culture. It is also full of contrasts, between a thriving middle-class and grinding poverty; of great antiquities and man-made squalor. It's an Islamic country, and the sunset call to prayer echoing from the tall minarets over the flat rooftops of Marrakech is one of life's great joys, full of magic and splendour. It is thoroughly multicultural, too; never once did we feel threatened or even conspicuous because of our Western ways. A return trip is on the cards.

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news