Your own Moroccan palace

Posted by Staff in Luxury Monday, Morocco

When visiting the entrancing city of Marrakech you are faced with the decision to stay in either a hotel or riad (former mansion turned into a B&B)…if you are looking to relax your stay away poolside with a cocktail in hand, I would go the hotel route…but if you are longing to experience the real Marrakech, definitely stay in a riad.

Once that decision is made then you are faced with the painstaking task of picking which riad you want out of the hundreds Marrakesh has to offer.  Luckily you have me to guide you to the perfect one…Amirat al Jamal.

How not to say…shukran

Posted by Staff in How not to say, Morocco

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While in Morocco, if I want to say “thank you” I say “shukran” (arabic)….click on the audio above to hear how not to say….

Don’t fear Ramadan

Posted by Staff in Culture, Morocco, Tip of the Week

When booking this last trip to Morocco, I did not realize that the holy month of Ramadan was taking place until after I purchased my non-refundable airline tickets. For those who do not know, during the month of Ramadan, muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

At first I was panic stricken when I discovered we would be in a Muslim country during Ramadan.  Would we starve?…..how could we last in 100℉ without a drop of water all day?……would we be looked down upon if we did eat?

I then launched a full-fledged online research mission to see what others who had crossed the line had to say.  Comments I found were mixed, but tended to lean on the side of “don’t go during Ramadan.” But at this point, the trip was booked and I had no choice…..so I stopped researching and hoped for the best.

As it turns out, going during Ramadan was a blessing instead of a curse.  The normally jam-packed streets of Marrakech are a bit calmer due to the fact that many tourists are scared-off by Ramadan and many Moroccans use this month to vacation elsewhere.

Moroccans are very respectful of other cultures and understand that westerners do not fast, so eating during the day was not a problem.  But in all actuality, we found that with having a big breakfast in the hotel we were fine waiting until sundown for the next meal…..and as Moroccans tend to over-feed, it was good to have an empty stomach for dinner.

Above is a Moroccan Berber preparing mint tea for us in a small village outside of Marrakech.  Although he was fasting he was eager to share his culture with us and quench our thirst on a hot Moroccan afternoon.

Kefta Tagine – Moroccan Meatball Stew

Posted by Staff in Morocco, World Recipes

My favorite tajine I had in Morocco was the kefta tajine, which is a meatball in tomato sauce tajine.

Ingredients
 for the kefta (meatballs)
:

1lb ground beef


1 onion, very finely chopped


3 garlic cloves, crushed


1 tsp ground ginger


1 tsp ground cumin


1 tsp coriander


1 egg


small bunch of parsley, finely chopped


salt and black pepper