Morocco

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is situated on the north west coast of North Africa, with a coast on the Atlantic stretching through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. It is bordered on the east by Algeria, but this border has been closed for some 15 years. On the south it is bordered by Mauritania, through the Western Sahara region over which Morocco has disputed rights. To the north Morocco has a water border with Spain, although there are two autonomous Spanish enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, with which Morocco has land borders. The official language of Morocco is Arabic, although French is used in the business community, Spanish is also spoken to some extent and English is gradually becoming more widely spoken.

Morocco has a rich and varied history, with signs of having been inhabited since at least 8000BC when the area was less arid. The Berbers arrived about the time that agriculture started in the region. After some 40 plus years as a French Protectorate it eventually became a sovereign state in 1956. Since 1912 the capital of Morocco has been Rabat, although the largest city and port is Casablanca.

The Rif mountains occupy the land bordering the Mediterranean from the north-west to the north-east, and the Atlas mountains run along the backbone of the country from north-east to south-west. Most of the population live to the north of these mountains, whilst the south-east region is mainly in the Sahara desert and is sparsely populated. The climate in Morocco is mainly Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the mountainous area.

Morocco is an Islamic state and therefore alcohol is only available in Hotels and Clubs, although some Hotels do not sell alcohol.The currency is the Moroccan Dirham.