Morocco is full of contrasts—ancient traditions meet modern quirks, and things that seem totally normal to locals can feel downright surprising to outsiders. After living here for over a decade, I’ve gotten used to a lot of things that once felt strange: people walking in pyjamas, taxi drivers picking up random passengers, or couscous being a Friday ritual.
Whether you’re planning a trip, moving here, or just curious about Moroccan life beyond the guidebooks, here are 23 everyday facts that might surprise you—and that you’ll eventually learn to love (or at least accept!).
- Taxi drivers often pick up other passengers—even when you’re already in the car; he puts different meter for each passenger (if you are lucky);
- No seat belts required in taxis (even in front)
- It’s normal to walk in pyjama and home shoes in the city, or to the stores (especialy in Marakech).
- Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter mosques in Morocco, exception the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.
- In Morocco, Medina (old town) is a place for low-income locals to live, and most of the houses are converted to hotels (riads). If you want to see where locals live, get out to the new town.
- For scooters, helmets are only obligatory for a driver
- Desert is always fruits (or some cokies, but rarely you will get a cake);
- Many streets in Morocco has guards, helping people to park their cars and guarding them (for money, of course);
- The call to prayer (adhan) happens five times daily, starting before sunrise. If you stay in a riad, close to the mosque, expect to be waken up early.
- Raw Meat Displays at the Butcher – often no fridge, hangs on a hook, but somehow stays fresh.
- Friday is a big prayer day, and a day to eat fresh couscous for lunch (you can order couscous other days too, but locals would never do it);
- People eat dinner late, around 8/9pm (like in Spain, France).
- Locals love walking in the street, not on the pedestrian path – somehow you adapt that fast.
- Get ready to drink tea everywhere and with loads of sugar.
- Locals often eat with hands (tagines, barbeque, omlettes) and using loads of bread as imaginery fork. In local villages I often need to ask for a fork with my dish.
- Don’t ask for a latte or cappuccino in local cafes—ask for “nous-nous”, which means half milk/half coffee.
- In many local places, toilets are the squat-style kind—and don’t expect toilet paper! Instead, you’ll find a bucket and tap for washing up… you can guess the rest.
- Locals don’t like when you take pictures of them – hide your camera or ask permission.
- If you are a tourist walking with a Moroccan friend in the Medina, you can get him into trouble – the police may arrest him as a fake guide (even if he is just your friend).
- Yesss, you can buy alcohol, and in many places. But only allowed to consume it inside bars, restaurants, not outside terraces.
- You can buy only 1 cigarette from a street vendor (paradise for those who only smoke a few cigarettes occasionally).
- It’s not allowed to stay in hotels or rent an apartament if one of the couple is Moroccan, an not married.
- Casablanca movie was not filmed in Casablanca (not even a small part)
Your Morocco trip begins here
10 years in Morocco. Boutique planning for curious travellers
