His Excellency Mr Mohamed Mael-Ainin Ambassador of Morocco & Berber Treasures Director Georgina Hayden

Berber Treasures Morocco recently had a wonderful time participating with the Ambassador of Morocco, His Excellency Mr Mohamed Mael-Ainin, other members of Australia’s Moroccan community, the University of New England and members of the NSW branch of the Country Women’s Association in the Morocco study program (University of New England, Armidale 1-3 February). Each year the CWA chooses a country of study and this year it is Morocco. In February the University of New England sponsored and hosted the 3 day study program at their Armidale campus putting together a terrifically interesting program showcasing many aspects of Morocco including its history, countryside, people, culture, cuisine, and the unforgettable sights of Morocco.

As Australia’s leading Morocco/Australia based specialist Morocco tours operator when the University approached Berber Treasures Morocco late last year and asked us to participate in and present at the February Morocco study weekend we were, of course, delighted to accept the invitation.The University and CWA members warmly welcomed us with a dinner on Friday night.  On Saturday the formal study part of the school began with His Excellency Mr Mohamed Mael-Ainin the Ambassador of Morocco providing an engaging and informative overview of Morocco.

Berber Treasures Morocco Director Georgina Hayden who is in charge of developing new itineraries for our Morocco tours spoke about the Roman Empire in Morocco highlighting some of Morocco’s Roman settlements including the Roman capitals of Volubilis and Tingis (Tangier) and the western most outpost of the Roman Empire, Sala Collonia (at Rabat); the ancient trade routes the incredible trans-Sahara camel caravans followed through the towns and cities of Morocco including Sijilmasa, the legendary city of gold, along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to the desert Kasbah villages of Ouarzazate and Ait Benhaddou over the High Atlas Mountains via Telouet to the great trade centres and imperial cities of Marrakech and to Fez, the Port of Timbuktu (Essaouira) and onto Chefchaouen in the Rif Mountains and Tangier; and Morocco during the European Age of Discovery when Moulay Ismail established his new imperial capital at Meknes in the 17th century.

We were fortunate enough to be able to have members of our Moroccan staff visit us in Australia and join us at the University of New England including our Head of Operations & Tours in Morocco and one of our senior driver guides.  The CWA members heard a very personal experience of the life of a Berber nomad in the Moroccan Sahara Desert. This unique insight into the lifestyle, traditions and culture of Morocco’s Berber nomad tribes was fascinating. We learned about how the nomads navigate through the desert, the different tribes, their traditional clothing and the practicalities of the flowing indigo blue robes and shesh worn by the men, the tribal decorations on the black legnaa worn by the women, the importance of dates and camel milk, traditional medicines, the 5 day Berber marriage ceremonies, the Berber Amazighe language and alphabet and so many more interesting aspects of the Berber nomads’ life.

Professor Jeanette Hoom of the University of Melbourne shared the story and paintings of Hilda Rix an early 20th century Australian painter who captured her Morocco travel experiences in some of her paintings. Dr Soufiane Boufous of the University of New South Wales told us about the beautiful, spiritual Gnawa Moroccan music. We were entertained by a fashion show of gorgeous Moroccan traditional and contemporary kaftans designed by two talented Australian Moroccan women and authentic Moroccan music. What a treat and this was just some of the wonderful Saturday program with much more to come on Sunday.

It was a terrific event. We at Berber Treasures Morocco loved sharing our passion for and knowledge of Morocco with all the study school participants.

Thank you again to the University of New England, and in particular the energetic Sharon Gallen who planned and coordinated the study program, the delightful members and guests of the CWA for their eager audience and generous and participation, and His Excellency Mr Mohamed Mael-Ainin the Ambassador of Morocco and his Deputy Mr Abdelkader Jamoussi and all of the other speakers and presenters at the study weekend who contributed to a truly tremendous Moroccan experience.

Join us on one of our Berber Treasures Morocco tours of Morocco. You can explore Morocco’s wonderfully diverse countryside and culture as well as medieval cities, old pirate ports and kasbahs of Morocco.

Australia’s leading Morocco-Australia based Moroccan specialist tour operator – conducting unique small group tours of Morocco and customised individual private tours of Morocco. We are Morocco travel experts.

In planning our Morocco tours we take these Moroccan holidays into account. We also keep of Morocco Travel Tips page up to date with all the Moroccan holidays as a handy resource for you.

By and large a public holiday in Morocco means government offices, schools, post offices and the like are closed but fairly much everywhere else – including the places tourists to Morocco are interested in – will be open.   So you can travel to Morocco at any time of the year on our Berber Treasures Morocco tours of Morocco.

While the non-religious public holidays in Morocco always fall on the same date, this is not the case for the religious public holidays in Morocco.  The reason for this is that the religious public holidays in Morocco are determined by the Islamic calendar rather the the Western Gregorian calendar.  The differences between these two calendars means that each successive year each of these Morocco holidays (the religious public holidays) falls earlier in the year by approximately 10 days.  The Islamic calendar provides a date which acts as a guide for these religious Morocco holidays.  However, the actual date of some of the religious public holidays in Morocco are celebrated is governed by human sighting of the moon, so there can be a little variation as between Morocco and other counties as to the day its celebrated.   The Morocco holidays I am referring to are: Eid al-Mawlid (the Prophet’s Birthday); Eid al- Fitr (the End of Ramadan); Eid al-Adha (the Feast of the Sacrifice) and Fatih Muharram (the Islamic New Year)

Here on our Berber Treasures Morocco tours website we have a dedicated Morocco travel guide webpage – Morocco Travel Tips – which contains all the information about the Morocco holidays as well as lots of other handy Morocco travel tips and information useful in planning Morocco tours.  We keep our Morocco Travel Tips webpage updated, so if you are looking for up to date information on Morocco’s public holidays you can find it here and you can also contact us directly by email or telephone to plan your perfect Morocco holidays.

The 2012 Morocco Public Holidays:

In addition, because in the Islamic faith each new day begins after sunset rather than after midnight, the celebrations for the religious public holidays in Morocco may start the evening before the date on our Morocco public holiday calendar.

Contact us now for more information about our unique Berber Treasures Morocco tours.

See Marrakech’s old medina on your holidays in Morocco with one of our Berber Treasures Morocco Tours

Australia’s leading Morocco-Australia based Moroccan specialist tour operator – conducting unique small group tours of Morocco and customised individual private tours of Morocco. We are Morocco travel experts.

© Berber Treasures 2012

A tour to Morocco is wonderful throughout the year. The perfect period for you personally, however, depends a little on what you plan to do and see while there. If your tour to Morocco is focused on visiting Morocco’s famous cities such as Casablanca, and the Morocco imperial cities such as Marrakech and Fez, then you can to travel to Morocco any time of the year – just choose your favourite season of the year for your tour to Morocco.  If you want visit a selection of the best of Morocco highlights such as both the famous Moroccan cities and the incredibly beautiful and diverse countryside including a Morocco desert tour then the best time to travel to Morocco on your tour to Morocco is late February/March through June and September through November, because the climate is milder.  In winter, i.e. most especially December, January and February, you can expect the High Atlas Mountains and Middle Atlas Mountains to be heavily laden with snow and it is here you will find Morocco’s ski resorts are located.  Away from the mountains the day time winter climate is generally “mildish” with average temperatures in the 18 – 20C range through much of Morocco although temperatures with colder night time temperatures.  The summer months of July and August are hot and it is mostly a dry rather than humid heat.  If you like hot sunny weather then this is the perfect time for your tour to Morocco.  So there is no one ‘best time’ for everyone for a tour to Morocco; it really all depends on your individual plans.

The team here at Berber Treasures Morocco tours will gladly assist to find your best time for your perfect tour to Morocco.  For more information and assistance please contact us through our contact webpage or directly by email or call us on (02) 9267 0097.

PS Here on our Berber Treasures Morocco tours website we have a dedicated Morocco travel guide webpage – Morocco Travel Tips – which contains all the information about the Morocco holidays as well as lots of other handy Morocco travel tips and information useful in planning Morocco tours. We keep our Morocco Travel Tips webpage updated, so if you are looking for up to date information on Morocco travel you can find it here or better yet contact us directly  by email at info@berbertreasures.com.au or through our Contact Page or by telephone.

Australia’s leading Morocco-Australia based Moroccan specialist tour operator – conducting unique small group tours of Morocco and customised individual private tours of Morocco. We are Morocco travel experts.

• Travel only with a licensed professional Morocco tour operator like the crew here at Berber Treasures Morocco Tours.  Make sure the style and standard of accommodation meets your personal needs.  Understand and agree the itinerary and all inclusions.  And so there aren’t any misunderstandings get it all put in writing before you set off.
• Official guides in Morocco are licensed by local Moroccan authorities.  Only official guides are permitted to guide tourists in Morocco on tours of historical sites such as Volubilis and on city tours of Marrakesh or any of the other Moroccan cities.  All official guides should display an official badge issued by the local authorities.
• If you only speak English make sure you request one of our English-speaking drivers, guides etc or you will miss out on a lot of interesting information and a wonderful part of your Moroccan tour experience – the ability to communicate and interact with local Moroccan people.
• You can travel to Morocco any time of the year.  Taking a Morocco holiday in Spring means mild temperatures, lots of lush green countryside (desert areas excluded of course!) and lovely colourful wildflowers.  As you move into Summer temperatures are on the rise peaking in July and remaining hot through August.   If you like hot weather July and August is for you but think of travelling at a different time if you prefer it below 35C.   Autumn (Fall) brings a return to stable, milder temperatures making it a popular for Morocco tours.  And Winter is cold – you can expect snow in the High Atlas and Middle Atlas Mountains and this is where you can skiing in Morocco – but as long as you dress warmly you can have a wonderful winter holiday in Morocco.  For more information on our Berber Treasures Morocco tours, click here.
• Yes you can travel during Ramadan.  In fact this is an interesting time to travel to Morocco.  You are not expected to observe the fast.  You will find cafes and restaurants to eat at (but your choice during the day will be more restricted that other times of the year). Things get going a little later than usual in the morning but Moroccan’s make up for it in the evenings!
• There are no compulsory vaccinations required for travel to Morocco, but it is advisable to make sure your Tetanus and Polio are up-to-date.  You should check with your doctor any specific recommendations personal to you.  You can also find general health information for travellers on both the Department of Foreign Affairs website at smartraveller.gov.au and the World Health Organisation (WHO) website.
• Be sensible with your valuables and keep them secure at all times.  And exercise good common sense: watch out for the mule carts and motorcycles in the medinas – they expect you to get out of their path, avoid badly lit streets at night, ask for directions if you are lost.

You will see that Moroccans are extremely hospitable and love showing visitors their country. You’ll meet plenty of friendly locals who will help you on your holiday in Morocco, but these tips here will make your trip even easier.

Berber Treasures Morocco Tours conducts tours of Morocco throughout the year — both individual private tours of Morocco customised to your personal preferences and Deluxe Cultural Experience small group tours of Morocco.  Do not hesitate to contact us for further information or click here for more Morocco travel tips.

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Australia’s leading Morocco-Australia based Moroccan specialist tour operator – conducting unique small group tours of Morocco and customised individual private tours of Morocco. We are Morocco travel experts.