GOD, THE PATRIE, THE KING. Arabic version of the motto of Morocco: الله; الوطن; الملك (Allah, Al Watan, Al Malik) Currency: the dirham (DH).
Exchange rate: 1 € = 10,80 DH (in January 2017). The dirham generally oscillates between 10,50 and 11,50 DH for 1 €. Check the exchange rate in progress at the time of departure.
Morocco in brief:
Official name of the country: Kingdom of Morocco. Nature of the regime: constitutional monarchy. Head of state: Mohammed VI, commander of the believers. Capital: Rabat. Area: 710,850 km2 Religion: Muslim at 99%.
Population: 38 million inhabitants. Urban population: 60.2%. Official language: Arabic, Tamazight. Density: 73,9 hab./km2. Other languages: darija (dialectal Arabic), tamazight.hassaniya.français. Life expectancy: 76.51 years. Literacy rate: 68.5% (84% for 15-24 year-olds) Fertility rate: 2.13.
The economy
GDP: $ 133.1 billion (2016). GDP per capita: $ 9,300 (2016). Population below the poverty line: 15%. Unemployment rate: (in the ILO sense), 9.6%. Growth rate: 4.4%.
Phone
All
telephone numbers in Morocco have 10 digits, including an initial zero.
This numbering has been in effect since March 2009, so add 05 before
the number when it is a fixed number and 06 when it is d 'Mobile.
Telephoning inside Morocco. Dial 10 digits starting with 0. Telephoning from France to Morocco. Dial 00 + 212 + the last 9 digits of your correspondent. Telephoning from Morocco to France. Dial 00 + 33 + the last 9 digits of your correspondent. Cost of the telephone: in the big cities, one can easily find prepaid cards (from 05 to 500 DH) and cabins accepting them.
You can buy a Maroc Telecom Jawal, Inwi or Méditel SIM card for 10 DH and refills to call directly from your mobile phone. Some offer even a 4G and 3G package for a very low price. A France-Morocco or Morocco-France call is about 0.50 € per minute, 20% discount on weekends and nights.
Jet lag
There is an hourly time difference between France and Morocco in summer and winter. The
kingdom does not carry out the crossings in summer and winter hours at
the same time as the Hexagon, which causes a two-hour shift between the
two countries during a few weeks. Finally, to facilitate Ramadan, Morocco returns to GMT. During this month, Morocco and France therefore have two hours of lag.
formalities You will have to bring your passport (the identity card alone is not enough anymore) to enter the Moroccan territory. On the other hand, French nationals do not need a visa, a stamp with an entry number will be made at the airport. Maximum legal stay of tourism: 3 months.
seasonality The
climate and the seasons differ from one region to another: on the
Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, the high season is summer, from
mid-June to mid-September approximately. It is at this time that foreign tourists but also Moroccans come to enjoy the sea and the freshness of the coast. Conversely, the other regions and especially the South are deserted in summer because of the overwhelming heat (up to 50 ° C). In the Marrakech and south part of Marrakech, the high season is rather the rest of the year, from mid-September to mid-June.
If you have the opportunity, traveling in low season offers a number of advantages. Initially financial thanks to the reductions made during this period. It will also be easier to organize - you will not have to make reservations upstream. Finally, you will be more peaceful.
It is best to avoid the Ramadan period to get to Morocco. During this period, the country lives in slow motion and finding places to eat is complicated.
The Moroccan flag
The Moroccan flag, also called Sherifian, is red with, in the center, a green star with five branches. Morocco retained a united red flag until 1905.
Red symbolizes the Alawite dynasty, in power since the 17th century. The previous dynasties, the Merinids and the Saadians, had a white flag.
The star was added after 1905, when Morocco became a French
protectorate, in order to be able to distinguish the standard of Morocco
from the other red flags.
It symbolizes the green star now evokes the five pillars of Islam, health and wisdom. The flag did not change after the independence of Morocco.