How to Find Authentic Cultural Experiences in Morocco

Azdean Elmoustaquim (00:05.398)
Good morning. This is so fun. Welcome back to another incredible episode of Destination Morocco podcast. Again, Ted, welcome back. We're so glad to have you back. And in today's episode, can you share what we're going to be talking about to the audience, please, Ted?

Ted Cragg (00:08.494)
Yeah, we get a lot of questions. know you tell me about people interested in cultural travel and really understanding, you know, Moroccan history and traditions and the people. And so we thought we'd do a quick episode to summarize some ideas, some options, and just kind of think about the mindset maybe of how to approach that when, you know, you're taking a tour, you have whatever it is, seven days, maybe two weeks. What's kind of realistic that you can plan and integrate into an itinerary?

And how do you kind of go about that, really to exploring some of those things to have a little bit more than just kind of the superficial tour of the touristy places, which is fine. But if you really want to get into more of the deeper cultural stuff, then we thought we'd share some ideas about that.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (01:05.129)
Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you for sharing. Yes, it can be very tricky, that's for sure.

Ted Cragg (01:10.158)
Yeah, well, that's just it. So, mean, where do you kind of begin? Like, what is, how can people best experience maybe some of the historical sites and the traditional practices to some of those activities?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (01:22.7)
Well, the best way you have to have a local guide with you, tour guide obviously. So when we do this for you, the local guides are included on your itinerary. So your current driver are also included. So let's say we're going too fast, we'll go to the most visited places, know, Karawiyin Madrasa, you know, so many places and you want to do it with a local guide. I mean, I see a lot of people, they travel by themselves. You'll see...

everything else is but then the you know behind the stories the history all the things and I remember when we visited the the Karawiyin and also when we visited the Madrasa Bu'inaniya in Fes when you do it looks a little bit similar to the one that in Meknes and also it looks a little bit similar to the one to Madrasa Ibn Yusuf in Marrakesh like we mentioned in previous episode but then

In the middle you can see there's the water fountain and you can see it's marble and you can see that it's missing a lot of pieces and that's the original piece. It's there since the beginning of the madrasa. But then if you turn left you'll see another one, it's brand new and they decided they're gonna change it. They're gonna take out the old piece and put the new piece.

But at some point they said, hey, know what, the old piece, even though it's kind of, you know, beat up and old and it looks kind of broken, we're just going to keep it as it is. So they never changed it. if you have been to Madara Sabu and you're going to see it, but you're not going to know the story behind it. if you want the best way to do those sites, you must have a local guide, especially when we talk about, you know, Marrakesh, we talk about Fes. Those are the must.

Ted Cragg (03:03.694)
Right?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (03:15.115)
with you during your visit. Local guides are the key. So they make or break your tour.

Ted Cragg (03:18.466)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It makes all the difference. I remember, mean, you know, the difference between walking down the street and through the souks and well, I should say going through the alleys in Fez there is a whole other story because you can also not only have a guide is helpful to learn about stuff, but you can also easily get lost if you don't. So it's a guide is doubly useful there. Marrakesh wasn't quite as, as much of a labyrinth, but still, you know, you're, you're walking around and

wanted to make sense of things. mean, it's the same as if you go to, I suppose, ancient Rome or Greece or one of these sites. And I mean, you can learn a bit for sure in the guidebooks and Wikipedia and stuff like this, but to have a person with you, and it's not just the stories they tell you, then you can ask questions and have that interaction, right? So it's definitely the best way to go about it.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (04:06.05)
100%. You know, I just remembered we were in Fes during summer of 2023 and we were just passing by so many places, so many shops and they look very normal. And then because of the local god, if you remember him, Mullah Fid, who did an incredible job, he's like, hey, you what, we need to make a stop at this place. And then we looked at it, the place is so small, just like a regular store, just like any other store. But then he makes horse saddles.

And then he starts showing us things and the long story short, he makes the horse saddles for the palace, for the king. And I was like, oh my God, you could never tell. You would think somebody who makes that type of product for the royal family would have like a mega store or something, but it's just this very small store, very packed. then the stories that he was telling us, everything, it was an

Ted Cragg (04:53.069)
Hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (05:05.064)
incredibly experienced and again you have to have a local guide you know and then if you remember when we did the the Volubilis episode you know the the local guide I mean the rocks look just like rocks the stones look like just stones but then the stories when you hear and you can still see on the ground you can still see the tracks of those caravans of those horse carriages and then

Ted Cragg (05:21.036)
Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (05:32.606)
Again, the stories where the Romans used to bathe, where they used to raise fish, then the olive oil, is a major, major part of their lives. It's just incredible. So the best way to explore the cultural sites in Morocco is absolutely have a local guide with you.

Ted Cragg (05:32.813)
Hmm.

Ted Cragg (05:51.982)
Yeah, I got, I'm glad you brought that one up because it's on my list of episodes coming up. The video replay of when you did the walking tour and volubilis. So you get an excerpt, you get a sense of what it's like to be there. You see the sites and everything. It's a nice kind of high def video, but then the guide is there too. And you know, he's explaining all the things. So that's a good example of what it's like to be there with a guide. Yeah. Now here's the thing, kind of a follow-up. It's beyond maybe.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (06:14.891)
Absolutely.

Ted Cragg (06:21.845)
some of the sites and let's say the history and stuff, but how can people best connect with locals in a genuine way to feel they're going past just being tourists, right? And really get to know some people, if possible.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (06:29.061)
that's a really good question.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (06:33.642)
It is possible. I'm so glad that you brought that up Ted because we do get a lot of a lot of those those questions those when we get an inquiry basically the discovery call this is one of the most things that we get requests. I want to feel I want to experience I want to do a Berber experience I'm as your experience. I want to do a lunch with with a Berber family. I want to do lunch in the Atlas Mountains. I want to experience the Atlas Mountains with the locals which is incredible.

So I would say the two top most requested we get is the Amazigh experience, then the Jewish heritage experience. they kind of connected in a way. If you go back into the layers, the thousands and thousands of layers of Moroccan history, there is a massive connection between them. So when you're doing

the Berber experience it is possible whether you're going just to the north side by itself or including the southern part of Morocco by itself or if you're just in Marrakech for example you want to do just do day trips you look like you can do day trip to Emileel you know for a little bit of know adventure a little bit of trekking or you want to do day trip to a Soura or you want to do a day trip to the Atlas Mountains for example

Those experiences are absolutely a must and they really make a huge difference. also, you know, just thinking about it, I remember we started doing one experience back a years ago and we did it with Eric. If you remember his wife, Ali and her brother, Matt, and we did the Nomad experience and it was a mind blowing to them. I mean, they did the whole Morocco tour from the north to the south.

Ted Cragg (08:15.366)
yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (08:22.818)
and we met in Marrakesh, I met with them. That's right, yes, yes.

Ted Cragg (08:25.998)
They're the ones that you had the conversation at the restaurant. Right. We did a video, kind of recording of your conversation, which is neat. Like a fly on the wall thing. If they talked about their trip, it cool. Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (08:34.484)
Yes, absolutely that part they the way that they have talked about it it was just I mean I go back listen to the audio or the video it's just amazing it was the highlight to their tour even though that the whole tour went just incredible but that small part because they got to see something that probably they it's maybe it made them feel like they went back in time maybe a thousand years and stuff like that so

So that was incredible for me just to hear them talking about that specific experience.

Ted Cragg (09:11.404)
Yeah. So when people do an experience like that, I mean, I guess it'd be pretty fully chaperone as much as anything for like translation. it like, what would the, when you're going to visit a Berber family in a little village, would you hear much English? Would you really need a, a guide or chaperone to just kind of make sense of it all?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (09:33.452)
Well, that's a really good question, Teddy. You absolutely have to have a local guide. Now here's the thing, just to give the people a little bit of ideas. You know, the tourism industry, I would say probably 80 % of it, especially the tours and the accommodations, especially the southern part of Morocco, they are all Amazigh, they are all Berbers. And if you remember, we did the Amazigh Chronicles.

Ted Cragg (10:00.067)
Yeah, yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (10:00.098)
a year and a half or so ago and we had so much content we split it into four episodes so and just to give the listeners or the viewers perspective there are three to five different Amazigh languages that are spoken in Morocco each region somewhat similar somewhat different than the one than the next one if you look at the southern part of Morocco they are almost similar except when you go to the Sahara Desert it's a little bit different but then when you go to the north side

and they speak to you in, we say, feet or Rifi, there's no way they're going to understand it. It's just completely different everything. So, and when we pair you with a local guide, we make sure they understand all those languages. So when we pair you, for example, like if the tour that we did, and also I think in your case in Shefshawan, we used Afargarhizdemak, I cannot think of it at the top of my head.

Ted Cragg (10:34.039)
Okay.

Ted Cragg (10:48.088)
Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (10:59.746)
but he does speak fluent English, is incredible but then he speaks the Rifi language so if you are in a situation with the Rifi family and need translation he'll translate for you, there's no issue but then if you go for example to Tutluwat, to Eid Ibn Haddu, to Imawunin for example to Unila you'll have somebody translates for you to find somebody who speaks English in a village it means that they have to have

Obviously studied English either on their own which is a little bit seldom, but they have gone to school and learned English or maybe involved in the tourism industry and that's how they speak English it's but Just to avoid that you always have a local guide with you at all times. Yeah, so And they'll do the translation for you

Ted Cragg (11:49.826)
Can you tell us a bit more then about what a cultural experience is like, especially in like maybe the more remote, you know, Berber villages. and you know, obviously they're different where you go. You talk about languages, cultures and stuff is different too, but can you give us a bit of a sense, just generally speaking of what people can expect if they do an activity like.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (12:10.24)
Okay, the activities there, there's so many. And that's why sometimes it depends on the region, I would make a recommendation or suggestion of what to experience. For me, I don't want to really sound biased, but Ahuash music or Gnawa music, I am a major, major, major fan, especially when it comes to Ahuash music. And it's a dance, yeah. Yes, we did, yes.

Ted Cragg (12:27.725)
Yeah.

Ted Cragg (12:33.761)
Yeah. And we did an episode in that people could see the video. that was a couple that was over the summer this year, 2025. You can see that replay, but to get out on music. That was neat. You see, you hear the music and you actually see them performing. It's cool.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (12:47.262)
Absolutely. And the music, it's poetry in the Amazigh language and it's beautiful. There's romance, competition, everything that you can think of. And then the elaborate dance and the experience that we did, we did in a village called Imounin, which is in the center of Tlouette. My village is probably about 15 minutes away. And to give the viewers an idea,

Ati Bin Haddu, the distance probably 55 minutes driving. So, and we are connected to that dance. I mean, to us, that's like our, know, symphony or jazz or it's classic. we want to share that experience with a lot of people, especially when they come, they see it, they did just, they cannot believe what they have just witnessed.

And sometimes, you know, as locals or, you know, we take it for granted, but it's just, it's a major part of our lifestyle, the Yamazigh lifestyle. So we want to share those experiences with the travelers because that's something they don't expect the same way with the Nomad experience. You know, a lot of people, think, Merzouga, I want to do three day. You're wasting your time, you know.

You cannot just drive to Merzouga and come back. Merzouga needs an average of two days to three days because there's so much to do and so much to see. Yeah, exactly. It takes about a day and a half just to drive in. So it's absolutely worth it.

Ted Cragg (14:09.451)
Yeah, plus the driving time to get there and back. Yeah.

Ted Cragg (14:17.463)
Well, when people, let's say, you know, music, like, there kind of a typical way that that's presented to tourists? is there, are there's a meal involved? Can they participate and play along as well? Or what does that usually look like, generally speaking?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (14:31.81)
Oh, that's a really, really good question. Now, when we talk about the Gnawa music, a lot of people or say probably 90 or 95 % of the people, they go towards Isawira. But you have seen and we did an episode with Gnawa music in Khamiliya village. And they different type. They sound the same, but they are different styles, different types of Gnawa music. And we talked about the history, how they came about to Khamiliya village.

Ted Cragg (14:58.093)
Mm-hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (15:02.016)
versus how the Gnawa music came to Essawara. So now I'm going to just focus on Essawara, the reason because that's the most popular. You can do Gnawa music experience. So when you go to Essawara and there's a little bit of a shop, they show you how to play the Gimbre. It's called the Gimbre. It looks like a guitar, but it's the Gimbre.

They show you how to dance, they show you how to do many things It takes few hours and it's absolutely worth it You can do that and you can experience it So those you can absolutely do There are many shops in Sawera that you can do And again, you can do this for a day trip to Sawera for example

Ted Cragg (15:47.915)
Yeah, it's on my map here. We'll zoom out a bit until Marrakesh. Yeah, S weirs over here.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (15:51.842)
Saurah is the coastal. it's yeah, it is a three hour drive one way. So I'll give you an example for Ted. This is what I would do in a day trip to Saurah culturally just to be to give the audience an idea. During that three hours, there's you make at least two to three stops. And one of those stops is going to be at the women's co-op, Argan oil. Argan oil, it's very organic, 100 percent.

Ted Cragg (16:18.4)
yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (16:21.238)
And the best places to buy it is through Women's Co-op because it's certified by the government. There's no cheating, no fake. It's the real deal. And then on the way to a sawara, can also do a wine tasting tour, including lunch. And then you continue to a sawara. You're a sawara that the...

the sightseeing or the visit to Isawara should be no more than an hour and a half because everything is walking distance and they're all next and close to each other. So when you, yeah, when you finish that, then you can have that experience of Gnawa. You can have calligraphy experience. You can have, you know, so many things, experience. But the one that I would recommend in Isawara is definitely the Gnawa music shop, workshop. Yes. Yes.

Ted Cragg (16:55.489)
Yeah, it's all basically right here.

Ted Cragg (17:13.997)
Okay, right. So, know, is that something people have to or should book ahead of time to make sure they get in with you guys? okay. Yeah, it's good to keep in mind too.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (17:23.778)
Oh, 100%. Yes, 100%. Yes. Yeah. So, so when you book with us, again, your itinerary is yours. 100 % on your terms done. So you come to us and say, I want to experience this and this. And then we say, Hey, you absolutely can. Or say, Hey, maybe we don't have time or maybe we cannot do these at the same day. We had to do one different day or we make recommendations like say, Hey, I want to feel

I want to experience the course just like these questions that have asked me and say, hey, you know, I see that you're going to be in the Essaouira for two days. This is what I would recommend doing. For example, you know, we can do lunch here, we can do dinner here, we can do this experience, we can do that experience. So Essaouira is known for a lot of things. Gnawa is definitely one of them. Surfing is also popular. Horseback riding, camera riding on the beach is also popular. So, you know, a lot of things to do.

Ted Cragg (18:21.781)
Okay, and then let's bring it back to around your village and That's where you did the Gnawa experience when you were there last time

Azdean Elmoustaquim (18:30.366)
Yes, we did the Gnawa experience. It's in Merzouga, close to Merzouga, which is Khamiliya village. yeah, thank God for the technology because 15 years ago, none of this, you cannot see it.

Ted Cragg (18:35.247)
that's Mazuga. Okay. yeah. That's down here. Come here.

You

Yeah, you can see where it is and how it's spelled. Okay, cool. Yeah. And I just want to give some context too then because then you talked about Tlouet which is over here, right? That's much closer to Marrakesh. Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (18:49.538)
Yes, yes. So, yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (18:59.138)
Yeah, that's it. That's the Galawi Kasbah. That one was damaged by the last earthquake we had, But we did an episode inside of it with the local guide Ali. And then we have some drone videos we have not shared yet.

Ted Cragg (19:09.175)
That's right. Yeah, yeah.

Ted Cragg (19:18.775)
Hmm. Yeah, we'll need to put that together. All right. Well, that's good. That gives a bit of context then. And I guess related to is you talked a bit about here, but, know, a lot of it gets back to these lesser visited regions and towns, right? Beyond Marrakesh and Casablanca and Fes, like, this is popular, but it's a bit of trek to get there. Yeah. And you mentioned some of these areas here. We've talked a little bit in the past about.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (19:33.558)
Yes.

Ted Cragg (19:46.69)
down this part, Tauridant and even Agadir. You know, fairly big places, I suppose, but not quite on the touristy path. So is that the type of thing, again, that you'd maybe recommend for people to get a bit more of the authentic experience once to get further off the tourist path, if that's what they're looking for?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (19:48.938)
Yes, yes.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (20:06.044)
know, it's all the questions are really, really incredible. And this is very important. And I'll tell you why it is important in many different ways and aspects. The areas that have Tere Dente is gorgeous. It's beautiful. know, a lot of heritage, a lot of culture. It's the thing is when we talk about target audience or tourists or visitors.

Americans and Canadians, they visit Morocco different than Europeans. Very interesting because a lot of these things, they are more known to Europeans versus North America. Tarudant is a must-see. If we look at, for example, Taghazout, which is in between Saur and Agadir, it's a must-see. Agadir as well.

Ted Cragg (20:36.557)
That's interesting.

Ted Cragg (20:49.869)
Yeah, it's beautiful.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (20:58.698)
Merlif as well those I'm talking about these are all coastal cities You know going from Issa well down towards the south of Morocco. Dahla is a must-see It's it's further down south Yeah, a little bit it should be there on your left hand side Dahla it Dahla So but but the challenge with the Dakhla is the driving it's there's nothing in between it's driving

Ted Cragg (21:02.829)
Okay.

Ted Cragg (21:09.901)
Where's that one?

Ted Cragg (21:26.189)
Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (21:28.554)
wise, it's very difficult. We say Merzouga, Merzouga, looks like a piece of cake comparing to Dakhla, but then it's easiest to fly. So that's the part of Morocco that it's still not popular with North America, US and Canada included. There's Americans, there's Canadians, there go, but not the majority. The majority, they love Casablanca first.

Ted Cragg (21:41.44)
Right.

Ted Cragg (21:50.637)
Hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (21:58.238)
imperial cities, Tangier, the desert. But that part is not popular yet in the US and Canada and that's what I would absolutely recommend.

Ted Cragg (22:08.161)
Now is there, what's the tourism infrastructure like in this part? Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (22:11.106)
It's all good. It's incredible. The farther you go south, the quieter it is, less touristy it is. But then that's going to change, especially when we talk about dakhla. There are projects that the US is investing a few billion dollars that's in B, in dakhla. So this is what is going to be the new tourism or the new...

Morocco in terms of tourism for the next decade. This is what it's all gonna be happening and now it's quiet but that's where it's gonna get crazy busy crazy packed because They are building massive instructions. They are building and setting up Things in a really really big way. So they may look like it's quiet, but it's not really quiet It's always busy, but it's gonna get even busier. So and especially for the travel Yes

Ted Cragg (23:00.513)
Yeah, well that's a point. All the more reason to go sooner than, yeah. Huh. Interesting.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (23:06.592)
Yeah, so that's the part I wouldn't say it's ignored, but it's a beautiful, beautiful part. And again, you go into the Yamazigh parts, you go into the Sahara part of Morocco, which is just incredible. It's amazing, yeah.

Ted Cragg (23:20.599)
Yeah, yeah, and the mountains too, like the Atlas Mountains come through here, but you know, still quite hilly and yeah, Tarodant, I saw some pictures there of, you see the mountains off in the distance, right?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (23:23.968)
Yes, yes, yeah, yes.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (23:31.936)
Yeah, and you know, it's funny because when you look at Teredent and we look at their downtown, it looks pretty similar to Marrakesh. And one of the experiences that we did in Marrakesh, which is very popular, just like Tangea, when you say Tangea to someone, they know that it originated from Marrakesh. So when we talk about the Taqamaraqshia or the hand clapping, you know, we did in the past, we said the Taqamaraqshia, that means that it's from Marrakesh, but it's the Taqamaraqshia actually

Ted Cragg (23:40.045)
Hmm.

Ted Cragg (23:55.831)
Mm-hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (24:01.098)
it did not originate in Marrakesh but originated in Teredent and there's some say hey Teredent first, Marrakesh first but they play it as well but they do it in a different way than Marrakesh so just a little bit of history

Ted Cragg (24:11.424)
Yeah. Hmm. Okay. Interesting. Cool. Well, yeah, this is great. I love exploring new parts, you know, in different corners. And we've talked a little bit about this area for sure, but I think we can dive even more into it, you know, in the future and other episodes as well. So yeah, well, we'll bring it back to the cultural questions. And you talked a bit about language there, which is interesting. So maybe we'll wrap it up with that in terms of how can...

Azdean Elmoustaquim (24:18.615)
Thank you.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (24:26.335)
Absolutely.

Ted Cragg (24:39.254)
For those who are language lovers and like to learn, write a few phrases at least and try to practice, that a very practical thing to do or to expect to do? And this is a bit of a leading question, but do you have any tools to help them learn some derige?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (24:54.466)
That's a really, really good question. Remember, we did a live Q &A some time ago, maybe a year and a half or two years ago, and we talked just briefly about the Darija, then about the Amazigh. When we talk about the Amazigh, you know, there's a... Let's say, for example, there's different ways to say the same thing, you know. There's different dialects in the Amazigh language, so it's very, very difficult to teach just...

know, aspect of it or one type of it. know, there's... So there's many different dialects, but for Dajah it's the same. Dajah, in a way, it's less hectic. The reason is because the majority of the words are used throughout the North and the South. Now, the North part of Morocco, they have a little bit of a different, you know...

accent if you would, then they say a few things a little different than the rest of Morocco. However, the accent, just to give the listeners an idea, if you're from Texas, they say you have a Texas or Southern accent, you have a California accent, or you have a Boston accent, or you have a New York accent, Morocco is the same. From Marrakesh, you know, in Marrakesh we tend to

to speak a little bit slowly, we kind of tend to stretch the words, if you would, or letters. Then, Casablanca is a little bit different. Rabat is different. Fes is definitely different. Tetuán, Tanja, Tangier is different. Nador is different. So they're all different accents. But to tourists or people that are foreigners to the language, we all sound the same.

Ted Cragg (26:38.881)
Yeah, yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (26:50.444)
To us, we are different Each region has its own accent, if you would Just to give you an idea Now, we have created some time ago It took us quite a bit of time We created Derija classes or Derija part 1, part 2 We have about 102 videos Yeah, those, yes

Ted Cragg (27:14.592)
Yeah, here we are.

There's lots here, but I should point out it looks a little overwhelming, but these are like generally, you know, a minute or so long. Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (27:23.938)
yeah and some of them are like 40 seconds some are a minute some less and totally are 102 videos and we did this i mean not to teach really really derija because we don't have a curriculum we don't have any background of teaching but we did this just to help people that are going to be traveling to morocco just understand a few words you know those those episodes they vary from you know they really cover almost anything

Ted Cragg (27:29.292)
Yeah, there's a couple minutes here, but yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (27:53.026)
a traveler to Morocco would need. know, like transportation, taxis, trains, pharmacy, doctors, restaurant menu, what to order and stuff like that, and the prices, how to ask for how much. And so they're in terms of content, they're really, really, really valuable. And it helps, you know, so I highly recommend it. And I think we should have it on on the show notes. There's a link that you guys can click on.

Ted Cragg (28:13.152)
Yeah. Cool.

Ted Cragg (28:19.456)
Yep, that's true.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (28:22.646)
and you'd have access to all of it.

Ted Cragg (28:25.872)
Yeah. Yeah. We'll put that in the, in the links here. It's on Vimeo. So a different platform, but it was a bit easier to, think, to organize it that way and, and share it. So, but yeah, the links will be in the notes. So if people are interested in practicing, um, it's a great way to, uh, you know, to get into language, uh, cultural experiences and stuff is to practice a bit of language, especially, you know, if it's something you enjoy doing.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (28:43.809)
Absolutely.

Absolutely. Yes, and you can see me that whole 100 whatever videos we shot them in one day. It took us about, I would say about six hours. We did it in the office in Marrakesh and you can see I only did two, Jelebes change, because it was really, really cold. So it felt nice to have that to wear it. And it felt kind of culturally appropriate.

Ted Cragg (28:56.235)
Yeah.

Ted Cragg (29:08.193)
Right.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (29:16.514)
to wear it and then talk about the rija, which is just a little bit of behind the scene.

Ted Cragg (29:23.008)
It's worth pointing out too, maybe tend to forget, but just to, so people know the, the derija is the Moroccan dialect of Arabic, right?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (29:32.606)
Yes, that's a really good one. I'll give you an example. If you look at the Middle East, we are in North Africa, we can understand everything they are saying. We can understand their language, their dialect, but they cannot understand us. So the Darija language is a mixture of many things. It's a mixture of Amazigh, Berber. It's a mixture of a little bit of French, a little bit of Spanish, a little bit of German. So everything is in there. So that's why it's hard, you know,

Ted Cragg (29:47.488)
Hmm. Hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (30:02.722)
for other people to understand us even though it sounds like the letters are Arabic letters, you know, but it is very different. So, yeah.

Ted Cragg (30:14.752)
Okay, yeah, so that that puts it in some context too. So now that being said, if you do know Arabic, some Arabic, you could presumably from wherever Egypt or something like that, where you've learned it, but can you use that Arabic in Morocco? Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (30:29.62)
100%. You know, the good thing about Moroccans, we understand so many dialects, so many languages because of our culture, because of the TV, the influence. So we all grew up watching Egyptian movies. so we, I mean, we can speak it, but we understand it. But if we have to speak it, yeah, we'll speak it. It may sound kind of a little bit broken, but we'll get the message across. So some of us are more fluent than others.

Ted Cragg (30:35.38)
huh.

Ted Cragg (30:52.747)
Okay.

Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (30:55.618)
Yeah, the same thing with the Lebanese, the Iraqi, the Jordanian accent, it's definitely, yeah.

Ted Cragg (31:02.206)
It's amazing. It's rare, I think from my experience, but it's rare to find a Moroccan who speaks less than three languages at least.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (31:10.592)
It sounds interesting, but it's just because of the location of Morocco, because of the cultures. It is, it is. And then we speak the Darija, we speak the Arabic we learned in... So Arabic is the first foreign language for us. Then Jewish Moroccans, they speak Hebrew, then they speak Darija, then they speak Arabic. So it's very common.

Ted Cragg (31:15.594)
Yeah. Yeah. It's such a crossroads. Yeah.

Ted Cragg (31:29.803)
Hmm.

Ted Cragg (31:37.807)
Yeah, and probably bit of French and English too. Yeah, crazy.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (31:40.133)
for sure. Yes. 100%. Yeah, 100%. So it's a blessing for such a small country and it's just incredible. Yeah.

Ted Cragg (31:46.381)
Yeah. Okay. Well, I guess the last thing I wanted to leave people with is, you know, if a traveler wants to leave Morocco, not just with memories, but with a deeper understanding and an appreciation for the people and the heritage, the culture, right? What is the single most important mindset or approach maybe that they should adopt? What comes to mind?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (32:10.054)
That's a very deep question Ted and I love it I've seen people say goodbye and that's the worst part of their tour. That's the worst part of their travel I see people crying at the airport crying saying goodbyes at villages and cities The best way to go to Morocco is have zero expectations Because when you have zero expectations You will immerse yourself in the experience whether you whether it's a it's an amateur experience. It's a cooking class It's a hot air balloon experience

It's food tasting tour, it's hammam experience. will immerse yourself in the culture of Morocco, immerse yourself with the people, with the locals. And when you do that, you live with a better understanding, not just of Morocco, but of yourself. So, and I mean, I've seen it time and again, and a lot of people, they said, I visited a lot of places, I never want to go back to most of them, but Morocco is definitely the one that I want to come back

Ted Cragg (32:55.712)
Hmm. Hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (33:09.216)
And when you look into it, because the people they make a difference, know, the people that you meet through what you tour really make a difference. that's my advice to anybody traveling to Morocco, whether you're a solo traveler, whether you're coming with us or going to somebody else, have zero expectations because that's going to really, really open a lot of opportunities for you and see things in a different way, from a different lens, from a different point of view.

Ted Cragg (33:38.06)
Yep. That's good advice. Just be there, be present in the moment. Yep. And you'll enjoy it. That's great. Oh, this has been fun. It's a great episode. I need to cover all these things and some different topics. Cool. Well, yeah, I think we've learned a lot. So looking forward to doing another one.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (33:41.27)
be in the moment yeah absolutely thank you

Thank you. Thank you.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (33:56.062)
Absolutely. I'm very grateful Ted. I never get tired of saying this but it's always fun and I love it because the episodes that we do together, they're different. They're just, you know, the chemistry, you know, it's amazing. So thank you so much. Thank you to the listeners. We're grateful for you and...

Ted Cragg (34:15.628)
It's always great to be here.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (34:21.792)
Until next time. Thank

Ted Cragg (34:23.254)
Sounds good.