Is Morocco Safe to Travel Right Now?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Welcome back to another incredible episode of Destination Morocco podcast. In today's episode, we're gonna be talking about the current situation globally, which is the the travel during the war between the US and Iran and, and is Morocco safe. A lot of people ask in the past, they used to ask, Hey, if is Morocco safe for solo travelers for female travelers?

Now with everything that is happening, a lot of people are asking, actually, is it safe for us to go to Morocco? What would happen if we're going to Morocco? Do we need to cancel our booking? Do we need to cancel our tour? Do we need to reschedule? Do we need to, you know, do something else? So, and that's why again we have Ted with us today.

Ted, welcome back to the podcast. And in this episode we're gonna. Answer all, well, some or most of the questions that you probably have lingering about the current state of Morocco in terms of safety and traveling to Morocco. Ted, welcome back to the podcast.

TED CRAGG: Thanks. [00:01:00] Yeah. This is a prescient topic for sure. We realized the last, you know, little while that it was something we needed to talk about and address and I think particularly the geared towards people who've already booked a tour. Or who have been pretty serious about thinking, you know, of going to Morocco in the sense that they're that much further along kind of the planning process, right?

Like you, you, you're either committed to go or you're pretty serious about going this year. And so, you know, we need to address really what's happening. I mean, we can't ignore the state of the world and there's conflict happening. And of course, you know, you s Dean, you're getting questions about it. So let's talk about that and give people as much peace of mind as we can.

I mean, and no one can give a hundred percent, but we're, we wanna give you some. Some clear information, give you options, and get you as prepared as possible. And then, you know, if you decide to continue to go, which we think you should at this point, I mean,

that's part of it. Things could change.

We never

know. You know, we're talking here through the April, 2026, and of course [00:02:00] if we need to do more updates, you know, over the coming weeks and months, then we will. But at least it stands right now. This is our perspective on it. And if you do decide to still go, we wanna just give you that peace of mind and confidence really, that, you know, you can go and feel safe.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Absolutely.

TED CRAGG: Yeah. So well, let's get a little bit of background. I mean, I know a lot of the questions come back to, well, yeah, just how close is Morocco to the conflict and, you know, is there any chance that that part of the world could get kind of, roped in and tied up in what's happening? And, yeah, it's, I mean, unless people look at maps and are interested in geography and stuff, it may be hard to kind of grasp just the placement.

Right? How close is Morocco to the Middle East and is there

really any direct threat? Most likely all things consider.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: That's a really, really good question. Ted, Morocco is 3000 miles away from the conflict. So the conflict is Middle East. Morocco is in Africa. So I know for some people they know exactly the locations, but for a lot of people they, they actually don't know. They just think Morocco, it's a Muslim country.

It. Automatically in [00:03:00] the Middle East. But it's not, it's in North Africa. So we are the closest point to, to Spain, to Europe. Uh, yeah, it is 3000 miles away. There's no direct threat of the war, in Morocco or to Morocco at this point. So, uh, when you, when you go to Morocco, uh, it's just business as usual.

It's, it's very busy, it's very happening. Uh, it's just incredible. so you cannot even tell that there's something that terrible is happening at the same time somewhere else.

TED CRAGG: Yeah. Yeah. I imagine it'd be the same essentially as uh, if if you're in Europe, you

know, pretty much anywhere in Europe and like, we all know what's

happening, but it's not, it's not running the doorstep. Right.

So, yeah. And let's talk a bit about, well, Morocco and relations with United States and Iran and you know, a little bit of the, the background to that.

I mean, Morocco's been a long time ally of the

United States. You often point out they were the, the first country to

recognize the United 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: absolutely. Yes. [00:04:00] Morocco. He's the first country to recognize United States as independent country. and this is back, you know, going against France and, and, and, and England at the time. And everybody knows how powerful they were back then. So, it was a major turning point and that relationship still stands with, still allies to 150, almost 250 years later.

So we have very good relationship with us and, and always have been. So, and also there's, there's a presence in the US in Morocco all the time. There's always open communication and you know, last time we did, we talked about the African Cup of Nations in Morocco and we talked about that Morocco invited the FBI, you know, to the stadium to D tournament to see in terms of security, organization of determined, because United States is gonna be organized in 2026.

World Cup. It's actually in, in, in few months, so summertime. So, um, they needed to get some ideas and, and, and things like that. So Morocco is pretty safe. It is one of the safest countries in, [00:05:00] in Africa. And, and it's just, it's still a beautiful destination. It's very diverse. You know, if you have a chance to go see it, go for it.

So, in, in Morocco, again. they have actually military bases in Morocco, but you're not gonna see them. They're really invisible. when you travel by them, the everything is underground.

You cannot, there's no building, there's no door, nothing. It's just everything is built underground. So, it's really, really safe.

TED CRAGG: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean that's a common thing in the United States and, and other allies I guess, too. They have bases, joint bases and stuff, countries all around the world. So that is a fairly common thing. People I'm sure somewhat familiar with the nature of Islam and Shia Sunni split the

different parts of Islam. Morocco is which?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Sunni.

TED CRAGG: Mm-hmm. and Iran is

Shia 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Shia. Yes, that is correct. Yes. It's like cats and dogs. Historically, there has always been a conflict, you know, since, you know, for 1500 years. The Shia and the Muslims, they're, [00:06:00] they're, they're each other's number one enemies. You know, for us it doesn't change. Uh, Iran is, is not our friend. You know, we, we've talked a little bit about this earlier, but when you look at the relationship between the kingdom of Morocco and then the kingdom of Iran, before the, the Khomeini regime, we had very good relationship.

Even though we are two different sects, of Islam, uh, very different. We had very good relationship. The king at the time had a really good relationship with the king and the queen and, and, and the family. But then after 1979, everything changed for many reasons. And one of the biggest reasons is Iran tried to, influence Morocco on coming to Morocco indirectly and, and start doing some things that, you know, they just, they rubbed Morocco the wrong way.

And since then, the relationship has not been good at all. So.

TED CRAGG: Yeah, well, that's it. I mean, we don't wanna get into a lot of the, the nuanced detail history here, but, you know, [00:07:00] people will be wondering, well, what, you know, what is the difference? And if they're aware of, of course, that, I mean, you're talking centuries of

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Yeah, 

TED CRAGG: of, as you say, cats and dogs, right?

And, and disagreements, et cetera. It's just important to be aware right.

Now. All that being said, I, I mean. We, we don't really see things trickling over to Morocco as things stand right now. And we're not saying that it's going to, we just have to be conscious and aware that things can change. That's

all. But, you know, there's a lot happening now and, and you can certainly argue that, well, at least the last 40, 40 plus years, I mean, Iran and Morocco have coexisted and you know, they haven't gone after each other in, in an outright way.

So it's just something to be aware of. We

all know the differences between the two, so.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Yeah, absolutely.

TED CRAGG: Yeah. Well, that's a good question though. How, how does Morocco balance being a close if, to the extent that you know, that a close US ally while keeping its own Arab and Muslim identity, you know, do you know how they kind of play out amongst the ne the neighbors in that, that part [00:08:00] of the world?

Hmm.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: You know, it's. it's really a tough spot to be in because myself, I asked that question quite a bit many times, especially looking at some, you know, close conflict to Morocco or, you know, far conflict to Morocco, the country has always made the right decision. Sometimes being just neutral, sometimes taken aside, sometimes just not saying anything.

You know, it's political basically. So, yeah. And Morocco has been. Really good in terms of choosing the right size and who to support or who not to support and stuff like that.

TED CRAGG: I think the sun to be said too, it may sound a little um, a little superficial, but honestly just, it's a question of geography. I

mean, you know, Morocco's, Northwest Africa, it's in the edge of Europe. It's, there's that much removed from the heart of a lot of these conflicts. There's deeper ties to Europe.

It's kind of the first stop in Africa

from North America, right? If people are flying over. And for what it's worth, I think that helps just a little bit of that [00:09:00] separation, whether it's political kind of independence and stuff you're not totally wrapped in or as travelers that, you know, you're on the fringe of a lot of this conflict,

even though it's still exotic, it's still exciting, it's still different, but it's, so we've always talked about that on this show, how

Morocco's a really, really fascinating bridge, right between

kind of the western world, Europeans and so on, and then Africa and the Arab

world and, and all that too.

It's really interesting.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Yeah, 

TED CRAGG: Yeah,

Well, let's bring it back to to travelers. I mean, this is what we're here for. So if, if you're in Morocco, I mean, is there any actual danger versus what might just feel dangerous? How can someone really identify that? What should they look for?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: I would say. There's really no danger and, and it's hard to tell, and to look for something when it's, it's really not there. You can see the body language, you can see you know, how people talk to you, treat you. But it's just, it's not there. You know, especially for tourists. Morocco is very protective when it comes to tourists because we understand the value of tourism and the [00:10:00] value of travelers to Morocco.

and the other thing is, you know, with us, there's always somebody with you. you know, there's, there's a local person with you so they understand the language, they understand, you know, the language or the threat of a language, even though you may not understand it, they'll, they will feel that something is about to go wrong and you know, they, you always have somebody with you, so you know.

TED CRAGG: Will people see maybe right now already, do you think they'll see more police, more checkpoints and surveillance?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Well, there, there has always been more checkpoints. If, if you remember when you went back in 2022, you know, in less than half a mile, uh, there's, there's a checkpoint, there's police, sprinters and, and presence. I wouldn't go to the airport. You'll see, you know, a little bit of the army. Then, between city to city, there's checkpoints.

Now this is regular days. Now with the conflict happening 3000 miles away, I, I'm sure it's, it's probably gonna be doubled because again, I was there in 91. I was there during the, the, the Gulf War. [00:11:00] And, I remember those days very vividly, and the Army presence was everywhere. And I remember, because where I live, there's a, there's an indoor.

In a basketball arena next to us. And, and the army, they just took over and that's what they, they, they literally stayed there for months. So everything was canceled, the games, everything, and that's where they stayed. So, it was very heavy, but now it's, it's not, it's, there's no, no signs of any of that happening in Morocco, of any of that being seen in Morocco.

So it's just in terms of, if you go to Morocco right now it's just business as usual. People that haven't. Good time. They are just enjoying themselves, immersing themselves in the experiences. You cannot tell that there's a conflict somewhere else, so

TED CRAGG: That's good. That's what we wanna hear.

Will there be any difference in just your, how you might feel or maybe how people might be perceiving you, do you think?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Not at all. That's what a lot of people, you know, I hear this [00:12:00] especially from Americans. You know, people don't like us. No. People love you. And, and I'm just gonna say this in the most positive way Moroccan, they, they love tourists, but they love especially Americans because they tip more.

So it's, you know, the perception that you have in your head that you know that people don't like you and they don't want to. No, of course they do. They, you know, and you can see it in the hospitality, you can see it even with or without the money, honestly. people, you know, in Morocco, they're very welcoming, very hospital.

It doesn't matter. You have money or you don't have money, you're still welcome in Morocco, but they know that the Americans are more hospitable when it comes to, to, to their generosity and, and, and tipping and stuff like that, 

TED CRAGG: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And again, there's long, long history there of

good relations, so that helps. Mm-hmm. and Let's talk.

a bit about cancellations in the sense. If there was, if there was flight cancellations or airspace closures, is there any precedent for that? Maybe in Morocco? Do you know what that might look like? If it happens?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: first time we've seen it it's. All of us have [00:13:00] seen it in the pandemic. And, and a lot of people, they got stuck in Morocco, some for a few days, some for a few weeks. But there's, you can plan better for you not to, to get stuck, not just in Morocco, but anywhere else. And I remember during the pandemic, some cruise lines, were stranded, you know, in the oceans.

And, some started getting the virus. You know, while they're on the ship. And, and some were able to be evacuated and some were not being able to evacuated. And the reason is it's the travel insurance. So it's really, really, really important. Ted, when you travel, you must have your travel insurance because it actually, it protects your investment.

Going to Morocco is not cheap.

TED CRAGG: Hmm.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: It's not cheap. Going to Morocco is not cheap. I have to say that again because you're spending thousands and thousands of dollars, especially if you know, if it's, you know, family of four or six or eight, that just, it adds up. So protect your investment, get travel insurance.

And I, I get this question all the time and say, oh, no, no, I [00:14:00] have mx, I have my insurance to my credit card. It's, it's not the same. So when you have insurance to your credit card. it will cover, yes, it has cover, but then the, the coverage that you get is really, really minimal comparing to, a travel insurance that specialized just in traveling.

That's all they, they do. you know, there are a few really good companies to choose from and, and I remember one of them at the time it was, uh, Alliance, uh, which we use quite a bit. The other one is Chubb. I'm just saying their names. I don't recommend any of them, but I just, you know, I worked with Alliance for quite some time and, one of the biggest differences when you're looking or shopping for travel insurance is, cancel for any reasons.

And that's the reason why, you know, a lot of people got stuck because they did not have that coverage. for evacuation, for example, I, I remember at that time, Alliance had. I think it covers up to, you know, half a million or so [00:15:00] because helicopters were gonna go dispatched to those ships.

To bring people back to, to shores and it cost about $80,000 per person. So people who had travel insurance and they have that option included, it was a breeze. It was perfect, but the ones they didn't, they had to stay in the ship until the ship came back to, to shore. So it does make a huge difference.

It's, it's worth the investment now. There's few options and it just, you know, depending on the age, pre-existing conditions and, and also, cancel for any reason. See what, what's covered because sometimes you'll have you miss your flight then, then you're still covered. you know, including your luggage and all that stuff.

You have jury duty, then you're still covered. You know, there's so many details, but just a little bit of homework when it comes to that because it's absolutely.

TED CRAGG: Now, do you know how it works, the travel insurance and like dedicated ones, not credit card ones, but like a good policy, how do they [00:16:00] approach basically war in times of conflict?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: That's, that's a good question. I, I honestly don't know the answer to it. But, in that case, you're looking for something to be evacuated and they have evacuation, you know? It's included, so just look at your package. I know, you know, when you go with the lion, they'll give you like a, like a simple package.

They'll give you a premium package and they'll say, Hey, you know, this covers, for example, a million dollars. This one covers $2 million, and this is what's included and all the coverage, you know, so you're good. Uh, that, that's a question. I, I, I'm not insurance you know, specialist, but I don't want to give the wrong answer to the audience or get myself in trouble.

But I will say just, just get in touch with them. look at two or three insurance companies, uh, and, and, and just ask, you know, get the comparison so that way you know which one is better for you for the investment than if it's you traveling by yourself, you and your family and, and so forth. So.

TED CRAGG: Yep. Yep. And let's talk a bit about [00:17:00] registering with the embassy.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Oh, that's really important. Yes. Yes. There's the, the step program and you can register. It takes about five minutes. And it's you know, smart travel program. And I think you go to step.state.gov and register with the embassy. And that way they know your location, while you're in Morocco.

If something happens. They know, they have, for example, let's say. 2000 Americans in, in, in Moroccan, they need to evacuate 2000 people. So that way you're counted for, also before you travel have a copy, printed copy of your passport with a family member, a printed copy of your itinerary with a friend or a family member.

The same thing. Have, you know, copies on your phone. Have them, you know, hard copies with you as well. and then, you know, give them our phone number, you know, so that way they can get in touch with us. in case they can get in touch with you, they can get in touch with us in case communication. Is interrupted, or you know, God forbid something happens.

So always share those information with your friends and family, uh, before you go to [00:18:00] Morocco. And then when you go to Morocco, I mean, we, we still in touch with you. Uh, I may not call you or text you every day, but I'm aware of everything that's happening, on your daily itinerary changes and, and things you know, so I'm aware of all those things.

So.

TED CRAGG: Yeah. Okay, good. I wanna ask you too about it. Let's say airspace is closed for whatever reason. and even just in general, maybe it's good to know what are other options for basically getting out of Morocco?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Oh, that's a good question. You can get outta Morocco, you know, through, you know, different spots, to Europe especially, you know, Spain. Italy, France, you know, through ships. You could go through ji. that's the quickest way to get to Europe. I think they have two or three ports that will take you to Spain.

so that, that's another way to get outta the country just in case if the airspace is, is closed.

TED CRAGG: Yeah. Yeah. So this is it. These are, I mean, obviously we hope it doesn't come to that. And the odds are that it won't. But you know, we wanna give people this kind of information just first, a peace of [00:19:00] mind, so you

know that there are options. You're just, you're not gonna be completely stranded and you can't get outta the country kind of thing. So, yeah. That's good to know. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and that comes back to, to the, to the, the geography, the placement. I

mean, how long's that ferry ride from Tanger to Spain? You know, a

couple hours or something. Four, five minutes. There you go. Yeah, 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: minutes. It's very close. Yeah. 

TED CRAGG: Yeah.

yeah. There you go. Yeah. And let's bring it back to like, I mean, for a traveler who may thinking they want to cancel now, and of course it's up to them, but what's kind of the realistic chance that they're overreacting?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Very likely very highly because you know, the media and we, you know me, I complain about the media all the time. So it, it, I mean, I, I understand the concerns, but people are just scared. They're scared of what they don't know. They're scared of the destination. You know, you tell people Africa, they're automatically, you know, scared.

You tellem, it's a Muslim country. It's like, oh no, they're gonna do this, they're gonna do that. So, you know, we, we've [00:20:00] heard this throughout the episode, Ted, with everybody that we have. Hosted and have a gun with us. There's like perception versus the reality are two completely different things. So yeah, it is normal to be scared.

It is normal to feel, hey, I want to cancel. It is normal to always almost cancel it and not cancel it. But if, you decide to cancel it, you can still cancel it. It's not an issue, for us at all. So, but I just want to give, people, the listeners, a little bit of what happened in the past. If you look at the pandemic, which is really a really good example, when you look at the airlines, United American they did not issue any refunds.

All they did is future bookings because of the pandemic. If they have issued refunds, they will absolutely go bankrupt.

TED CRAGG: Yeah.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: And then it's just the effect of it, you know, the economy, the country is just, it's just devastating. So the same thing with, you know, with the, the cruise lines. They were even what we call FCC, future cruise credit.

And you can book it a year later, two years later. It doesn't, the [00:21:00] time, it doesn't really matter, and you don't lose the value of your tour or cruise and stuff like that. So Morocco did the same thing literally during the pandemic. Bec to save the industry. And even then the tourism industry was devastated.

Even though the government was helping, you know, with little bit that they could, it was still the effect of it was just terrible. So, in this year we have not seen that. I don't think we're gonna get to that level, but you know, the government can actually say, Hey. We're not gonna issue any refunds, we're just gonna do future credits.

But we, it's it, in, in my case, it's, it has not happened because we're not really directly affected. If this was 1991 and seeing things that I have seen back then, definitely it would've been, you know, no, no refunds. Yeah. There will be no refunds, just future bookings. So, we are actually in the process of issuing a refund to, Two, couple, uh, four people from from Australia. It's really, really unfortunate. They're traveling [00:22:00] through, through Qatar and, and, you know, the, the, the, it's just, it's just, it's, it's really, really unfortunate. but that's, the only case of refunds that we have so 

TED CRAGG: that's tricky. Yeah, that, I mean,

depends on the situation. If you're coming from Australia, New Zealand,

you probably would have a flight that went through Qatar or uh, dubai or something like that. So, 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: absolutely. And, and, you know, yeah. Yeah. It's, it's very challenging. It, it really is.

TED CRAGG: Yep. Yeah, everyone has their own uh, particular situation.

Well, I wanna wrap up.

We, we had a list of a, a handful of kind of rapid fire questions, but things that are really practical and relatable. So would ATMs still work during a crisis? And how much cash should people carry on them even

in 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: that's a good question. The, the, you know, the, the ATM. Typically in Morocco, they're different than the us , they're not filled with cash. They just have a little bit of cash.

It sounds. You know, different un expected, but that's, that's how it is. Sometimes even in the weekends, they, they run outta cash for [00:23:00] two days, for a couple of days. So, you know, throughout the episode you'll hear me say, you wanna use an ATM machine? Use it early in the morning. That's the best way.

But in this case, yes, you can still get cash, you can still, you know, always have cash with you. Not so much of it though, but you can still utilize the, the, the, the, the ATMs. So.

TED CRAGG: Okay. What's the most important app to have on your phone?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Well, that's a really, it's, it's, it's a loaded question. There's so many I would say stay in touch with your family and friends. You know, directly, uh, WhatsApp is big in Morocco. We, we utilize WhatsApp more than than any other form of communication in Morocco. Even, in between, you know, local calls.

So people use WhatsApp quite a bit, and we use it here as, as communication as well. In terms of transportation, when you're with us, you, you are good. When you're on your own, then there's few apps. Uber is back in Morocco for sure. It's uh, when I was there in November, they, they, they started in, in [00:24:00] Casablanca and I'm sure they have a plan to expand to, to other major cities like, uh, Marques Fest and Aaba and so forth.

But then there's other apps in Morocco that they, they're not here in the US at least not. Not that I'm aware of. I've used in drive. But in drive it's a little bit tricky. Use it with, with with caution because, in Morocco it's still considered a little bit illegal and the taxis, they just frown upon it and they don't like it.

And, and if they see you ride in an in drive, they can call the cop and you'll be okay. But they'll give him a ticket.

TED CRAGG: Is in drive like a booking app or is it

a company? 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: it's similar to Uber.

TED CRAGG: Okay.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: So, yeah, it's similar to Uber, but it's, it's very tricky the way that they have it set up. You know, the government sets it up for you, but then they consider it illegal and then so it just, you don't go figure. So that's Morocco.

TED CRAGG: Right.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Yeah.

TED CRAGG: Well, I mean, good question though. If, if you are on your own and you need transport, you know, at least [00:25:00] locally, who do you call? Where do you, where do you go first?

Presumably a taxi or something. 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Yes, there's a service called taxi vera, which is Green Taxi. Uh, they have, they have a number that you call and they'll dispatch, they'll dispatch the taxi to your location. It doesn't matter where it is. They'll, they, you pay a dollar 50, I think a dollar 50 extra during the day, or probably $2 or $2 50 extra, a nighttime, but they're very, very reliable.

Those are, those are real taxi cabs, but they just have that little bit extra service, extra attention. And they're really good. And they have to have certain variants to, to be able to do that green, the taxi, uh, the other apps in drive. But, but again, it's just, it's very questionable at the moment.

It's not fully, fully legal in Morocco, but you can still use it if you're in a major city, you can use Uber and I know there's another. App called Kareem or something in in Morocco, which you can use. So in terms of apps and transportation in Morocco, there's, you have few options, [00:26:00] so, but my, the first one that I would recommend is the green taxi.

TED CRAGG: great. Good. Okay. And what about

what would you

say maybe for the question.

of security and peace of mind? Is there any difference between staying at an international chain hotel and you might be familiar with a brand you may have, like a loyalty membership or

something like that, versus staying at a riyad? Which of

course we always recommend, but I, I mean, you know, security, peace of mind.

Do you think there's any considerations there?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: That's a really good question. It really depends. I would say when you stay in with, with, with a hotel brand, let's say for example the Marriot or, you know, there's, by the way, we did, we did an episode while back, and there are over 200 luxury brands of hotels and accommodations in, in Morocco. So, there's an advantage when you stay with the brand because, because of the protection, because of the flexibility, because of all things that they can do for you.

and that's, that's one of the good reasons. Now, stay in our yard. It's a little bit [00:27:00] different. They may not have what, a large hotel brand have, but they'll have the hospitality. They, they're not gonna abandon you. They're not gonna kick you out. So, if you can't pay, they're not gonna say, Hey, we have to leave.

They're just, they're. It's not gonna happen. They'll say, Hey, stay, you know, uh, come to my house, stay here, whatever. But they're not gonna kick you out. So it's, in my opinion, either way, you're still gonna be just fine. yeah. So,

TED CRAGG: and I, I like the idea of that more kind of personal attention for

sure. With the. And, you know, people, you, you know, the owners, they're

there. Like, there's kind of a relationship there

as opposed to a big hotel with, you know, 300 rooms or something. 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. I totally agree. Yes.

TED CRAGG: yeah. If you are ever questioned by the police, by security for whatever reason, especially, again, we're talking, there's some kind of crisis happening, but if you ever question what should people do, how should they react to a situation like that?

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: You know, just smile, you know, because when you smile, you put everybody at ease. Um, You know, it's, it's funny. [00:28:00] This is. The last tour that happened to us. You know, when I say those cases, I'm, I'm telling you the truth and I don't sugarcoat anything and I just say it. How, how it comes to me. It was me and y you know, uh, the, we had the photographers with us throughout the tour and they, we were four in the car and, and one of them.

he didn't have his seatbelt in in, and he was sitting in the back. and there were 2, officers, you know, the checkpoints again, that we talk about, and he saw them and we were just talking, but it never crossed his mind that he need to put his seatbelt on before they pulled us over. So they did pull us over and, and we just started talking.

We started laughing. Say, Hey, one of them say, Hey, you come, come with me. I need to talk to you. Then one of the officers stayed with us while the other officer took you know, Yusef with him. So we were talking and having just fun, just laughing. It, it didn't feel like, you know, it's a police officer. We felt like he was a friend and we're just having good conversation and, and, and talking and having fun.

Then [00:29:00] we said, Hey, you know, is it okay for us to come out of the car we just wanna talk to, to the other officer? And I said, yeah, yeah, just. Just go and talk and it's like, Hey, you know, we started having fun again. I, I, I like to make fun of situations. I like just to, just to entertain if you would. And the funny thing, you know, you get a ticket, I think it's, it's a $20 ticket or, or $15 ticket.

So. Behind the scene. Yusef, you know, paid his dues and we, he started laughing with the police officer. We started all of us laughing, and then at the end they were like, Hey, you guys are so much fun. Can we go with you in the car? So it was like, you know, you know, we made our day. It's the end of our shift and we just.

You know, it was just so funny. But that's the way that I would look at it, because those guys are under a lot of stress, you know, and they don't wanna cause anybody any trouble. They tell you, you know, your ticket is $15, you can pay it, you know, upfront. You'll [00:30:00] get a receipt, or if you wanna go to the court, you can do so.

And, you know, we just negotiate and everything is negotiable in Morocco. So, and, and, you know, and, and that's it. The same thing. Somebody stops you when they have questions, just smile. and by the way you said Americans, you know, this happens to me all the time when I go, especially in the square, especially somewhere, I'm just walking and, and people they know that.

You know, you coming from America, whether the way that you walk, the way that you dress, the way that you speak your accent, even though we don't think we have accents, they know you're, you know, America or Canada, and it's like, how do you know? It's like, yeah, you guys are more polite. So it's you know, it's, it's, it's incredible.

It's again I hope you won't cancel your reservation because it's gonna be a lot of fun. Just enjoy it. Enjoy it.

TED CRAGG: Well, I think that's the key message here. I mean, we have to stay vigilant and aware of course, of

what things are happening, but. We're talking to you here again in April,

2026. And as things stand right

now as it applies to Morocco, things are [00:31:00] stable, things are

okay. And I mean there's broader questions about travel in general. And a lot of that comes back to prices for

sure. We're gonna see prices go up

and perhaps insurance rates things too. So there's lots to consider, but we really wanted to focus today on safety

and that peace of mind. Factor. You know, I don't know if I told you my brother is taking his family on this round, the world tour

travel for like six months.

They

spend a bunch of time in China

and they were in Egypt when this conflict broke out. And

then they went to Turkey. They just left Turkey like yesterday to take a ferry to Greece and then

they're going on through Europe. So, you know, this whole time we're like, well, especially last month. I mean, geez.

How do you

guys feeling over there? I mean, they're, even in Egypt, they're, they're far enough away. I mean,

it's closer, a lot closer than Morocco for sure. But you know, you kind of go about your day. You just stay, stay aware, stay

vigilant, have a backup plan, make sure

people know where you are and otherwise, enjoy your time.

I mean, it was even the same in our trip [00:32:00] three years ago.

'cause uh, that was when the, the war was really breaking out in, in

Gaza and uh, and Ukraine. Of course, Ukraine. And yeah, same thing. I mean, Jesus is gonna spill over to Europe and Portugal where

we were. 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: yeah,

TED CRAGG: And you, you're aware of it. You, you keep an eye on the news for sure.

But you know, you, you gotta carry on with your plans if at all possible. So yeah, we did and I'm very, very glad we went. So,

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Absolutely. Absolutely. 

TED CRAGG: Everyone's gotta make their own decision. Of

course. But we do. We just wanted to give people that, kinda, that information here.

And um, last thing, can people reach out to you of course, and questions, emails, if

they have concerns? 

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Oh, absolutely. A hundred percent. Again you know, like I said, when you're traveling with us, I am aware, I, I get the reports. I, I know where you're, you know where you are at every day. I'm in contact with the drivers. We know what's going on, the changes of the itinerary, if there's any, the plans you know, the bookings and everything else.

I may not just. Be texting you or calling you every day, but I just want you to immerse yourself in that experience and have so [00:33:00] much fun. but I always recommend, yes, just communication is extremely important. You know, just let your family know where you are at. Let friends know where you are at, and, and just, you know, before those things you, you need to do them before you get to Morocco.

And even when you get to Morocco, if you feel unsafe, let us know If you feel unsafe. Let your driver know. Let your guy know if you are by yourself, travel or you feel unsafe. Go to the next police station. They're close by. The police officers are literally everywhere. and they speak the language. If they don't speak the language, they'll, they'll grab somebody in less than, you know, maybe 32nd that speaks English.

safety is very important. You are very important. So, do the best that you can to be visual, obviously. But if you have a concern, just. Just don't keep it quiet. Just, just talk to somebody. You know, especially when, uh, you're a solo traveler traveling in, you know, a crowded medina, crowded cities.

just talk to somebody. Get somebody involved if you feel unsafe, you know? Yeah. So

TED CRAGG: Good. That's [00:34:00] good advice.

Alright, well we'll leave it there and um, hey, if there's more things change, if there's more updates, I'm sure we'll be back and do another one of these. But um, yeah, it's been good to go over it here today.

AZDEAN ELMOUSTAQUIM: Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate you, Ted. Always, always a pleasure having you as a guest. and thank you to the listeners. If you have any questions, please reach out to us if you're still thinking about Morocco, which you should reach out to us.

We'll answer the questions for you. Is it, you know, only make recommendations to go, not to go for me, it's always a go. and thank you for listening. Have an amazing day.