Discover Morocco

Studying abroad offers students an opportunity to extensively travel throughout Europe. Every weekend, groups of students take off for various European destinations. Whether it’s skydiving in Interlaken, Switzerland or exploring the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, students brilliantly take advantage of the ease of travel in Europe. Yet there is a peculiar foreign destination just outside of Europe that is gaining immense popularity with study abroad students: Morocco, Africa. This past weekend I had the pleasure of traveling to Morocco through a program called DiscoverExcursions. This once-in-a-lifetime experience was indescribable. Nonetheless, I am going to try my best to do so…

As a brief overview, we spent our weekend visiting a few of the most beautiful cities Northern Morocco has to offer, including Tangier, Tétouan, Asilah, and Chefchaoeun. We began our journey in Sevilla, Spain, where we took a ferry over to the port of Morocco in Tangier. We arrived in the evening and stayed in a beautiful hotel in the small city of Tétouan. We awoke early the next morning to an elaborate Moroccan-style breakfast, with over twenty different types of pastries, cakes, breads, and cold meats. What’s more, the traditional green tea with mint that was served with each meal was absolutely delicious.

After breakfast we explored the city of Tétouan through a guided bus tour, before making our way to the beautiful fishing town of Asilah. This small city, located on a stunning coastline of beach and sun, was breathtaking. We rode camels along the outskirts of the beach, and some students were even brave enough to take a dip in the ocean. After a long afternoon in Asilah, we returned to our hotel for a traditional Moroccan dinner, consisting of an elaborate salad filled with beats, corn, potatoes, carrots, and white rice. Our main course consisted of skewed meats with vegetables, followed by a whipped cream dessert.

During our last day in Morocco we ventured to Chefchaoeun, also known as the “holy city” or the “blue city” of Morocco. This was perhaps the most brilliant spectacle I had ever seen. All the buildings were painted in a different shade of blue and white, and the streets were almost spotless. This city emitted a sense of peace and tranquility I had never experienced. The culture was vibrant and the people were very kind. I purchased pure Moroccan oils and saffron spices in a beautiful little shop on a side street off the main square.

As we made the trip back to Sevilla, Spain, I could not help but think about how incredible my Moroccan experience had been. It was an opportunity to immerse myself in an entirely new culture and way of life, and I urge anyone studying abroad to strongly consider Morocco as a future travel destination.