Morocco- a pleasant surprise
I spent a pleasant one week in Rabat, Morocco. The weather was bright and sunny, people shy and friendly, the city quite and peaceful. It was a serendipitous trip for me. Rabat had many pleasant surprises- decent infrastructure, cosmopolitan atmosphere and the freedoms enjoyed by the people. No wonder Morocco has the highest rating in Economist quality of life index among African countries.
Morocco gained freedom from France in 1956. French remains the main language for commerce and governance. Most people speak French but I could get by on the streets in English. English is becoming the second foriegn language behind French though Spanish is also spoken by some in the Northern part of the country.
Moroccans uses a lot of spice in their cooking. It was close to the Indian cuisine that I am used to with sizzling dishes cooked in fruits and raisins.
The Moroccan search
I was thoroughly searched at the airport to make sure no moroccan dirhams were taken out of Morocco. My shoes were searched inside out to see if they had any dirhams. I wondered why would need to monitor dirhams, it is probably due to the difference between the real and official excange rates.
