Morocco is one of North Africa’s most interesting countries. It has a rich Jewish history, too. In various parts of the nation there are exclusively Jewish quarters, known as mellahs. If you are Jewish if Jewish history interests you or if you just like Jewish food, this post is for you. In this article you will learn how to discover Morocco in style, explaining how you can plan your kosher adventure and covering a few things that you need to see on your visit there. Keep reading to find out more:
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Visiting Mellahs
As noted in the introduction to this post, mellahs are exclusively Jewish quarters located in Morocco’s cities and towns. Medinas are Muslim ones. If you are planning on visiting the nation, be sure to visit as many mellahs as you can, as you can find fantastic Jewish restaurants and cafés in them. In many mellahs, you can find very interesting Jewish historical sites. The experts from Gesher Tours make clear on their site that a tour is the best way to see all of these. Because many mellahs are incredibly deep and contain myriad alleyways, tours are the best way to see them. There’s no way you’ll find your way out of a mellah if you go into it on your own. If you have GPS on your phone, you may be able to just about find your way out, but you won’t be able to find all of the historic sites yourself.
Researching Restaurants
If you are planning on going to Morocco just to immerse yourself in the nation’s ancient Jewish history, make sure that you spend some time researching restaurants. Moroccan food on its own is delicious. When you add Jewish influence to it, it becomes amazing. Make sure that you verify restaurants are kosher prior to eating in them, though. Obviously, as Morocco is a majority Muslim country, most of the restaurants in Morocco are halal, not kosher. The Islamic faith says that in certain circumstances it is permissible for Muslims to eat kosher food, while the Jewish faith does not allow this. You can conduct research online, though it’s worth noting that the vast majority of restaurants situated in mellahs and medinas give very hard-to-follow directions. You will likely have to ask for a guide to take you to a specific restaurant if you have its address.
Booking Early
If you plan on taking tours around Moroccan cities or the entire country, make sure that you book everything early. If you don’t book tickets and tour reservations before traveling, you could end up being turned away when you ultimately arrive. Booking early also has the added benefit of giving you access to discounts. Some tour guides will give people significant discounts if they make their reservations on the Internet before they travel. Booking early is a lot less stressful for you too since you won’t have to worry about being turned away.
Morocco is a country with a rich, interesting history. Many people don’t know that much of the nation’s history is Jewish. Be sure to follow the guidance given in this post prior to traveling.
