The area we will travel through is situated in the south east of Morocco, to be precise in the northwest Sahara. This area is situated at the border of Algeria and at the foot of the Atlas mountains.

Morocco belongs to one of the most safely countries of Africa. The area where we will travel has all the required western facilities and a good safety control.

The climate of Morocco knows a sea and mountain scenery. The country does experience a lot of climate differences. In the north exists a Mediterranean climate, in the mountains a mountain climate and in the south a steppe climate which goes quickly to a dessert climate.

In the dessert climate appear hot summers with huge temperature differences between day and night. The average temperature in July and August increases at the border of Algeria and Mauritania to 40 degrees. The relative humidity decreases in summertime to 15 percent. The south has got above 3600 hours sun a year.

Concerning rainfall, in the northwest Sahara there is an average of 50 millimetres a year. The rain season in Morocco comes during the months of December and January. In summertime it almost never rains and in wintertime it will rain a lot.

According to latest ratings (2006) Morocco counts a population of above 32.800.000 people. Approximately 36% of them are Berber, 20% Arabic and 40% is Arabic Berber.

50% of the foreigners in Morocco (approximately 60.000) are French. Furthermore there are living Spanish and Algerians. The Berbers, from which still 36% can be called Berber in a cultural way, live mostly in the areas of the high Atlas and the Mid Atlas. Under the Berbers we will also find Nomads, who live in tents and travel with the seasons. This population lives in the Northwest Sahara.

The official written language of Morocco is Arabic. The spoken language is in lots of ways the Moroccan Arabic, which is spoken through 60% of the population.

30 till 40 Percent of the population speaks Berber. French is the second language and is still very popular in the public life of Morocco. Lots of Moroccan people also speak some Spanish and English.

State religion in Morocco is the Islam; 99% of the population are Muslim. Most French, Spanish and Italian are Christian.

Morocco has always been, and still is, a monarchy. King Mohammed VI mounted the throne at the 23rd of July 1999 and became the 18th king within the Alawite dynasty. This is the dynasty that reigned Morocco since 1666.

Mohammed VI is known as a modern king who wants to modernise Morocco and defends the poor. He also modernised the Mudawana, the Islamite family right, to give the women in Morocco more rights.

Salam – hi

Bislama – goodbye

Sbah lkhir – good morning

Masao alkhyir - good afternoon

Layla saida - good evening

Layla saida – goodnight

Shokran – thank you

Shokran bisef – thank you a lot

La shokran a la wajib – you’re welcome

Bisaha – cheers

Sidi – mister

Lala – miss

Zuin – how nice!

Kahoia hlib – coffee with milk

Birra – beer

Roje – wine

Lmaa – water