23 Everyday Facts about Morocco That Might Surprise You

Last Updated on May 6, 2025

Morocco is full of contrasts—ancient traditions meet modern quirks, and things that seem totally normal to locals can feel downright surprising to outsiders. After living here for over a decade, I’ve gotten used to a lot of things that once felt strange: people walking in pyjamas, taxi drivers picking up random passengers, or couscous being a Friday ritual.

Whether you’re planning a trip, moving here, or just curious about Moroccan life beyond the guidebooks, here are 23 everyday facts that might surprise you—and that you’ll eventually learn to love (or at least accept!).

1. Taxi drivers often pick up other passengers—even when you’re already in the car; he puts different meter for each passenger (if you are lucky);
2. No seat belts required in taxis (even in front)
3. It’s normal to walk in pyjama and home shoes in the city, or to the stores (especialy in Marakech).
4. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter mosques in Morocco, exception the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.
5. In Morocco, Medina (old town) is a place for low-income locals to live, and most of the houses are converted to hotels (riads). If you want to see where locals live, get out to the new town.
6. For scooters, helmets are only obligatory for a driver
7. Desert is always fruits (or some cokies, but rarely you will get a cake);
8. Many streets in Morocco has guards, helping people to park their cars and guarding them (for money, of course);
9. The call to prayer (adhan) happens five times daily, starting before sunrise. If you stay in a riad, close to the mosque, expect to be waken up early.
10. Raw Meat Displays at the Butcher – often no fridge, hangs on a hook, but somehow stays fresh.
11. Friday is a big prayer day, and a day to eat fresh couscous for lunch (you can order couscous other days too, but locals would never do it);
12. People eat dinner late, around 8/9pm (like in Spain, France).
13. Locals love walking in the street, not on the pedestrian path – somehow you adapt that fast.
14. Get ready to drink tea everywhere and with loads of sugar.
15. Locals often eat with hands (tagines, barbeque, omlettes) and using loads of bread as imaginery fork. In local villages I often need to ask for a fork with my dish.
16. Don’t ask for a latte or cappuccino in local cafes—ask for “nous-nous”, which means half milk/half coffee.
17. In many local places, toilets are the squat-style kind—and don’t expect toilet paper! Instead, you’ll find a bucket and tap for washing up… you can guess the rest.
18. Locals don’t like when you take pictures of them – hide your camera or ask permission.
19. If you are a tourist walking with a Moroccan friend in the Medina, you can get him into trouble – the police may arrest him as a fake guide (even if he is just your friend).
20. Yesss, you can buy alcohol, and in many places. But only allowed to consume it inside bars, restaurants, not outside terraces.
21. You can buy only 1 cigarette from a street vendor (paradise for those who only smoke a few cigarettes occasionally).
22. It’s not allowed to stay in hotels or rent an apartament if one of the couple is Moroccan, an not married.
23. Casablanca movie was not filmed in Casablanca (not even a small part)