Marocko

As you travel along the N10 east of Taroudant, you will see frizzy argan trees, beloved of local goats and international chefs, growing near the road.

Only returned to Morocco by the Spanish in 1969, Sidi Ifni retains an atmospheric Iberian flair, and the faded art-deco buildings are a haunting reminder of colonial ambitions. At the heart of what was the Spanish Sahara, Ifni was once a base for trafficking of enslaved people and later a large exporter of fish to the Spanish mainland. 

In its heyday, Fez attracted scholars and philosophers, mathematicians and lawyers, astronomers and theologians. Craftsmen built them houses and palaces, kings endowed mosques and medersas (religious schools), and merchants offered exotic wares from the silk roads and sub-Saharan trade routes. Although Fez lost its influence at the beginning of the 19th century, it remains a supremely self-confident city whose cultural and spiritual lineage beguiles visitors. Something of the medieval remains in the world’s largest car-free urban area: donkeys cart goods down the warren of alleyways, and while there are still ruinous pockets, government efforts to restore the city are showing results.

Pittoreska berberbyar, bräkande getter, frodiga dalgångar och Nordafrikas högsta bergstoppar. Marcus Westberg gav sig ut på en strapatsrik – och stundtals smärtsam – vandring genom Atlasbergen.

The Souss Valley, where goats climb argan trees beneath the sun-baked Anti Atlas, draws a line across Morocco. South of this fertile valley, the pace of life in mountain villages and Saharan gateways is seductively slow.

The laid-back fishing village of Taghazout, once famous for calamari and hippies, is now considered Morocco’s premier surfing destination for both pros and learners.

Guarding the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier has for centuries been Europes's gateway to Africa. Its blend of cultures and influences is unique in Morocco – for much of its history it wasn't even governed by Morocco.