Morocco 16.08.2014 - 26.08.2014

لمغرب (Morocco): more than mint tea, couscous and camels! During our stay in Morocco we will travel from the north (Tangier) to the south (Marrakech) to be able to see the regional diversity of the country under the aspects of culture, society, politics, economy and history.

What we would like to show you is a combined - foreign and local - view of Morocco by approaching in the course of the trip questions and aspects that people from the outside might ask themselves about Morocco as well as aspects that really matter to locals.

Which are those foreign and local aspects? A topic often discussed in western media some time ago was the range of upheavals of diverse political regimes in northern African and Middle Eastern countries occurring in the framework of what was summed up as “Arab spring”. Why has there not been any upheaval like those of the “Arab spring” in Morocco and where does Morocco’s political stability come from? How is the situation of women and what is the role of the Muslim religion in Moroccan society? In order to bring you one step closer to an answer, we are going to talk to a politician and a professor of political science about the first issue, to a local NGO for woman’s rights and to a professor of Islamic science. But to what extent do Moroccans pay attention to those issues? Why not asking them personally? We are going to tackle the questions of economic and social development by visiting economically strategic places like the port of Tangier and the bourse of Casablanca and talk to people involved with it. Since the controversial territorial issue of Sahara and the role of the neighboring country Algeria is an omnipresent topic in the Moroccan media, we are going to meet a diplomat in Morocco’s capital Rabat who is in charge of the diplomatic relations to Algeria.

We will be going beyond the immediate connotations one might have when one is hearing “Morocco”. By organizing this trip we would like to share with the participants a view of this country that is as multifaceted as possible and that goes beyond a merely touristic view of it. This is important to us because we believe that getting to know a country from the inside offers an opportunity to broaden the understanding of certain social, cultural or political phenomena and to demystify them. This, together with sharing cultural experiences and simply having a good time together is the objective of this trip to Morocco.

Goals of our trip

• Find answers to questions you might have asked yourself about Morocco
• Get the inside view of Morocco by approaching questions that currently matter to the country
• Visit places that really shape locals’ lives (strategic, economic and cultural places)
• Taste the great Moroccan cuisine
• Gain an insight into the authentic Moroccan way of life by spending 3 nights in host families