At the crossroads of Africa, Arabia, and Europe, 21st-century Morocco is an exotic land of intriguing culture, mesmerizing landscapes, great shopping, and memorable experiences, and is welcoming Western travelers in record numbers.
Morocco lies in the far northwestern corner of Africa, across the fabled Straits of Gibraltar from Spain, and was once the western frontier of the known world, called el-Maghreb el-Aksa, or “the Far West.” Not including its disputed southern province of the Western Sahara, Morocco is slightly smaller than France or Spain and slightly larger than California, covering an area of 446,500 sq. km (172,395 sq. miles). It’s bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and shares borders with Algeria to the east and southeast and Mauritania to the south. A nation of coastline, fertile plains, mountains, and desert, Morocco is a country of distinct geographical regions that have influenced the culture of its inhabitants for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. These geographical and cultural differences, however, are to be found within a relatively compact area, making this country a pleasurable and rewarding place to explore.