THE MOROCCO STREETS EDITIONSOrganic T-shirt / Organic blend hoodie

MOROCCO STREETS / MOROCCO · المغرب

Morocco: the places and traditions behind the designs

Every Morocco Streets illustration starts from something real: a surf point, a mountain road, a teapot, a rug. These pages explain them — where they are, how they are made or used — and show the design each one became.

Places

Unbreakable Habit — BREAKABLE. UNBREAKABLE HABIT.

Place · Atlantic coast

Taghazout: Morocco’s surf village

Where Taghazout is, its main surf points from Anchor Point to Killer Point, the best season for waves and how to fit into village life.

Knock Before You Drop In — KNOCK BEFORE YOU DROP IN.

Place · Atlantic coast

Banana Point and Aourir

Banana Point is a gentle right-hand point break at Aourir, north of Agadir, named after the banana plantations in the valley. What to know before you paddle out.

Bass Before Business — BASS BEFORE BUSINESS.

Place · Atlantic coast

Essaouira: wind, ramparts and Gnawa music

Essaouira’s 18th-century medina, the trade winds that bring windsurfers and kitesurfers, and the Gnawa music celebrated at its June festival.

Not House Trained — NOT HOUSE TRAINED.

Place · far south

Dakhla: the lagoon and the wind

Why Dakhla’s lagoon is one of the world’s best-known kitesurfing spots: flat water, steady trade winds, and what else to see on the peninsula.

Attached to Bad Ideas — ATTACHED TO BAD IDEAS.

Place · mountains

The High Atlas: Toubkal, mountain roads and Amazigh silver

Jbel Toubkal, the passes over the High Atlas, life in Amazigh mountain villages, and the triangular silver fibula behind the Attached to Bad Ideas design.

Room Service Is a Mirage — ROOM SERVICE IS A MIRAGE.

Place · desert

Merzouga and the dunes of Erg Chebbi

Erg Chebbi’s 150 m dunes, how to reach Merzouga, nights in a desert camp, and the tagine behind the Room Service Is a Mirage design.

Traditions

On Hold. On Purpose. — ON HOLD. ON PURPOSE.

Tradition · tea

Moroccan mint tea and the berrad

What goes into Moroccan mint tea, how it is brewed and poured from a height, the berrad teapot, and the history of tea in Morocco.

Nine Lives. One Way. — NINE LIVES. ONE WAY.

Tradition · weaving

Moroccan rugs: pile, flatweave and rag

The main families of Moroccan rugs — Beni Ourain and Azilal pile rugs, flatweaves and boucherouite rag rugs — who weaves them and where to see them.

Clap Back — CLAP BACK. PADDLE OUT.

Tradition · music

Gnawa music: the guembri, the qraqeb and the lila

Where Gnawa music comes from, the guembri and qraqeb that drive it, the all-night lila ceremony, and the Essaouira festival that took it worldwide.

Rub It Out — RETURN DATE? RUB IT OUT.

Tradition · bathing

The Moroccan hammam: steam, black soap and the kessa

How a Moroccan hammam works, from the hot rooms to black soap, the kessa glove and ghassoul clay, and how to visit a public bath.

After Dark — AFTER DARK. BEFORE SENSE.

Tradition · metalwork

Moroccan lanterns: light through pierced metal

How Moroccan metalworkers make pierced brass and copper lanterns, why the patterns matter once the light is on, and where to see the workshops.

Questionable Plans — PACKED FOR QUESTIONABLE PLANS.

Tradition · the sea

Moroccan sardines: from the Atlantic to the tin

Why Morocco leads the world in canned sardines, the ports that land them, and how sardines are eaten along the coast.

No Deadlines — I SEE NO DEADLINES.

Tradition · woodwork

Moucharabieh: carved wooden screens and the art of seeing

What a moucharabieh is, how wooden lattice screens bring shade, air and privacy, and where to see Moroccan woodwork.

GPS Said No — GPS SAID NO. WE WENT.

Tradition · science

The astrolabe: Moroccan instruments for reading the sky

What an astrolabe is, how Moroccan timekeepers used astronomy to set prayer times, and where historic Moroccan astrolabes survive.

Emotional Baggage — EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE FLIES FREE.

Tradition · leather

The tanneries of Fes and Moroccan leather

How hides are tanned and dyed in the stone vats of Fes, what Moroccan leather becomes — babouches, bags, poufs — and how to visit the tanneries.

Fez First — FEZ FIRST. QUESTIONS LATER.

Tradition · dress

The fez: the red hat named after a Moroccan city

Where the fez hat comes from, why it is linked to the city of Fes, how it spread through the Ottoman world, and when it is worn in Morocco today.

Dress Code: Disappear — DRESS CODE: DISAPPEAR.

Tradition · dress

The djellaba: Morocco’s hooded robe

What a djellaba is, what its pointed hood is for, the fabrics for summer and winter, and how men and women wear it today.

Slow Travel — SLOW TRAVEL. FAST EXCUSES.

Tradition · basketry

Doum palm weaving: baskets, mats and panniers

The dwarf fan palm called doum, the baskets, mats and panniers woven from its leaves, and why doum baskets came back after Morocco’s plastic bag ban.