Tangier Warnings Or Dangers

Morrocco and tangier especially is a massive al-qaueda recruitng ground and we wre told this by several locals. You need to watch your back, especially if you choose to stay where we did, up in the slums. Respect the muslim culture and try and keep your views to yourself, any excuse possible will be used against you. Unfortunately the tangier people are not very hospitable to brits especially. We were having a beer on the beach and a muslim women went beserk at us, spitting at and cursing us! Let them get on with it, you'll be back in Spain or down in senegal with a brew soon enough!

If you are driving in Morocco - The highway patrol have recently gotten radar speed detectors, and they are very keen on using them. An officer will merely walk out into the road in front of you in order to stop you.
My experience consisted of being pulled over before we were 20 minutes out of Tangier. The officer was very polite, but informed us that our infraction would cost us 400 deerhams. We were issued a ticket after payment, and as we drove away, I looked at it and noticed that the price of the ticket was printed in old letters at the top - 100 Deerham! The police tried to take us for and extra 150 deerham each!
PHOTO OF ACTUAL TICKET COMING SOON.

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At Least Do This: First of all, be very polite and courteous. It helps to give the impression that you do not have much money, even if you do..... I spent a good deal of time rummaging in my purse. When the officer asked our professions, we told him that we were students. He finally relented and reduced out fee to 200 deerhams....However, this was still a 100 percent markup on the actual ticket price!!!!
Make sure that the officer knows that you are a tourist (Yes, in many cases this is obvious, but reinforcement does not hurt. Morocco is trying very hard to grow its tourism industry at present.)
Alternative: Well, one can take the bus or train, but really there is no other alternative if you go by car. We were pulled over a total of 6 times during our drive from Tangiers to Essouira and back, and only two of those times involved even a minor speeding issue; the other stops were just to get information about us. Remember - just be very polite and respectful. Fear and anger do nothing but encourange any phony or excessive ticketing that the patrol may be inclined to inflict upon you.

PHOTO OF ACTUAL TICKET COMING SOON.
if you are interested in reading some blog posting on my moroccan experience, they can be found at:

http://blog.myspace.com/31400230

After we left the camel area, we were brought to and let out at the Kasbah, back in the city. As we wound our way through the narrow streets we were hounded by numerous vendors trying to sell us things. Some were quite rude and honestly I was a little intimidated by it all. I was relieved when I saw the bus waiting for us at the end of the street.

No worries about Mobil phones, there is plenty or areal around, the international code is +212 and to phone outside Morocco put the 00 plus the country code. Prices are more expensive than in Europe

If you plan to get something at the duty free, check that they do not try to tease you with the prices, we wanted to buy some tobacco at the ferry and they tried to charge us more, even if it was written on board! You can take up to 200 cigarettes per person (more than 18 years old)

As in many countries in Africa be careful with what you eat or drink to avoid stomach problems, I try to buy always bottled water and avoid raw food like salads, I also try only go to places that I had been recommended by friends.

From previous tip......

No way mate, I said, just take us back to the port area please and we'll be off. So we went back in to the labyrinth like medina, which actually looked really interesting and well worth exploring. We saw a Berber market and some interesting shops and quiet streets. I kept checking with our guide that he was taking us back to the port but we actually ended up outside a local shop selling herbs/spices etc.

He said we should go in and have a look but I was having none of this so on we went. Back near the port we finally got rid of him. But not before he had demanded 50 Euro for showing us around. That's 50 Euro for about an hour's work, despite us not even wanting a guide. I offered 5 Euro hoping to get rid of him. He got very angry at this point and started saying he had a family to support that and he should be paid for showing us around in the rain.

We were still in an area that I didn't recognise so I didn't want to cause too much of a scene in case any of his mates jumped in but there was no way I was paying that much. Eventually we gave him 10 Euro and walked off. He actually looked quite pleased as we were leaving so I guess we were quite badly ripped off.

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Watch out for anyone who approaches you and offers to show you around. You'll only end up getting ripped-off, as we did.

After escaping the port area without too much hassle we were feeling more confident about seeing Tangier. Outside the port we stopped to look at our map to try and find our way to the centre of town. Bad decision!

One of the locals approached us and asked where were we going and did we need any help. I really should have said no but I asked could he tell us the way to the medina. He then said to follow him and he'd show us the way and rather stupidly we followed him. He did seem very nice at the time:(

We soon lost track of where we were as he led us further and further into the backstreets of the medina. Somewhere at the back of my mind I was worried we'd end up being mugged or something similar but by now I had no idea where we were so we had little option but to continue with him.

I had read up on Tangier beforehand so I asked him what sights were nearby. We were very close to the Kasbah museum, so we decided to go in and see it and escape from our guide for a bit. But when we were finished he was of course waiting for us at the gate. By now I realized he was planning to try and stay with us for the day and as we had negotiated nothing with him I tried to end it then. We were leaving for Fes an hour later anyway, though our guide was by now recommending all the different things he could show us in the Medina.