Imagne starting a new year by camping near the Sahara desert, while looking at the mountains and eating fresh dates. Oh, and visiting an abandoned town entirely made with sand! This sums up my experience in Agdz, a city 6 hours by bus east of Marrakech. Do you want to know more? Check out the factbook!

FACTBOOK

WHAT IS AGDZ?

Agdz is a town of 10000 inhabitants located in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, a Northern African country bordered by Spain, Algeria and Mauritania. Agdz is located on the caravan route between Marrakec and Timbuktu, so it has a charming history. Many famous actors, including Jackie Chan, have been in this town due to its proximity to Ouarzazate, home to one of the most famous cinema studios worldwide.

HOW CAN YOU REACH AGDZ

By road, I took a bus from Marrakech to Ouarzazate along a spectacular mountainous road. In Ouarzazate, I then took another bus to Agdz. The total time for both rides was 6 hours. Morocco has open borders with Mauritania and Spain, whereas the Algerian border is closed due to diplomatic tensions. The ferry from Algeciras (Spain) to Tangier (Morocco) can be hitchhiked for free if you come with a truck.

By airplane, the nearest airport is Marrakech, even though Ouarzazate has some flights to Paris and Charleroi. If you're coming from outside Europe, Casablanca is your best choice.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT AGDZ

There is a hotel where you can pitch a tent. Be warned as even my local Moroccan friends were scammed by the owners, even though everything ended well. The abandoned town can be reached with the help of a local, who out of his own will approached me and my friends. Be careful as some buildings are collapsing and there is no whatsoever security guarding the place. The locals also make homemade liquor out of dates, something that must be tried. Jewish people, contrarily to the perception of Muslim countries, are welcome. I can say this because 1) a Jewish family has a house in the abandoned town and 2) one of the local handicraft stores sold a Star of David. Nomadic people inhabit this town, if you are into meeting different cultures.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MOROCCO

Everyone speaks Arabic, most people speak French, the Berbers speak Tamazight, a language with its own alphabet. Morocco is a Sunni Muslim country but other religions are welcome. My Moroccan host, upon seeing a church in Casablanca, wanted to take me inside. The electricity plugs are identical to the European ones and the timezone is GMT. The local currency is the dirham. 1 EUR = 11 dirham and 1 USD = 10 dirham. Make sure you make local friends if you come to Morocco, as you will get to experience the country outside the mass tourism destinations and you will be a lot less hassled. Physical violence is very rare, due to the harsh prison times given to those who harm tourists, but fake guides and aggressive haggling are common.

There are trains, a vast bus network and highways taking you all around the country. The local dish is tajine, something that you will encounter at every roadside restaurant. Alcohol is not common, but mint tea is ubiquitous and delicious. Moroccans are some of the friendliest people in the world and spontaneous hospitality is very common. I stayed with my host and his family for an entire week! Nonetheless, even though it's a pretty liberal country (people work on Fridays and days off are Saturday and Sunday), avoid insulting Islam and the local king, who is very well respected inside the country.

Did you like this post? Then upvote it, follow me and resteem it! A big thank you to @adil for teaching me how to do markdowns.