What was your biggest apprehension about traveling alone? Was there any truth to your concerns as a solo traveler? The truth is, most of the people I met in Morocco were warm, friendly, and polite.
Usually, they were curious about why I was alone or in awe of my ethnic background. On the flip side, I also received a lot of verbal harassment from a significantly largely portion of men of all ages and professions. Teenage boys strolling along the boardwalk… middle-aged men squeezing fresh fruit at their juice stand… leather shop owners… and random people in the street consistently screeched, yelled, and call out to me:. Sometimes, while meandering in the Medina alone, I would receive invitations from men to drink tea with them which is a very common gesture in Morocco.
I shared several cups of tea with some really interesting people all men. However, if it seemed like they wanted something in return or my gut was telling me to walk away, I swiftly declined. The most blunt interaction was in the center of the bustling square of Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech, where someone asked if I wanted to have sex with him.
My experience in Morocco appears to indicate some of the similar themes surrounding treatment of women in both Western and non-Western countries. No woman asked me if I wanted to have sex with them. Every single woman that I met, whether they were Moroccan or not, showed complete kindness, respect, and thoughtfulness. What was the best part of your trip? A woman from Rabat who embodied kindness and friendship. During my first sunset alongside the Atlantic Ocean in Rabat, I met a woman heading to the water just like me.
We waded into the spine-shiveringly cold water and stood together in silence… separated by language She spoke Arabic and French, and I spoke English and Spanish … but brought together by this peaceful evening along coast of Northern Africa.
