Morocco Savvy

Good news for car drivers in Morocco. Almost 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of road have been cleared of snow.

Exceptionally heavy snowfalls since last Friday made some roads pretty hard to navigate, particularly in the Atlas and Rif mountains. Although no roads were completely closed, traffic slowed to a crawl along many stretches.

The ministry of Transport announced today that snow crews had cleared most of the roads by this morning. With rising temperatures, most snow should disappear over the next few days.

• Nevertheless, be careful on the road

Is half an inch of rain news?
It is in Morocco.

Al Bayane newspaper publishes a quick list of rainfall on its website this Monday. We learn that over the weekend, Laayoune had 15 milliliters (0.5 inches) of rain, and Ifrane had 17 millimeters on Friday.

For most of us, these aren’t shocking numbers. But in Morocco, they’re news. 

Bear in mind that the Ministry of Religious Affairs appealed to Moroccans only two weeks ago to pray for rain. Performing the ”Salat al Istisqua”, the ministry hoped, would end the dry spell that had gripped Morocco this winter.

It seems to have worked. Rain and even snow followed after thousands of Moroccans prayed in the mosques and in the open air.

Moroccans love rain. It’s good for agriculture, of course, so fruit and vegetable prices won’t go up. But it’s more than that. Water is so scarce in this country that newspapers regularly list the amount of water stored in reservoirs across the country. 

Wasting water is a real no-no. Almost every hotel bathroom has a sign that says, “Water is a source of life, don’t waste it.” And if you want to offend a Moroccan, splash a bucket of water around in a hammam.

Rain even has a spiritual meaning. For many in Morocco, rain is a purifier that cleans the soul and washes away its sins. So the final arrival of half an inch was met with smiles all around. And made for some good news in the papers.

• Find out another way to offend people in a Moroccan hammam

Gale-force winds forced ferry operators to cancel almost all services between Algeciras,  Tarifa and Tangier on Sunday.

Only the 9 AM service from Tangier to Algeciras made it to its destination. After that, strong winds and waves up to six meters forced other ships to return to the port of Tangier. All services were then cancelled.

The bad weather did not affect operations in the port of Tangier, but Algeciras and Tarifa were battered by winds of up to 9 Beaufort.

Right now, the winds in the region have eased to 4 Beaufort. No disruptions of ferry services are expected today.

• Now that the sea has calmed, see where you can catch a ferry