The Tradition in Morocco

HammamIn Morocco, where there were few bathrooms in homes until recently, the hammam stood (and still stands) important.In creating the thermal baths, the Romans were the real inventors of the steam room. Muslims adopted the more easily they allowed total ablution, according to the Koran, which gave them a great religious importance.The social significance is equally essential. Formerly, a city considered by the beauty and the magnificence of its steam. In ancient medinas, each neighborhood has its mosque, but also its hammam.The hammam has three baths located in three rooms in a row. It is a place where men and women come to wash and relax to pass the time. But beware, never at the same time unless there are two hammams side by side (one for each sex). When there is a hammam, men in general use in the morning and evening, and the women in the afternoon. The baths close later the eve of holidays.Even today, the hammam is for some women the opportunity to leave, time for a bath, their family circle to meet with friends. Until recently, it was also the hammam that mothers come to judge the qualities of their future daughter-in!ReligionFasting of RamadanMoroccans scrupulously observe Ramadan. Islam is the official religion, they monitor each other and fail in the public rule would be a provocation punishable by law enforcement.Fasting the month of Ramadan is compulsory from puberty, except for women unwell, pregnant or nursing mothers, the sick (which must make up the days broken) and travelers. They must practice on their return.Abstinence extends to all liquid and solid foods, smoke, perfumes and any sexual act. We must remain pure even morally.The fast lasts from dawn until sunset, specifically as one can distinguish a black thread from a white thread. In the evening, there is a rather unusual sight: people seated before their meal, waiting for the signal for the end of fasting.Life is transformed and everything runs in slow motion. From a purely tourism perspective, the period of Ramadan is not ideal: many hotels and numerous cafes and restaurants are closed, and those who are not raising their prices.Due to the lunar mobility, Ramadan falls every year about 11 days earlier. In 2014, it will begin around June 29 These dates, theoretical, are validated on the day after watching the moon. Ramadan lasts for 29 or 30 days, which must be added the 3 or 4 holidays of Eid es-Seghir, the "party" (also known as Eid, the feast of breaking the fast), which conclude the fasting period. The country is strongly paralyzed. Nothing works.The zaouïasThere is another form of popular devotion that could, by caricaturing some call Islam campaigns as opposed to the official Islam of the cities. Many localities are called a marabout (saint) Local preceded by the word "Zaouia" which refers to the sanctuary where he is buried. Often around this sanctuary has created a foundation or a brotherhood. Once a year, a pilgrimage is an opportunity for the population to assert its religious fervor.The maraboutsA marabout is a wise and respected Muslim who is the subject of a cult, equivalent of a saint. This word also refers to his tomb. For many Muslim women, this tomb is a privileged place where they find them. In case of difficulty, uneducated woman prefers to address the marabout. Prayer is most often making a loud voice, he creates between women present an empathy with therapeutic virtues all share the experience of suffering.Manners and customsWhat to do- If shoes before entering a room when you see registered shoes near the door.- If you are invited into a family in the countryside, feel free to answer any questions that you ask and who sometimes will seem intrusive.- Extend the tea break by accepting several glasses, even if we no longer thirsty.- If we photographed her Moroccan friends, do not forget to send snapshots to return. This is true everywhere, but even more in Morocco.- Considering the fact that all the young men who walk hand in hand (or rather finger in the hand) is a sign of friendship and not homosexuality.What not to do- To give anything in exchange for the hospitality that we offer. If by chance your host, you suspect of having very few resources, you sum to stay for dinner, accompany prefer the market to make purchases for the preparation of meals (you pay yourself) rather than to give money.- Wear an outfit a little bit bare. Shorts and sleeveless garments are considered indecent in some little tourist areas. Ditto on the beaches (nudism is prohibited). Around pools of the big hotels, do not let you either go to the joys of topless sunbathing. It is a basic rule compliance in respect of Moroccan staff.- Pursuing the tan on the terrace of a riad.- Making public canoodling.- Try to enter a mosque, a qubba, a mausoleum that is not explicitly open to tourists.- Blow your nose loudly in public, especially during a meal.- Belch loudly after a meal, ostensibly to meet an old North African custom. All families do not practice well.- Reject the tea that you are offered.- Criticizing the Moroccan organization (your audience does not rob, but that does not give you much for the right to bid), and especially religion and the monarchy.PolitenessAs can be seen on arrival, Moroccans use much longer polite expressions than ours. They belong to an ancient code of practice still in force. Who does not know the famous Inshallah ("please God"), which is used systematically in a phrase that includes a verb in the future, and sometimes in the middle of a sentence delivered in French? The name of God often also returns to the formulas used.