Practical life on-site Morocco

 

Jet lag

Morocco now lives all year round at the same time. No difference with France in winter. On the other hand, in summer, the shift is 1 hour: it is 11 a.m. in Morocco when it is 12 p.m. in France. And during Ramadan (from April 12 to May 13 in 2021), the country still shifts by 1 additional hour (it is, therefore, during this month, 2 hours earlier than with us). As soon as Ramadan ends, we return to normal time.

Electricity

Morocco is equipped with 220 V with European standard plugs. No adapter is required.

In some rural areas, on the other hand, remote villages (particularly in certain Atlas valleys) are supplied by collective generators managed by the community of villagers. There may be risks of overvoltage for your electrical devices, mainly when you put them on charge.

Also, remember that you will have to wait for the night to do it when the groups operate.

read this article for more info

Schedule

- Exchange offices: in principle, they are open every day (except sometimes on Sunday afternoons) and their opening hours are very long.

- Banks: they are open Monday to Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. (9:15 a.m. to 2 or 2:30 p.m. during Ramadan), with sometimes a break during Friday prayers.

- Shops: the stalls of the Medinas open in the middle of the morning, and you can do your shopping there until odd hours. On Fridays, they remain closed or open in the morning, then at the end of the afternoon. The other stores do not have fixed hours, but they also close either on Friday or Saturday and always on Sunday.

In tourist centers, shops catering to tourists are open every day and close late in the evening. Department stores follow a schedule equivalent to that of France.

- The main post offices are open from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4.15 p.m. (reduced service on Fridays during the great prayer); from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during Ramadan, and sometimes on Saturdays (8 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

Languages

- Arabic: a distinction is made between classical Arabic, the language of the Koran (literary), the language of education, administration, and the media, and dialectal Arabic, a spoken language that varies according to the regions and according to social classes. Dialectal Moroccan Arabic takes many modern nouns or common expressions directly from French.

- Amazigh (or Berber): practiced in many regions of Morocco, Berber, like Arabic, is a language of the Hamito-Semitic family (Hebrew belongs to the same group). For the Berbers, Arabic is a foreign language.

- French: in many companies employing university-level staff, French is the daily working language, including among Moroccans. The majority of Moroccans who attended school speak our language. For others, French is taught as a foreign language. In remote areas, especially as you go south, French is far from always being spoken.

- Spanish: another vestige of colonization. The language is spoken mainly in the North.

Practical information

• Allow 1 week for a postcard to arrive safely.

• Chick-yellow mailboxes are plentiful.

• Telephone:

- From France, Belgium, or Switzerland to Morocco: 00 + 212 (country code) + 9-digit call number (from the new numbering) without the initial 0.

- From Morocco to France: 00 + 33 + 9-digit correspondent number (without the initial 0).

- From Morocco to Belgium: 00 + 32 + 8-digit correspondent number (without the initial 0).

- From Morocco to Switzerland: 00 + 41 + correspondent's number with 8 or 9 digits (without the initial 0).

- From Morocco to Canada: 00 (tone) + 1 + city code + correspondent's number (without the initial 0).

Numbering in Morocco

Telephone numbers have 10 digits and are presented in the same way as French numbers. Confusion is even easier with mobile numbers, which in both countries begin with "06". It gets complicated when some owners in Morocco give contact details... in France.

For all the others (the vast majority), the country code “212” is to be dialed, of course, only if you are calling from abroad, followed by the mobile number starting with (0)6. Remember that the "0" is to be dialed when you are already in the country, but is deleted from abroad.

If the numbers do not work, do not hesitate to contact Moroccan telephone information on-site (tel: 160). They are effective. In France, for the Orange international information service, for example, you must dial 118-700.

Public telephones

- As everywhere, there are almost no more telephone booths.

- Otherwise, Maroc Telecom still maintains a network of a phone booth (blue sign, open every day), with booths with coins or cards. For those who don't have a laptop.

Mobile phone in Morocco

You can use your own mobile phone in Morocco with the “International” option.

- “Roaming” or roaming: it is a system of international agreements between operators. Concretely, this means that when you arrive in a country, the new local network is displayed automatically. You will quickly receive an SMS from your operator offering a more or less advantageous travel package, including a limited package for telephone consumption and internet connection. It's still quite expensive.

- Buy a SIM/chip card locally: if you plan to make local calls (to landlines or mobiles), this is the preferred option. All you have to do is buy a prepaid local SIM card on arrival (about 50 DH with a small credit) from one of the 3 Moroccan operators (Maroc Telecom, Orange, and INWI). There are dealers everywhere.

You are assigned a local phone number. Before signing the contract and paying, however, try the seller's SIM card in your phone - previously unlocked - to check if it is compatible.

Then, buy communication credit (from 10 or 20 DH) in any telestore.

Very attractive international packages are also available.

Internet connection in Morocco

- Connecting to Wi-Fi abroad is the only way to access the web for free if your plan does not include calls in the country.

The wisest is to disable the "data roaming" connection (in "Cellular network"). You can also put the laptop in “Airplane” mode and then activate the Wi-Fi. Please note that the "Airplane" mode prevents you from receiving calls and messages.

Almost all hotels and more and more restaurants have a network, free for customers.

- Once connected to Wi-Fi, you have access to all Internet telephony services, from free applications: WhatsApp, Messenger (Facebook messaging), Viber, and Skype. Calls, messages, sending photos, and videos are then free. These apps automatically detect people in your contact list who are using the same app.

Internet

Beware of piracy! Public Wi-Fi has become real sieves! It is very easy, even for a beginner, to break into a network.

The only truly reliable solution is to only visit “certified” sites. They start with "HTTPS://" and often display a small padlock next to the address. In this case, your transmissions are encrypted and therefore secure. The most sensitive and popular sites, such as banks, all have a certified connection.

Finally, if you use a self-service computer, avoid, as much as possible, entering your password or any sensitive information!

Avoid using a self-service computer. A huge number of these workstations are infected with "keyloggers", which can transmit your data to a malicious recipient. And if you do, remember to log out and not click on the “save my password” option.