Morocco Travel Guide 2026

Historical Heritage

Morocco's history is a tapestry woven from Berber, Roman, Arab, Moorish, and French threads spanning 3,000 years. The indigenous Amazigh (Berber) people have inhabited North Africa since at least 10,000 BC, and their culture and language survive powerfully to this day. Carthaginian and Roman settlements along the coast left lasting marks — the ruins of Volubilis near Meknes are among North Africa's best-preserved Roman cities. The Arab conquest of the 7th century brought Islam, which became and remains the cornerstone of Moroccan identity. The Umayyad and then successive Berber dynasties — Almoravids, Almohads, Merinids — built the magnificent medinas, mosques, and madrasas that define Morocco's medieval cities. At its peak in the 13th century, the Almohad Empire controlled Morocco, Spain, and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Fes, founded in 789 AD, became one of the Islamic world's greatest centres of learning — its Qarawiyyin University, founded in 859 AD, is the world's oldest continuously operating university. European powers carved up the Maghreb in the 19th century, and France established a protectorate over Morocco in 1912. Independence came in 1956 under King Mohammed V. Morocco today is a constitutional monarchy, the only African country with coastline on both the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and a remarkable blend of sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab world, and Europe.