If we had all the words in the world to describe our trip to Morocco with Morocco Tours, the luxury division of Experience It! Tours, there wouldn’t be enough—but two words explain why it was so wonderful—Namir Mohammed—our driver. From the moment we landed to the moment we departed there was not a second that was not filled with laughter, Namir’s brilliant advice, stories, amazing food, and unusual experiences. From politics, to history, gender roles, geography, architecture, customs and religion Namir helped us truly understand the Moroccan culture. Our family has been very fortunate to travel to many unique places but our time with Namir and your company left an indelible mark.
Namir’s knowledge of his country together with his high spirit, and fun loving attitude made every day of our trip remarkable and fun. But, for New York foodies like us, his love of good food was a real highlight! For every lunch and dinner that was not pre-planned, Namir found the freshest regional delight for us to try. From our first day eating shawarma in Casablanca (Yes, it’s Syrian, but still delicious and a perfect post flight snack!), to eating fresh baked tagine with throngs of Moroccan families in an open air market outside of Rabat, to couscous and harira (Moroccan soup) in a hidden blue restaurant in Chefchaouen to grilled turkey, beef and chicken sandwiches on the road to Pastilla in Fes, every meal was delicious! Most notable was the day we stopped in a tiny town in the desert and Namir showed us the market place stopping at various stands to gather ingredients to take to a local restaurant to cook for lunch! – Best Kefta Tagine al la Namir ever! Watching Namir’s friend make special Berber Pizza for us in Erfoud was a special treat as was his arranging for an Aubergine Tagine one night because he knew how much we loved eggplant!
Namir also guided us to remarkable artisans enabling us to buy beautiful lamps, rugs, art, pottery and jewelry directly from the people who created them! But his finest moment came on one of our final days, when through dogged perseverance, he got permission for us (two lawyers and a journalist) to visit a court house in Marrakesh! Not only did we get to observe an actual court proceeding (offering us a unique look into Moroccan culture) but we were invited to meet with the court’s Administrative Judge and to ask questions. It was a day we will never forget! We will also never forget Namir—who became like a part of our family—and is depicted in one of our favorite photos of the trip wearing his Dejlaba and sheparding us through the dark back to our beautiful Riyadh (guesthouse) in Marrakesh.
Chelsea, Gary & Andrea (USA), February 2013