severe, and include up to 10 years’ imprisonment, with no remission for good behaviour, heavy
fines and confiscation of your vehicle or vessel. Acquittals in drugs cases are rare.
Help and advice If you get into trouble, your first call should be to your embassy or consulate;
remember that it’s not unknown for local police to be in on scams. The London-based Fair
Trials International (FTI; 4420-7762 6400; www.fairtrials.net) provides legal assistance and
advocacy to individuals facing criminal charges in a foreign country.
Police If you get arrested by the Moroccan police, you won’t have much of a legal leg to stand
on. It’s unlikely that any interpreter on hand will be of sufficient standard to translate an
accurate statement that will, nonetheless, play a vital part in subsequent judicial proceedings.
According to some human-rights groups, physical abuse while in custody is not unknown.
Maps
Few decent maps of Morocco are available in the country itself, so get one before leaving
home.
For advice on tracking down maps for trekking and general use, Click here . Recommended:
» » Michelin’s No 742 (formerly No 959) map of Morocco is arguably the best.
The 1:4,000,000 scale map of the whole country includes the disputed Western Sahara.
Features a 1:1,000,000 enlargement of Morocco.
Features 1:600,000 enlargements of Marrakesh and the High Atlas, Middle Atlas and Fez
areas.
Shows sites of weekly markets, kasbahs and marabouts (holy mausoleums of local saints).
Notes particularly scenic roads.
Available in major Moroccan cities.
» » The GeoCenter World Map Morocco is preferred by many and has similar, often clearer,
detail.
Shows Morocco at a handy 1:800,000 scale (and the Western Sahara at 1:2,500,000).
Occasionally available in Morocco.
Additionally, several maps include Morocco as part of northwestern Africa. An overlanding
classic, Michelin’s No 741 (formerly Nos 953 and 153) map covers all of west Africa and most
of the Sahara. It has a scale of 1:4,000,000.
Soviet survey maps of Morocco, with scales ranging from 1:100,000 to 1:1,000,000, are
available online and at good map shops worldwide. They often have to be ordered and can
take up to six weeks to arrive.
Money
» » The Moroccan currency is the dirham (Dh), which is divided into 100 centimes.
» » You will find notes in denominations of up to Dh200.
» » Coins come in denominations of Dh1, Dh2, Dh5 and Dh10, as well as, less frequently, 10,
20 and 50 centimes.
» » The dirham is a restricted currency, meaning that it cannot be taken out of the country and
is not available abroad.
» » The dirham is fairly stable, with no major fluctuations in exchange rates.
» » Euros, US dollars and British pounds are the most easily exchanged currencies.
» » See Click here for exchange rates and a guide to costs.