Hassle or not

I bid five camels for alifbaa...do I hear six?

After how much I heard about harassment in Morocco it had made me really apprehensive. I was imagining evil men around every corner just waiting to pounce on me, call me names & try to grab my arse/boobs - seriously that is what I had been told!

I was soooo relived when I found that it was nothing like that at all. At times some men 'hissed' at me (which I'm told is the same as wolfwistling) but that was it. However that happens everywhere - it's nothing specific to Morocco imo! I have honestly gotten much much more persistent & oppressive in Sweden.

I don't call it harassment - I call what they do hassle at times. Sure imo anyone that speak to you want money from you but though you buying it. I honestly found it fun, great fun to be precise. They salesmen have come up with clever ways to try to encourage you to look at their shop or food stall. I enjoyed it very much.

However I dressed modesty. I saw many women that didn't care one bit about the dresscode - some looked like real sluts. They would get grief in England - so it wouldn't surprise me if they got some in Morocco. No doubt they are the ones that came home & complained/whined and gave me such a wrong impression...

I should have said I was in Morocco in the early 90s, and from everything I've been reading on this board, it has indeed changed a lot, as Kurzschluss says. I've changed a lot too. Back then I was a wide-eyed girl just out of college and on my first trip abroad...

Kind of glad I went when I did. Made for some great stories, which is what it's all about!

Ria, hissing is just a way of getting your attention. I don't think it's anything like a wolf whistle. A guy on a bike in Marrakech hissed at me - just before he hit the kerb to avoid me.

nusnus, I think he WANTED you!

We hold these truths self-evident.

Speaking from the perspective of a modestly dressed young married couple walking around hand in hand, Morocco (only Marrakech thus far) has been better than we expected as far as hassling. A number of areas in Asia were far worse as far as the trying to sell you something type of hassling, and Syria was the worse by a long shot as far as the sexual harrasment. Never been to India, so cant compare to there.

The thing that stands out about Morocco is that a number of sellers/touts are very confrontational and call out profanity and insults at you if even just politely shake your head no regarding whatever they are touting (I think someone alluded to this somewhat earlier in this thread). Okay, only minority do it, but it is enough to stand out and leave a bad impression:

I've been in Algerie before going to live to Morocco and I prefer the first country much more.

Adapting to Morocco and cities like Marrakech and Fes was quite hard for me as I was used to a free-of-tourists country.

Nowadays I can mention some of the cities and regions of Morocco where you find less hassle:

Al Hoceima
Larache
Safi
Rabat (except in Oudayas)
Casablanca (except in the Habbous and Medina)
Essaouira
Taza
Oujda
El Jadida (except in the main street of the portuguese city)

And I can mention the worst ones too:

Fes
Marrakech
Chefchaouen
Tetuan
Tanger
Rissani and Merzouga area
Zagora and M'hamid area

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>The thing that stands out about Morocco is that a number of sellers/touts are very confrontational and call out profanity and insults at you if even just politely shake your head <hr></blockquote> I didn't experience that once in Morocco, not even close.

We told them no over and over & we just had a laugh with them - never did someone shout at us...

I met some of these types in Fes, very ugly, at the train station.