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Lonely Planet's Morocco is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Explore the Marrakesh medina, wander the blue alleyways of Chefchaouen, and chill on a Mediterranean beach; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Morocco and begin your journey now!

Inside Lonely Planet's Morocco Travel Guide:

Lonely Planet's Top Picks - a visually inspiring collection of the destination's best experiences and where to have them

Itineraries help you build the ultimate trip based on your personal needs and interests

Local insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - whether it's history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, politics

Eating and drinking get the most out of your gastronomic experience as we reveal the regional dishes and drinks you have to try

Toolkit - all of the planning tools for solo travellers, LGBTQIA+ travellers, family travellers and accessible travel

Colour maps and images throughout

Language - essential phrases and language tips

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Marrakesh, Central Morocco, Northern Atlantic Coast, Casablanca, Mediterranean Coast and the Rip Mountains, Tangier, Fez, Meknes and the Middle Atlas, Southern Morocco and Western Sahara

ISBN: 9781838691691

Edition: 14th

Publication Date: November 2023

Writers: Lonely Planet

416 pages, 82 maps| Dimensions: 128mm width × 197mm height

Next edition due: November 2025  

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A country of dazzling diversity, Morocco has epic mountains, sweeping deserts and ancient cities, and it greets travelers with warm hospitality and the perfect glass of mint tea.

Best Time to Visit

Best places to visit, leave the planning to a local expert.

Experience the real Morocco. Let a local expert handle the planning for you.

Attractions

Must-see attractions.

Jardin Majorelle

Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé bought Jardin Majorelle in 1980 to preserve the vision of its original owner,…

Djemaa El Fna

Roll up, roll up for the greatest show on earth. Everywhere you look in Djemaa El Fna, Marrakesh’s main square (pronounced "jema" – the "d" is silent),…

Musée Yves Saint Laurent

This captivating museum, opened in 2017, showcases finely selected collections of haute couture clothing and accessories that span 40 years of creative…

Bahia Palace

La Bahia (The Beautiful) is an 8000-sq-metre, floor-to-ceiling extravagance of intricate marquetry, plasterwork and zouak (painted wood), and certainly…

Koutoubia Mosque

Five times a day, one voice rises above the din of Djemaa El Fna as the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer from the Koutoubia Mosque. The mosque's…

Saadian Tombs

Saadian Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour Ed Dahbi was just as extravagant in death as he was in life. After the "golden king" built Badia Palace in the 16th…

Erg Chigaga

Draa Valley

The area's star attraction is the misnamed Erg Chigaga, not a single dune (erg) but an incredible stretch of golden sand sea some 56km southwest of M…

Maison Traditionnelle

Anti Atlas Mountains

The 3-storey granite, palm and argan house, some 400 years old, was inhabited by 20 family members – three generations – until 1982. The owner, Mohammed,…

Top picks from our travel experts

12 of the best things to do in morocco.

A 10-minute walk west from the medina is this beloved sea-facing cafe with what many locals consider Tangier's best view. Opened in 1921, Cafe Hafa mainly…

Main Post Office

One of the iconic neo-Moorish buildings around this square, La Poste is the work of Adrien Laforgue who took his inspiration from the Grand'Poste of…

Place Mohammed V

This perpetually busy square is surrounded by striking public buildings, such as the Wilaya and its clock tower and the Courts of Justice, resplendent…

Tangier American Legation Museum

This museum, in an elegant five-storey mansion, is a must-see: Morocco was the first country to recognise the United States by opening its ports to the…

Hassan II Mosque

This opulent mosque, built at enormous expense, is set on an outcrop jutting over the ocean with a 210m-tall minaret that's a city landmark. It's a…

Kasbah Amridil

One of Morocco’s grandest kasbahs, this 17th-century marvel once appeared on the Dh50 note. Signposted just a few hundred metres from the main road, this…

Planning Tools

Expert guidance to help you plan your trip.

Best Things to Do

Discover the best things to do in Morocco, from mountain to desert, city to coast.

Things to Know

Ready to weave your way through the markets and medinas? Here are 18 tips for what you should know before you go to Morocco.

Transportation

From bustling cities and busy ports to remote mountains and deserts, here's how to get around magnificent Morocco.

Visa Requirements

Find out the visa requirements for visiting Morocco, including whether you can visit the country visa-free and how long tourists are allowed to stay.

Money and Costs

Morocco offers excellent value for travelers of all budgets. Here are our top tips to make your money go further.

Best Road Trips

Morocco's undulating roads and breathtaking scenery provide some incredible road trip opportunities. Here are five of our favorites.

Traveling with Kids

From theme parks to safaris, there are plenty of fun things to do in Morocco with kids.

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Let a local expert craft your dream trip.

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Morocco and beyond

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• Essaouira - Mogador
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Morocco Travel Guidebooks - eBooks

Our website provides information, travel tips and basic Moroccan Arabic lessons, if you are planing to visit Morocco we have selected for you a collection of the best Travel Books for Morocco , All kind of information about Morocco such as the history of the imperial cities, the best places to visit, how using the train or buses and a guide of the best restaurants in Morocco, all this in your pocket and accessible without an internet connection .

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Recommended reviews for morocco travel guidebooks, gardens of marrakesh is a great book.

I have this one, it is a really amazing book with great photographs of Moroccan and Islamic gardens.

Related articles : Travel Tips

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Best Books About Morocco: What to Read Before You Visit Morocco

By: Author Kate O'Malley

Posted on Last updated: May 30, 2021

Home >> Destinations >> Africa >> Morocco Travel Guide >> Best Books About Morocco: What to Read Before You Visit Morocco

Morocco is unique. A country characterised by its geographic diversity and cross-cultural influences. Morocco still epitomises an exotic old-world atmosphere lost to so many destinations.

A place where vibrant souks overwhelm first-time visitors with their chaotic rhythm and the heady aromas of spices and local cuisine. At times with an overpowering intensity.

Here is a collection of books about Morocco that will transport you to this enchanted land. Books that remind us that we can still invoke the sights and smells of a faraway place from the pages of a well-written book.

Whether preparing for or considering a trip to Morocco, these books will help you gain a better understanding of Morocco’s rich history, culture, customs and geography. These books are the essential reading list beyond the guidebooks.

From the dunes of the Sahara to the cosmopolitan cities of Casablanca and Tangier , there is something here to inspire you and give you a deeper understanding of this unique country.

Table of Contents

These are the best books about Morocco.

by Paul Bowles

Travels: Collected Writings, 1950-1993

Acclaimed American novelist Paul Bowles lived in Tangier for 52 years. He has a unique place in writing about Morocco, a country he was passionate about. A great introduction to Paul Bowles is the thrilling anthology of his collected travel writings and essays from 1950-1993, Travels . Spanning more than sixty years, Travels is a collection from Bowles’s early days in Paris to his time in Ceylon, Thailand, Kenya, and his life in Morocco. It contains two works on Tangier: Letter from Tangier and A View from Tangier , which reveal his love of the city.

The acclaimed essays in Travel are insightful, exciting, and evocative. A stunning collection of rarely seen shorter works from one of the great American writers of the twentieth century.

  The Spider’s House

Set in Fez, Morocco, during the country’s 1954 nationalist uprising, The Spider’s House deals with the political upheaval against the French colonialists. This book explores the gap in understanding between cultures with the dilemma of an outsider in an alien society but the knowledge of a local. Showcasing Bowle’s exceptional narrative skill, this is possibly his most delightfully subtle novel. Lavishly descriptive of its setting and uncompromising in its characterisations.

The Spider’s House is described as “dramatic, brutally honest, and shockingly relevant to today’s political situation in the Middle East and elsewhere”.

Other Books About Morocco by Paul Bowles

Let It Come Down

Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue

A House in Fez

by Suzanna Clarke

This book details Suzanna Clarke’s experience of buying a dilapidated Moroccan riad in Fez with her husband in a mission to restore it to its former glory.

A hilariously light-read. Clarke documents her love for the city of Fez, the community and the heart-warming relationships that she and her husband found while navigating the difficulties of renovating a ruined riad in the Fez Medina. “Trust us when we say it’s not as easy as the finished riad looks”.

The Secret Son

by Laila Lalami

The Secret Son is about a poor boy, Youssef, raised by his mother in a one-room house in the slums of Casablanca. With big dreams of living another life in another the world, Youssef discovers his father-whom he’d been led to believe was dead, is not only alive but a very wealthy businessman.

Seemingly eager to give his son a new start, Youssef leaves his mother behind to join the luxurious life of Casablanca’s elite. He revels in a life of luxury until a reversal of fortune sends him back to the streets. Trapped once again by his class and painfully aware of the limitations of his prospects, he becomes susceptible to the ideas of a fringe Islamic group.

For the most accurate descriptions of Morocco, we look to Moroccan authors. In Laila Lalami’s debut novel, The Secret Son looks at the struggle for identity, the need for family and love, and the despair that grips ordinary lives in a world divided by class, politics, and religion.

For More Travel Tips on Morocco

Check Out Our Complete Morocco Packing List

Discover The Best Places to Visit in Morocco

by Edith Wharton

The great American novelist Edith Wharton gives us her colourful and textured travel memoir “In Morroco”. Wharton writes about her time in 1920 travelling through Morocco as the guest of Hubert Lyautey, French Governor General of the Protectorate.

Wharton inspires the reader with a sense of wonder and curiosity that served as the impetus for her travels. Considered a travel writing classic, In Morocco is an extraordinary account of her journey to this exotic Northern African land during World War I. Written with the eye of a documentarian, Wharton explores the culture, history, and beauty of Morocco in an intriguing combination of realism and romantic prose.

Wharton weaves together anthropology with poetry as she writes about the interactions she has in Morocco and with Moroccan culture in all its splendour. “ In Morocco ” is an awe inspiring read full of wanderlust.

Discover More About Travel Through Morocco

What to do in Marrakech (and What to Avoid)

Morocco Road Trip – Marrakech to Fez

Best Things to do in Tangier

Morocco That Was

by Walter Harris

Walter Harris first arrived in Morocco in 1887 as a correspondent for The Times of London. He died in Tangier in 1933 having lived through the tumultuous last years of Morocco’s ruling Sultans and the loss of the country’s independence. First published in 1921, Morocco That Was is a first-hand narrative of that pivotal turning point in Morocco’s history.

Having a reputation for being capable of even befriending his kidnapper, Harris was a friend to at least three of the ruling Sultans. Legend has it, only three Christians had ever visited the walled city of Chefchaouen : one came for an hour disguised as a rabbi, one was poisoned, and the other was Harris.

Morocco That Was is alternately sharp, melodramatic, and extremely funny. Harris’ writing puts unusual humanism and detail to the historical parade of conquests and political manoeuvring that defined Morocco during his years there. These are the vanished days of the unfettered Sultanate in all their dark, melodramatic splendour. A mix of elegance and poverty, culture and barbarism, refined cruelty with naive humour.

A vivid and lively combination of the perceptive and reliable observer, and romantic eccentric, this book remains a travel classic for good reason. Like a good travel companion and friend, Harris takes the reader by the hand and shows us the Morocco he knew. A world, with all its failings, horror and splendour.

The Caliph’s House – A Year in Casablanca

by Tahir Shah

In a similar vein to A House In Fez , English travel writer Tahir Shah shares an entertaining and amusing account of making an exotic dream come true. Equally hilarious and harrowing, this is the story of his family’s move from London to the city of Casablanca. Inspired by the Moroccan vacations of his childhood, Shah documents his family’s move to Casablanca to renovate a crumbling ruin of a mansion by the sea that once belonged to the city’s caliph or spiritual leader.

After signing the contract, Tahir is amazed to learn the house is infested with jinns; invisible evil spirits said to occupy empty spaces. With the home empty for many years, the fervent belief in their presence hampers sleep and renovation plans. From exorcism rituals involving sacrificial goats to dealing with gangster neighbours, the Shahs must cope with a new culture and the remarkable, sometimes bizarre experiences they have in the process. Where Islamic tradition and African folklore converge–nothing is as easy as it seems.

The Caliph’s House is a captivating story charting a year in the life of one family who takes a tremendous gamble allowing us to discover a world of deep contrasts any true adventurer would be thrilled to call home.

The Last Storytellers- Tales from the Heart of Morocco

by Richard Hamilton

The Last Storytellers

Marrakech is the essence and lifeblood of Morocco’s ancient storytelling tradition. Storytellers have gathered in Jemaa el Fna square for nearly a thousand years to recount ancient folktales to rapt audiences. A unique chain of oral tradition previously passed seamlessly from generation to generation. A tradition teetering on the brink of extinction. After many years studying the storytelling tradition on Jemaa el-Fna and witnessing first hand the death throes of this vibrant and captivating tradition, Richard Hamilton recognised a need to preserve this dying art.

Deep in the labyrinth of the Marrakech medina, Hamilton has tracked down the last few remaining storytellers and recorded the stories filled with moral reminders and the mysteries and beauty of the Maghreb. These are the ancient stories told in public in Jemaa el-Fna square, and in the home amongst family members.

Lords of the Atlas

by Gavin Maxwell

A must-read for anyone travelling from Marrakesh to the Sahara Desert , the book documents the extraordinary story of the rise and fall of the Glaoui brothers reign over the red city and the kasbahs to the south.

Warlord brothers, Madani and T’hami, carved out a feudal fiefdom in southern Morocco and Marrakesh from the early 1900’s until 1956. Turncoats of the French colonial administration, they combined the aggression of gangland mobsters with the opulence of hereditary princes ruling with a mix of flamboyance and terror. In 1953, after returning from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, in a display of power, T’hami fiercely ordered the severed heads of his enemies to be mounted on his gates. Only three years later, when the French left Morocco in 1956, the Glaoua regime toppled like a pack of cards. “A classic story of history, intrigue, mystery, and action”.

Leaving Tangier

by Tahar Ben Jelloun

Award-winning, internationally bestselling author Tahar Ben Jelloun tells the story of a Moroccan brother and sister making new lives for themselves in Spain. Leaving Tangier chronicles the challenges of emigration and the hold Morocco has on its countrymen, who can never forget their roots.

Young Moroccans regularly gather at Tangiers seafront cafe’s to gaze at the lights on the Spanish coast glimmering in the distance. Azel is a young man who dreams of crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and is intent upon leaving one way or another.

At the brink of despair, Azel meets Miguel, a wealthy Spanish gallery-owner, who promises to take him to Barcelona if Azel will become his lover. He leaves behind his girlfriend, his mother and his sister, Kenza, and moves with him to Barcelona, where Kenza eventually joins them. What they find there forms the heart of this novel. A story of seduction and betrayal, deception and disillusionment. Azel and Kenza are reminded powerfully not only of where they’ve come from but also of who they really are.

The Sand Child

Also by Tahar Ben Jelloun the first Maghreb winner of the Prix Goncourt award, this 1985 novel is set in colonial Morocco. A story of Mohammed Ahmed, a girl, raised as a boy due to her Moroccan father’s effort to avoid Islam’s inheritance laws regarding female offspring.

Already father to seven daughters, Hajji Ahmed is determined his eighth child will be a male. And so, the infant girl is named Mohammed and raised as a male along with all the privileges granted exclusively to men in traditional Arab-Islamic society. As Ahmed matures, her desire to have children marks the beginning of her sexual unfolding, and as a woman named Zahra, Ahmed begins to explore her true sexual identity.

Tahar Ben Jelloun offers a creative and radical critique of contemporary Arab social customs and Islamic law, a poetic vision of power, colonialism, and gender in North Africa. The Sand Child is celebrated around the world as a courageous and significant work of international fiction.

A Month in Marrakesh: Recipes from the Heart of Morocco

By Andy Harris

A Month In Marrakesh. Recipes From the Heart of Morocco

What better way to get inspired about Morocco and get a feel for the culture and its cuisine than with a great Moroccan cookbook.

A Month in Marrakesh is the go-to cookbook for preparing the most common day to day dishes served in a Moroccan kitchen. Duo Andy Harris and David Loftus teamed up to present a cookbook that demystifies Moroccan cooking with recipes tailored to the home cook.

Part cookbook and part travelogue, A Month in Marrakesh is an evocative account of the colourful and delicious flavours of Morocco. The book covers all aspects of Moroccan cuisine, from breakfasts and snacks to tagines, roasts, and desserts. It offers a deeper understanding of the local cuisine and its flavours. Great reading before visiting the Moroccan spice markets. It also describes how to prepare some of Morocco’s ingredients such as preserved lemons, harissa and hibiscus syrup.

With stunning images by Photographer David Loftus, who has not only captured the food but also its role in daily life in Marrakech.  A Month in Marrakesh showcases the food and culture of Morocco as you’ve never seen before. A lavish and intoxicating mix of ancient and modern. Loaded with useful hints, personal, handwritten vignettes and line drawings that give an intimate feel to Andy’s inspiring recipes.

Best Morocco Guide Books

Fodor’s Essential Morocco

Lonely Planet Morocco

Morocco Rough Guide

Take These Books With You To Morocco

The Best Morocco Travel Books in 2023

Introduction.

Morocco is one of the most mesmerizing countries in the world, and it’s a perfect destination for travelers looking for adventure and culture. As someone who lives here, I love learning about Morocco and its fascinating history. There are several Morocco travel books that I’d highly suggest to anyone planning to move (or visit) the Maghreb.

Keep in mind, with the ubiquity of the internet, travel books are becoming somewhat passe. Everything you need to know about the geography of Morocco is right on your phone’s map app, so old-fashioned guidebooks seem somewhat irrelevant in the modern age. But, if you’re like me and love a paperback, these may be right up your alley. And there is plenty written in books that cannot be found online (in my humble opinion).

If you’re planning a trip to Morocco, check out these awesome Morocco travel books.

(Please note, some of these are affiliate links, and if you buy a book, I may get a small commission at no cost to you.)

Moon Morocco (Travel Guide)

The Moon Morocco (Travel Guide) by Lucas Peters is a great resource for anyone who wants to travel to Morocco. It’s written by an experienced travel writer who has traveled throughout (and lived in) the country, so you can trust that he knows what he’s talking about. He also has a lot of helpful tips and tricks for navigating Morocco

The cool thing is, I actually know the author! Lucas is an exceptionally helpful expat who I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with in various groups, so I highly recommend his book and experience in this beautiful country.

• See Lucas’ website here
• Buy the Moon Morocco guide
• See the Moon Morocco guide on Goodreads

The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah

Okay, this isn’t a guidebook per se, but it is one of my favorite Morocco travel books because it’s such an accurate insight into Moroccan culture and communication, particularly with outsiders.

“The Caliph’s House” is a memoir by Tahir Shah, published in 2005, about his experiences renovating a dilapidated mansion in Casablanca, Morocco. The book is a personal account of Shah’s adventures as he and his family move from London to Morocco and undertake the massive project of restoring the mansion known as Dar Khalifa.

Throughout the book, Shah writes about the challenges and joys of living in a foreign country and tackling a major renovation project. He also delves into the history and culture of Morocco, exploring the country’s diverse and rich traditions.

If you’re interested in memoirs, travel writing, or Moroccan culture, “The Caliph’s House” might be a worthwhile read. I highly recommend it, and it is one of my favorite Morocco travel books.

• Buy the book here
• See it on Goodreads
• Subscribe to the newsletter Friends of Caliph’s House
• See my full review here

Humor and Moroccan Culture

This is another one of those recommendations that seems a little odd because it’s not a bona fide travel guide, but it is a really interesting look at Moroccan culture through the perspective of Moroccan humor and language. Morocco is such a unique study in contrasts: ancient and modernizing, East and West, rural and urban, and this book does a great job of capturing that dichotomy through humor.

Humor and Moroccan Culture is probably the shortest of the Morocco travel books on this list, but it packs a punch. Plus, it’s actually funny! The book is about a foreigner in Morocco attempting to learn the culture through the various common jokes told in Morocco. Humor is often a remarkable insight into a community.

Again, it’s quite short but really good!

Buy the book here!

Check it out on Goodreads

The Rough Guide To Morocco

The Rough Guide to Morocco is a more traditional Morocco travel book than the other ones on this list. It is a comprehensive travel guide to this beautiful North African country. This Morocco travel book covers a wide range of topics, including history, culture, geography, and practical information for travelers.

The guide begins with an overview of Morocco’s history, including its ancient origins and its more recent colonial past. It then delves into the country’s diverse culture, including its rich traditions, art, music, and cuisine. This incredibly useful Morocco travel book also provides detailed information on Morocco’s geography, including its varied landscapes, climate, and top attractions, including its bustling cities, such as Marrakech and Fez, and its beautiful beaches and desert landscapes.

In addition to providing valuable information on how to get around, where to stay, and what to see and do, the guide also includes helpful tips on safety and etiquette in Morocco. The Rough Guide to Morocco is one of our favorite Morocco travel books for detailed and reliable information.

• Buy it here!

Lonely Planet Morocco (13th Edition)

I have the paperback version of the Lonely Planet Morocco guidebook and have been extremely impressed with the level of detail and helpfulness of the information provided. The book is well-organized and easy to navigate, with clear maps and detailed descriptions of all the top sights and attractions in Morocco. Of course, we never use the maps because we have Waze, but I imagine it would be useful if our phones died or something.

One of the things I appreciate most about this guidebook is the cultural information provided throughout. It’s obvious that the authors have a deep understanding and appreciation of Moroccan culture, and they do an excellent job of explaining customs, traditions, and cultural norms to the reader. Plus, the guide is regularly updated (the 13th version is from 2021) so you know that they aren’t going based off information that is no longer accurate. However, many things in Morocco are “off-the-grid” still, so advice should always be taken with a grain of salt as things may change by the time you get here.

The section on practical information, such as transportation and accommodation options, is also incredibly helpful. The authors provide recommendations for a range of budgets and preferences, and there are detailed descriptions of each option to help you make an informed decision. I recommend the Lonely Planet Morocco 13 guidebook to anyone planning a trip to this amazing country.

There are a ton of great travel books about Morocco, not to mention tons of online resources as well.

If you’d like to learn more about Moroccan Arabic, see our guide .

If you’d like to learn how to stay safe as a solo female traveler, we have a guide for that , too!

Lastly, if you have a Morocco travel book you’d like us to read and review, send us an email and we’d be delighted to check it out and possibly add it to the list!

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27 Books Set in + About Morocco

This post contains affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here .

From desert adventures to stifling mysteries to ex-pat memoirs, these books about Morocco will transport you to the cities, deserts, and mountains of North Africa.

I always think it’s interesting how much you can tell about a country from the kinds of books set there, and these books set in Morocco almost all seems to be laced with mystery and/or adventure. Also heat. Because Morocco can, of course, be sweltering in certain areas.

We’ve got novels full of mystery and suspense, non-fiction about ex-pats making a life in a new culture, and children’s books full of legend and mythology. (One lack I’ll admit though: good non-fiction books focused more on Moroccan history! Any you’d like to share? Email me to let me know!)

Whether you are planning a trip to Morocco or just want to read about a new place, these books set in Morocco can definitely take you on an adventure!

Fiction Set in Morocco

In the country of others by leila slimani, translated by sam taylor.

After WWII, Mathilde, a French woman, moves to rural Morocco with her new husband Amine to live on his family’s farm. But she finds rural life in an unfamiliar country extremely trying, especially as a woman. This is the first volume in Slimani’s planned trilogy that is based on the history of her own family. For fans of literary fiction.

Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

All Florence wants in the world is to be a writer. When the opportunity comes to work for “Maud Dixon” a reclusive and mysterious writer, she thinks she has the opportunity of a lifetime. But on a trip to Morocco for research, everything seems to go wrong until Florence is faced with a choice that will change her life forever. This is a twisty book, but don’t read much more going into this. (I think all the blurbs give way too much away.) This is for fans of slow burn suspense.

Tangerine by Christine Mangan

Alice and Lucy were once roommates, but they haven’t talked in over a year. When Lucy shows up to Alice’s home in Morocco, they try to redeem their friendship. But their relationship is strained and when Alice’s husband disappears everything is thrown into question. For fans of literary suspense.

Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami

Lalami is most recently known for her books focusing on Moroccan immigrants in the US, such as The Other Americans and Conditional Citizens . But in her debut novel she tells the stories of four different Moroccan immigrants crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, all for very different reasons. For fans of contemporary and literary fiction.

The Time In Between by María Dueñas, Translated by Daniel Hahn

After a love affair, Sira Quiroga finds herself abandoned in Morocco. It is WWII though, and she can use her special talent as a seamstress to become a spy. While part of this book is set in Morocco, this book is also featured in our list of books set in Spain . For fans of historical fiction.

The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida

When a woman travels to Morocco, her wallet and passport are stolen. But with this crime comes the freedom for her to choose her future and to be anyone she wants to be. This book is told in the second person, which perhaps serves to reinforce the message and exploration of identity. This is for fans of literary, character-driven suspense.

Sister Stardust by Jane Green

In this fictionalized account of the real-life 1960s figure Talitha Getty (married to Paul Getty), Claire becomes drawn into her orbit in Marrakesh, Morocco. But Talitha has a troubled life, and as Claire is further drawn into the drama, it may change Claire’s life too. For fans of contemporary fiction and historical fiction and novels that involve fame and glamor.

Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun, Translated by Linda Coverdale

Azel and Kenza, brother and sister, are two young Moroccans making a new life in Spain. But leaving may not always mean the grass is greener on the other side. For fans of literary fiction.

The Lioness of Morocco by Julia Drosten, Translated by Christiane Galvani

Sibylla is too independent for her traditional London family in the 1800s, and realizes marriage might actually be her escape. She and her new husband travel to Morocco, and she truly begins to find herself. But when her husband is arrested, it throws everything about her new found life and her family into question. For fans of historical fiction and family stories.

The Sultan’s Wife by Jane Johnson

Set in the court of King Ismail in 1677, Nus Nus, and enslaved man being framed for murder, and Alys, an English woman sold into the king’s harem, become allies in order to survive. For fans of historical fiction.

Blood Feast: The Complete Short Stories of Malika Moustadraf by Malika Moustadraf, Translated by Alice Guthrie

Malika Moustadraf’s short stories tackle gender and class is Morocco, as women and others on the edge of society struggle to make their way. This is put out by a small press, and is for fans of literary fiction and feminist literature.

Year of the Elephant by Leila Abouzeid, Translated by Barbara Parmenter

This book was first published in 1989, and it was the first “novel” (I use quotations because really this is a novella and eight short stories) by a Moroccan woman to be translated from Arabic to English. The stories are set in the aftermath of Morocco gaining independence from France, as Moroccans work to understand what this means for them and their society. For fans of literary fiction.

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

Bowles is well-known for his Morocco writing (in fact, in Who is Maud Dixon? the characters discuss his writing on Morocco). Hhere he writes about three American travelers in Morocco after WWII. For fans of modern classics and literary fiction.

For Bread Alone by Mohamed Choukri, Translated by Paul Bowles

First published in 1973, this novel follows a boy named Mohamed and his family as they walk from Rif to Tangiers. They are starving during a famine, and when Mohamed learns to steal, he finds himself in jail. For fans of modern classics and literary fiction.

Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie

In a Casablanca hotel room, Hilary Craven is planning her suicide. But instead, she gets an offer to become a spy and track down a missing scientist by impersonating his wife. This is more of a spy story than one of Christie’s traditional mysteries, but should still appeal to Christie fans. For fans of adventure stories and spy stories.

Explore the world even more with these books about Palestine !

Non-Fiction Books About Morocco

The caliph’s house: a year in casablanca by tahir shah.

When the Shah family moves from London to Morocco, they buy a run down house that used to belong to the Caliph. But even though Tahir Shah grew up visiting Morocco, the cultural adjustment (and the hassles of the old house) are more difficult than they had expected. For fans of travel literature and stories about expats.

In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams by Tahir Shah

In Shah’s follow up to The Caliph’s House , he travels throughout the country of Morocco, through cities and deserts. Along the way, he collects the wide-ranging stories of Moroccan people. For fans of travel memoirs.

A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna Clarke

Clarke and her husband, while vacationing in Morocco, decide to buy an old house in Fez that is in need of restoration. This memoir chronicles their process of restoring the house using local and traditional materials, while also immersing themselves in life in Morocco. For fans of expat memoirs.

In Morocco by Edith Wharton

In 1917, Edith Wharton spent time traveling through Morocco. She hoped to see it all, but because of WWI, she found herself crunched for time. (“Only one month in which to visit Morocco,” she complains on the first page.) She sets out to see as much as possible though, and this is her travelogue. For fans of modern classics and travel memoirs.

A Street in Marrakech: A Personal View of Urban Women in Morocco by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

First published in 1975, this is an account of Fernea and her family, originally from the USA, living in Morocco. Her family was not necessarily seen kindly, and she observes the culture and society, and especially the women of Morocco, through this outside perspective in the 70s. For fans of expat memoirs.

A Year in Marrakesh by Peter Mayne

This ex-pat memoir was first published in 1953. Here, Mayne buys a house in Marrakesh and immerses himself in life there. For fans of ex-pat memoirs.

Children’s Books About Morocco

The storyteller by evan turk.

For years, Morocco had water to quench their thirst and storytellers who kept their history alive. But through the years, both the water and the storytellers have disappeared. Then a young boy looking for a drink finds a storyteller and discovers an amazing treasure. Recommended ages: 5 and up.

A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night by Allison Ofanansky, Illustrated by Rotem Teplow

Mimouna is a Moroccan-Jewish holiday that marks the end of Passover. When Miriam wants to help her mother make special treats for the holiday, the realize they have run out of flour and must visit a neighbor to borrow it. This is a story about friendship and sharing traditions. Recommended ages: 5 and up.

Solar Story by Allan Drummond

Noor Solar Power Plant in Morocco’s desert is one of the largest solar plants in the world. Here, a girl who lives in a nearby village, travels to school and tells readers about the solar plant nearby. Recommended ages: 5 and up.

The Butter Man by Elizabeth and Ali Alalou, Illustrated by Julie Klear Essakalli

In America, Nora’s father tells her stories from his childhood in Morocco. One night, he tells her about a famine he experiences, and how his own father had to search for food. Recommended ages: 6 and up.

Middle Grade & YA Books Set in Morocco

The scorpions of zahir by christine brodien-jones, illustrated by kelly murphy.

In this adventure book for middle grade readers set in the desert of Morocco, Zagora Pym and her brother Duncan set out to rescue their kidnapped father and solve the mystery of the Oryx Stone. Full of fast-pace adventure and fantastical elements. Recommended ages: 10-12 years.

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Amani’s home is ruled by a brutal emperor, and she dreams of the days when they used to be free. When she is kidnapped from her home, she is forced to be the body double of the princess, who everyone hates. This is a young adult sci-fi/fantasy novel that pulls strongly from Moroccan culture. Recommended ages: 13 and up.

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Best Books to Read About Morocco

9 best books to read before you visit morocco , morocco’s trendsetting books.

Morocco is exclusive . a rustic characterized by its geographic diversity and cross-cultural influences. Morocco still epitomizes an exotic old-world atmosphere lost to numerous destinations. A place where vibrant souks overwhelm first-time visitors with their chaotic rhythm and therefore the heady aromas of spices and native cuisine. sometimes with an overwhelming intensity. Here may be a collection of books about Morocco which will transport you to the present enchanted land. Books that remind us that we will still invoke the sights and smells of a faraway place from the pages of a well-written book.

Whether preparing for or considering a visit to Morocco, these books will assist you gain a far better understanding of Morocco’s rich history, culture, customs, and geography. These books are the essential reading list beyond the guidebooks. From the dunes of the Sahara to the cosmopolitan cities of Casablanca and Tangier, there’s something here to inspire you and provides you a deeper understanding of this unique country.

Titles and Writers Names

Travels by Paul Bowles

Inmore than forty essays and articles that range from Paris to Ceylon, Thailand to Kenya, and, of course, Morocco, the good twen-tieth-century American writer encapsulates his long and full life, and sheds light on his brilliant fiction. Whether he’s recalling the cold-water artists’ flats of Paris’s Left Bank or the sun-worshipping eccentrics of Tangier, Paul Bowles imbues each piece with a deep intelligence and therefore the acute perspective of his rich experience of the planet . Woven throughout are photographs from the renowned author’s private archive, which place him, his wife, the author Jane Bowles, and their many friends and compatriots within the landscapes his essays bring so vividly to life. With an introduction by Paul Theroux and a chronology by Daniel Halpern.

A House in Fez by Suzanna Clarke

When Suzanna Clarke and her husband bought a dilapidated house within the Moroccan town of Fez, their friends thought they were mad. Located during a maze of donkey-trod alleyways, the house – a standard riad – was beautiful but in desperate need of repair. Walls were in peril of collapse, the plumbing non-existent. While neither Suzanna nor her husband spoke Arabic, and had only a smattering of French, they were determined to revive the building to its original splendour, using only traditional craftsmen and handmade materials. But they soon found that trying to try to to business in Fez was like being transported back several centuries in time then began the remarkable experience that veered between frustration, hilarity and moments of pure exhilaration.

But restoring the riad was only a part of their immersion within the rich and vibrant lifetime of this ancient city. A House in Fez may be a journey into Moroccan culture, revealing its day-to-day rhythms, its customs and festivals; its history, Islam, and Sufi rituals; the lore of djinns and spirits; the colourful life-filled market places and therefore the irresistible Moroccan cuisine. And in particular , into the lives of the people – warm, friendly, and hospitable.

Beautifully descriptive and infused with a unprecedented sense of place, this is often a compelling account of 1 couple’s adventures in ancient Morocco.

The Secret Son by Laila Lalami

Youssef el-Mekki, a young man of 19 , lives together with his mother within the slums of Casablanca when he discovers that the daddy he believed to be dead is, in fact, alive and wanting to befriend and support him. Leaving his mother behind, Youssef assumes a life he could only dream of: a famous and influential father, his own penthouse apartment, and every one the luxuries related to his new status. His future appears assured until an abrupt reversal of fortune sends him back to the streets and his childhood friends, where a fringe Islamic group, known simply because the Party, has found out its headquarters. In the spirit of The Inheritance of Loss and therefore the Reluctant Fundamentalist, Laila Lalami’s powerful first novel explores the struggle for identity, the necessity for family, and therefore the desperation that overtakes ordinary lives during a country divided by class, politics, and religion.

In Morocco by Edith Wharton

In 1917, amid the turmoil of war I, Wharton , the author of The Age of Innocence and therefore the House of Mirth, travelled to Morocco. A classic of travel writing, In Morocco is her account of this journey through the country’s cities and thru its deserts. The Ecco Travels edition of In Morocco brings this previously rare and hard-to-obtain Wharton classic back to print after an absence of the many decades.

The Caliph’s House – A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah

In the tradition of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, acclaimed English travel writer Tahir Shah shares a highly entertaining account of creating an exotic dream come true. By turns hilarious and harrowing, here is that the story of his family’s move from the grey skies of London to the sun-drenched city of Casablanca, where Islamic tradition and African folklore converge–and nothing is as easy because it seems….

Inspired by the Moroccan vacations of his childhood, Tahir Shah dreamed of creating a range in that astonishing country. At age thirty-six he got his chance. Investing what money he and his wife, Rachana, had, Tahir packed up his growing family and purchased Dar Khalifa, a crumbling ruin of a mansion by the ocean in Casablanca that when belonged to the city’s caliph or leader .

With its lush grounds, cool, secluded courtyards, and relaxed pace, life at Dar Khalifa seems bound to fulfill Tahir’s fantasy–until he discovers that in some ways he’s farther from home than he imagined. For in Morocco an empty home is thought to draw in jinns, invisible spirits unique to the Islamic world. The ardent belief in their presence greatly hampers sleep and renovation plans, but that’s just the start . From elaborate exorcism rituals involving sacrificial goats to handling gangster neighbors bent stealing their property, the Shahs must deal with a replacement culture and every one that comes with it.

Endlessly enthralling, The Caliph’s House charts a year within the lifetime of one family who takes an incredible gamble. As we follow Tahir on his travels throughout the dominion , from Tangier to Marrakech to the Sahara, we discover a world of fierce contrasts that any true adventurer would be thrilled to call home.

The Last Storytellers- Tales from the Heart of Morocco by Richard Hamilton

Marrakech is the heart and lifeblood of Morocco’s ancient storytelling tradition. For nearly a thousand years, storytellers have gathered in Jemaa el Fna, the legendary square of the city, to recount ancient folktales and fables to rapt audiences. But this unique chain of oral tradition that has passed seamlessly from generation to generation is teetering on the brink of extinction. The competing distractions of television, movies, and the Internet have drawn the crowds away from the storytellers and few have the desire to learn the stories and continue their legacy. Richard Hamilton has witnessed first-hand the death throes of this rich and captivating tradition and, in the labyrinth of the Marrakech medina, has tracked down the last few remaining storytellers, recording stories that are replete with the mysteries and beauty of the Maghreb.

Lords of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell

Set in the medieval city of Marrakesh and the majestic kasbahs of the High Atlas mountains, `Lords of the Atlas’ tells the extraordinary story of the Madani and T’hami el Glaoui, warlord brothers who carved out a feudal fiefdom in southern Morocco in the early twentieth century. Quislings of the French colonial administration, they combined the aggression of gangland mobsters with the opulence of hereditary Indian princes, and ruled with a mixture of flamboyance and terror. On returning from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, T’hami ordered the severed heads of his enemies to be mounted on his gates. Yet in 1956, when the French left Morocco, the Glaoua regime toppled like a pack of cards.A classic story of history, intrigue, mystery, and action.

The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun

In this lyrical, hallucinatory novel set in Morocco, Tahar Ben Jelloun offers an imaginative and radical critique of contemporary Arab social customs and Islamic law.  The Sand Child  tells the story of a Moroccan father’s effort to thwart the consequences of Islam’s inheritance laws regarding female offspring. Already the father of seven daughters, Hajji Ahmed determines that his eighth child will be a male. Accordingly, the infant, a girl, is named Mohammed Ahmed and raised as a young man with all the privileges granted exclusively to men in traditional Arab-Islamic societies. As she matures, however, Ahmed’s desire to have children marks the beginning of her sexual evolution, and as a woman named Zahra, Ahmed begins to explore her true sexual identity. Drawing on the rich Arabic oral tradition, Ben Jelloun relates the extraordinary events of Ahmed’s life through a professional storyteller and the listeners who have gathered in a Marrakesh market square in the 1950s to hear his tale. A poetic vision of power, colonialism, and gender in North Africa,  The Sand Child  has been justifiably celebrated around the world as a daring and significant work of international fiction.

the alchemist by paulo coelho

Paulo Coelho’s enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles in his path. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

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11 of the Best Books About Morocco You Have to Read

Gah. If I could think of any place where I would go at the snap of a finger, then it would be Morocco. Thankfully, even when I can’t travel there, I can still pick up books about Morocco that will transport me to the deserts of the Sahara or to the medina of Fes. There are so many amazing things to do in Morocco, and the literature on it is some of the most evocative travel writing I have ever read.

Here are some of my recommendations for reads on Morocco–they’re perfect for when you want to slip away to this fascinating country or if you are using an essay writing service to write about this country.

Amazing books about Morocco you have to read

This list has some amazing books about Morocco you need to add to your reading list!

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The Voices of Marrakech by Elias Canetti

One of the most intriguing accounts of Morocco by a tourist, the Nobel Prize winner takes us to the country’s red city and delves into some more non-touristy subjects as well. I found the observations about the Jewish populations in Morocco the most intriguing, since Canetti was Jewish and provides some interesting insight into why they fled to this Islamic land.

Buy the paperback edition

A Street in Marrakech by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

Moving with her family to Marrakech in the 70s, Fernea accounts her time adjusting to a new culture and the trust she had to build with her neighbors. This personal history looks at the differences between her American culture and that of the Moroccan people as a love letter to the city that became her home.

Buy the Kindle edition

In Morocco by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton contributes her quick observations and her stunning analogies to this book on her trip through Morocco on a sponsored trip by the French government. While some of the comments might seem a bit dated (it was published in 1917, after all), Wharton transports us to the main cities of Morocco and reminds us of why they capture so many imaginations.

Get the Kindle edition

The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah

English writer Tahir Shah shares his experiences moving to Morocco and taking up a house in the capital city of Casablanca. After traveling there in his youth, he picks up his family and moves into the former house of the caliph. Combining mysticism and nonfiction, this book is a delightful tale of how Morocco offers room for mystery in the imagination.

A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna Clarke

Written in the style of “Under the Tuscan Sun,” Clarke documents her time in Morocco as she purchases a house in the city of Fes. Using only traditional materials, she rebuilds her new house to reflect its former splendor while enveloping herself in Moroccan culture. One of my favorite books about Morocco!

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissa

Documenting her time in a Moroccan harem before it was outlawed, Mernissa shares a childhood unlike any other and how she transformed into a modern young woman. Beautifully-written and completely unique, this offers a peek into what an old Morocco was like and how it transitioned to the future. I find this one of my favorite books about Morocco.

Making Morocco: Colonial Intervention and the Politics of Identity by Jonathan Wyrtzen

As well as having a rich Berber, Arab, and nomadic history, Morocco was also the location of a number of colonial takeovers and a mix of cultures. While this book has a ton of information and borders on the more academic, it does dive into the many fusions and fissions that have occurred in Moroccoan history.

Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

This beautiful novel follows Lily, an orphan who is raised at a Sufi shrine after her parents are murdered. Traveling around Morocco and trying to discover her identity as a foreigner in a land that she has always called home, she is forced to confront the differences between the culture she inherited and the culture she grew up in.

Travels by Paul Bowles

While the famous author covers a number of places in this collection of his writings, his most evocative are his ones about Morocco and Tangier, where he lived for 52 years. Bowles is a master of the travel genre, and he provides a stunning portrait of the people and customs of the home he loves.

Secret Son by Laila Lalami

Raised in the slums of Casablanca, Youssef El Mekki is a dreamer in this novel. Navigating a country going through intense change, Youssef struggles to find his identity. By highlighting a number of characters, we get a glimpse into what it might be like to live in a country that is working to abandon former laws while not losing sight of its past.

Morocco That Was by Walter Harris

Providing insight as a correspondent during the French occupation of Morocco, Harris isn’t afraid to tell it like it is while also providing magnificent storytelling and information about Moroccan culture. It also offers information about the life of a sultan’s court that is difficult to find in any other account on the country.

Do you have any favorite books about Morocco you want to share?

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Want more information on Morocco? Check out these articles:

• The Best Things to See on Your Trip to Morocco

Best Restaurants in Rabat, Morocco

• Favorite Moroccan Dishes You Must Try
• Best Things to Do in Casablanca, Morocco

Alex is the founder of Alex on the Map, a site devoted to national park guides, hiking, climbing, and enjoying your outdoor adventures. After growing up near Glacier National Park in Montana, Alex now spends summers in the American West hitting up the trail with her husband and dog.

Her work has been featured in Fodor's, the Huffington Post, Bustle, and many more. She has also been featured in publications such as The Washington Post, CNN, and USA Today.

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World » Africa » Morocco

Browse book recommendations:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

Some books on aspects of the history and literature of Morocco, recommended in interviews on a range of subjects. Many books about Morocco aren't translated into English so some of the books on history and current affairs can appear a little dated. However, Moroccan-French novelist Leïla Slimani —who won France's prestigious Prix Goncourt prize in 2016—has had several of her books translated, so is one place to start if you're looking for contemporary novels that also give a sense of Morocco's recent past.

Walking with Nomads

By alice morrison.

☆  Shortlisted for the 2023 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards Travel Book of the Year

The Scottish explorer and TV presenter Alice Morrison travels across Morocco , from the Sahara Desert to the Atlas Mountains, in the company of three Amazigh (once known as Berber) men and their camels. During her journeys, she encounters a lost city and dinosaur footprints, and does her best to avoid landmines, quicksand and poisonous snakes. She also encounters nomadic peoples travelling through this arid environment, who tell her about the challenges of life on the move, and the changes wrought by a warming climate.

Read expert recommendations

The Black Crescent

By jane johnson.

The Black Crescent by British novelist Jane Johnson is a lovely work of historical fiction that introduces you to the world of 1950s Morocco, at the time of the country's struggle for independence from France. The main character, Hamou Badi, is from a mountain village but ends up becoming a policeman and working in Casablanca. The author, Jane Johnson, has set a number of her novels in Morocco where she met her husband, Abdel Bakrim, and now lives for half the year (see below for the story of how that happened!). As well as being a good story, the book is a nice way of learning about Morocco's recent history alongside her.

This Blinding Absence of Light

By tahar ben jelloun.

🏆 Winner of the 2004 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

This Blinding Absence of Light by Moroccan novelist Tahar Ben Jelloun is based on a true story. It's about a prisoner who ends up in Tazmamart, a secret prison built in the Atlas Mountains after a failed coup against the then king, Hassan II, in 1972. Conditions were terrible at the prison and the men who ended up there spent nearly 20 years at Tazmamart while its existence was constantly denied.

The Country of Others

By leïla slimani.

The Country of Others is the first book in Moroccan-French author Leïla Slimani's trilogy of novels based partly on her own family's story, now translated into English. It opens in 1945 as a French woman living in Alsace falls in love with a Moroccan serving in the French army. The couple move to Morocco, where they make their lives on a farm. The story takes us through Morocco's independence struggle from France to 1956, when the French protectorate of Morocco came to an end.

Watch Us Dance

Watch Us Dance is the second novel in Moroccan-French novelist Leïla Slimani's multigenerational family trilogy. The novel opens in 1968 and follows the daughter, Aïcha, as she heads home to Morocco after studying in France. The first book in the trilogy is The Country of Others .

The Caliph’s House

By tahir shah.

“ The Caliph’s House is wonderful because its author, Tahir Shah, is just this guy you want to be friends with, to hang out with and follow around. The book’s about this house he bought in Morocco. He’d decided to move with his family from England, on a whim almost, in an effort to lead a more interesting life, and they buy this massive palace of a house. But it’s in ruins and the story’s just his efforts to get it renovated, painted and livable: a massive undertaking. And while doing this he gets to find out how businesses are run in Morocco, and the very different ways in which work gets done.” Read more...

The best books on Foreign Memoirs

Jennifer Steil , Foreign Correspondent

Taste of Morocco

By robert carrier.

“The great thing about Moroccan food is that you can go off and do your own thing once you’ve learned a bit about it. You can make up your own versions because the spices and colours are so enchanting….With Moroccan food, I always go back to Robert Carrier. There’s a very beautiful illustrated edition of the book. You turn over a couple of pages and you can’t wait to start cooking. You feel you’re going to be able to conjure up all this magic and colour from it.” Read more...

The best books on Mediterranean Cooking

Diane Seed , Cooks & Food Writer

Islam and Democracy

By fatima mernissi.

“Fatima Mernissi is a Moroccan feminist and produced one of the first books on feminism within an Arab Middle East and in a Muslim context. She also wrote a pioneering book-length text of Islamic feminism. In Islam and Democracy Mernissi is taking up Islamic arguments for claiming full citizenship, democracy, equality and justice. Mernissi is bringing together secular and religious arguments, and among the things she gives importance to is the need to reform Muslim personal status law as part of achieving democracy.” Read more...

The best books on Islam and Feminism

Margot Badran , Historian

The Sheltering Sky

By paul bowles.

“It centres on an American couple travelling to Morocco and opens with the crazy markets and tearooms, the hubble-bubble smoking in the towns, which are a vivid, almost frightening glimpse of another world. The travellers are enthusiastic but their ignorance makes them vulnerable; they have no way of being usefully watchful in this alien terrain. As they journey south the heat and disorientation intensifies and the towns grow further and further apart, with wilderness sucking them into a chain of events they cannot control. As everything disintegrates around them we see the truth behind the veneer of civility. In the emptiness they are faced with themselves and, as the marriage dissolves, the danger of travel becomes a nightmare – beyond the harsh terrain, disease and physical toll of desert travel, tragedy and madness wait. In a way, all desert books are about travelling within yourself, and not being entirely in control. That surrender to the kindness of strangers is common to everything I’ve ever read about the desert, too. You surrender everything because the desert will take it from you anyway. And you have to learn a new kind of watchfulness.” Read more...

The best books on Desert Nations

Jo Tatchell , Journalist

The Travels of Ibn Battutah

By ibn battutah (edited by tim mackintosh-smith).

“I couldn’t not include him. His editor Ibn Juzayy says towards the end of the book that Ibn Battutah is “the traveller of the Arabs and if anyone says he is a traveller of this ummah (Islamic community), he would not be wrong”. That actually stands today. In a sense he hasn’t been bettered since that time (the 14th century). The complete diversity of the Muslim world was put on the axis of a book by Ibn Battutah. Nobody afterwards could really do better. He is the traveller of the Islamic world.” Read more...

Books about Travelling in the Muslim World

Tim Mackintosh-Smith , Travel Writer

Travels with a Tangerine

By tim mackintosh-smith.

“Mackintosh-Smith follows Ibn Battutah’s journey, retracing his steps from Morocco to Egypt, Syria to Oman, and Anatolia to Constantinople. He sails in a dhow across the Arabian Sea and travels to Delhi, then on to the Maldives and the fabled Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka. He describes his own experiences beautifully but also provides us with extracts from Ibn Battutah. The result: you see India from the 14th-century perspective of Ibn Battutah’s adventures overlaid with an account of an emerging 21st-century superpower. Brilliant juxtaposition.” Read more...

The best books on Travel in the Muslim World

Ziauddin Sardar , Theologians & Historians of Religion

Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa'di's Ta'rikh Al-Sudan down to 1613 and Other Contemporary Documents

By john hunwick.

There is political history embedded in  Tarikh al-Sudan . But then it also moves beyond the moment of the Moroccan conquest of Songhai in 1591, and it moves into the post-1591 period. It moves into a discussion of the early Moroccan occupation of Timbuktu and this period of the Arma, which is a reference to the fact that the Moroccans will come into Timbuktu and conquer largely because they have rifles.

Barbary Legend: War, Trade, and Piracy in North Africa, 1415-1830

By godfrey fisher.

“Fisher’s book is a wonderful corrective to the prejudice we have about the Barbary Coast pirates. It almost goes too far. It suggests that the West has approached the idea of North African pirates with a prejudiced eye, because they are Islamic. Fisher says: why don’t we look at how the West related to North Africa and particularly the four Barbary states. These were Morocco and the three Ottoman states of North Africa – Algiers, Tunisia and what we would call Libya.” Read more...

The best books on Pirates

Adrian Tinniswood , Historian

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This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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Morocco Books: The Best Books to Read About Morocco. A Reading & Film List to Prep You for Your Trip.

• Morocco That Was – By  Water Harris
• Morocco Since 1830  –  By C.R. Pennell
• Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua  –  By Gavin Maxwell
• The Conquest of Morocco – By Douglass Porch
• Culture & Customs in Morocco – By Raphael Njoku
• In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams – By Tahir Shah
• The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca – By Tahir Shah
• The Spiders House – By Paul Bowles
• The Sheltering Sky – By Paul Bowles (Book & Film)
• Let It Come Down – By Paul Bowles
• The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco –  By Richard Hamilton
• Their Heads are Green & Their Hands are Blue – By Paul Bowles
• Dreams of Trespass: Tales of A Harem –  By Fatima Mernissi
• Berber Odes: Poetry from the Mountains of Morocco – By Michael Peyron
• The Hamadsha: A Studio of Moroccan Ethnopsychiatry
• A House in Fes –  By Susannah Clarke
• For Bread Alone – By Mohammed Choukri
• The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco – Richard Hamilton
• The Mountains Look on Marrakech – Hamish Brown
• The Exile – By Abdullah Laroui
• The Game of Forgetting - By Mohammed Berrada
• Hideous Kinki – By Esther Freud
• Leaving Tangier - By Tahar Ben Jelloun
• The Sand Child - By Tahar Ben Jelloun
• The Red City – By Barnaby Rogerson & Stephen Lavington
• Shadows of Marrakech - By Philip Brebner
• The Food of Morocco - By Paula Wolfert
• The Scent of Orange Blossoms - Sephardic Cuisine from Morocco By Kitty Morse & Danielle Mamane
• Mourad - New Moroccan - By Mourad Lahlou
• A Month in Marrakech - Andy Harris
• Living in Morocco: (German Edition) – By Barbara Stoeltie
• Moroccan Interiors  – By Lisa Lovatt-Smith
• Living in Morocco from Casablanca to Marrakesh– By Lisl Dennis and Landt Dennis
• New Moroccan Style: The Art of Sensual Living – By Susan Sully
• Moroccan Textile Embroidery – By Isabelle Denamur
• Berber Carpets of Morocco. The Symbols. Origina and Meaning By Bruno Barbatti
• Imazighen: The Vanishing Traditions of Berber Women – By Margaret Courtney-Clarke and Geraldine Brooks
• Andalusian Music from Fes By Abdelkrim Rais
• Andalusian Music from Tangier By Cheik Ahmed Zaitouni
• Jilala: Sufi Trance Music from Morocco By Jilala
• Music of Islam 5: Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony By Music of Islam
• Under the Moroccan Sky  – Various Artists
• B’ismillah – Fes Festival of World Music
• Berber Blues By Cherifa
• The Master Musicians of Jajouka Featuring Bachir Attar
• The Master Musicians of Jajouka – Jajouka Between the Mountains
• Baptism of Solitude – By Paul Bowles and Bill Laswell (Spoken Word)
• Arabic Groove – Putumayo World Music
• Rough Guide to North African Café
• Rough Guide to Arabic Café
• Gift of the Gnaoua – Hassan Hakmoun & Adam Rudolph
• Berber Music from the High Atlas & Anti-Atlas
• Othelle (Orson Welles)
• Flight to Tangier  (Charles Marquis Warren)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring * James Stewart
• Lawrence of Arabia, started Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif
• The Jewel of the Nile, Directed by Lewis Teague, starred Michael Douglas
• Kundun, directed by Martin Scorsese
• Hideous Kinky (Marrakech Express)
• Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, starred Russell Crowe
• Rules of Engagement, directed by William Friedkin, starred Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce

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• About Morocco

The 12 Best Books to Read About Morocco

The 12 Best Books to Read About Morocco  is a hand curated list of our editor’s picks of the Best Books to read before you visit Morocco . These Best Books to Read before you visit Morocco  offer an insight into the country’s history, culture and traditions. Preparing an exciting Reading list of Morocco Books ranging from History to  Fiction and Non Fiction as well as Design & Decor is part of the the holiday planning process.

To better understand Morocco’s traditions, make sure to carve out time before your trip to read, listen to Moroccan Music and watch Moroccan Films. From Galvin Maxwell’s account of the rise and fall of the House of Glaoui to Tahir Shah’s story of moving his family to  Casablanca and Paul Bowles, Spider’s House that weaves a web through the ancient medina of Fes our Morocco Reading List is a must for your Morocco  adventure.

Available on Amazon.com & Local Book Sellers)

In Morocco – By Edith Wharton

Morocco That Was – By  Water Harris

For Bread Alone – By Mohammed Choukri

In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams – By Tahir Shah

Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua  –  By Gavin Maxwell

The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco –  By Richard Hamilton

The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca – By Tahir Shah

The Spiders House – By Paul Bowles

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of A Harem –  By Fatima Mernissi

The Sand Child – By Tahar Ben Jelloun

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Books about Morocco – 17 best novels set in Morocco

Updated Spring 2024

If you’re looking for the best books about Morocco, then you’ve come to the right place. As avid fans of this welcoming North African country, we’re always keen to devour any novels set in Morocco that we can get our hands on. It’s a good idea to dive into a bit of literature or soak up a few fictional stories before heading out for your very first visit, to help prepare you for the experience ahead. Or if you want to indulge in the memories and learn more about the country, reading Morocco books when you’ve returned home is a great way to relive the dream and explore even deeper to better understand the cultures and stories that make this land so precious.

There are heaps of books set in Morocco , ranging from starry-eyed fictional tales of romance and adventure, to historical travel literature and light-hearted stories about expats navigating the realities of re-settlement.

We’ve put together a list of the best stories and top authors championing Morocco for you to try.

The best books about Morocco

Table of Contents

The Caliph’s house – by Tahir Shah

I’ll start with my favourite book set in Morocco, written by a fabulous author who tells it like it is, with more than just a splash of self-effacing humour. This entertaining novel deserves a place at the top of our Moroccan reading list thanks to the amusing and sometimes terrifying descriptions that draw you into the everyday realities of building a life in a new country.

What is it about? The Caliph’s House charts the experiences of Tahir Shah and his family as they move from London to Casablanca and renovate a ruined mansion. Encounters with mischievous djinns that lead to bizarre exorcism rituals are just part of the adventure as the Shahs navigate the turbulent waters of fitting into a new culture and society. Full of drama and hilarious anecdotes, this book on Morocco is a real page turner.

Best for: those of you who have visited Morocco and come away dreaming of buying your own riad and living a life of 1001 nights. You might want to read this before you do anything!

Buy The Caliph’s House on Amazon

The Salt Road – by Jane Johnson

This was the first Morocco fiction book that I ever read, and it helped lure me into what is now a rather healthy obsession with this sparkling country. I loved The Salt Road because it introduces the reader to Tafraout and the Anti-Atlas Mountains , rather than sticking with the usual locations of Marrakech or Fes. Jane has an easy way with words, which makes reading the entire book in one go entirely do-able!

What is it about? This is a true fairytale – Moroccan-style. Packed with sweeping desert dunes, silver amulets, and handsome Tuaregs, The Salt Road has all the elements of a good old tale. There’s plenty of romance under the twinkling stars, plus a princess and secret riddles to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Best for:  readers looking for a bit of escapism and romance as well as an insight into some of the less visited parts of Morocco.

Purchase The Salt Road

A Year in Marrakech – by Peter Mayne

I picked up Peter Mayne’s book after our very first trip, and despite being written over 60 years ago, it spoke to me as if it were penned yesterday. The vivid descriptions of life deep inside the Marrakech medina give a fascinating glimpse into society that has changed little over the years. Of all the Morocco books I’ve read, this is one of the most charmingly honest, with the author writing for himself as much as the reader. 

What is it about? Peter Mayne lived in the heart of the old city in Marrakech during the 1950s, and recounts his daily life in this timeless book about Morocco. Go on a journey through hidden alleyways and bustling markets as Mayne explores his local neighbourhood, meets new friends, and learns how to live in the famous red city. 

Best for: first time visitors to Marrakech wanting to get a feel for the place, and old-hands who want to reminisce about times gone by.

Buy A Year in Marrakech

The Saffron Trail – by Rosanna Ley

This is one of the best escapist novels set in Morocco that I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and indeed Rosanna Ley has a whole library of exciting fictional stories set in exotic locations that you might want to try too. This Moroccan novel is full of magic, mystery, and the sort of self-discovery that we all secretly hope for. If want to be transported to another time and place without leaving your sofa, you won’t be disappointed with this!

What is it about? This enchanting tale takes you on a journey from the sandy coves of rural Cornwall to the purple saffron fields of southern Morocco. The protagonist, Nell, escapes to Marrakech and embraces the magic of Moroccan cuisine to heal wounds of the past and explore her new-found heritage. 

Best for:  anyone planning on spending an afternoon reading on the beach, or those interested in Moroccan food (and who wouldn’t be, it’s delish!).

Buy The Saffron Trail on Amazon

Assembly of the Dead – by Saeida Rouass

It took me a while to pick up this book, because I’m not usually a fan of who-done-its. Yet following the trials and tribulations of a detective from Tangier through the murky underworld of 20th-century Morocco had me intrigued. On the surface, this is a fictional crime story like any other, yet it gives an intriguing insight into the goings on in Marrakech’s dark alleyways in a way no other travel literature could. It’s actually become one of my favourite Morocco books, because it’s just a bit different!

What is it about?  Detective Farook is a fish out of water when he swaps coastal Tangier for the dangerous streets of Marrakech. Young women are being abducted and it’s his job to find out who, and why. Hampered at every turn, and battling the ravages of famine, he follows a trail of death and suspicion to a finale at Djemma el Fna – the place of the dead. 

Best for: crime fiction fans with an interest in Moroccan history, and those who are intrigued about the gruesome past of Marrakech’s main square. 

Buy The Assembly of the Dead

The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco – by Richard Hamilton

If you’ve ever been to the Djemma el-Fna at night and seen the crowds of locals listening in silent captivation to a storyteller recounting unbelievable stories bound up in lore and mystery, then you’ll love this book about Morocco. The folktales have been passed down through the generations through oral tradition, and until now many have never graced the pages of a humble book. 

What is it about?  Richard Hamilton has made it his mission to preserve the dying tradition of Moroccan storytelling by collecting some of the best tales and collating them in this highly-readable book. These ancient fables add a dash of colour and intrigue to a country that lives and breathes mystery, and gives readers a glimpse into a part of society that visitors rarely get to experience. 

Best for: anyone who likes books about Morocco that they can dip in and out of, with a touch of magic and tales you’re unlikely to hear anywhere else.

Buy The Last Storytellers on Amazon

A Death in the Medina – by James von Leyden

This is another book set in Morocco with a thrilling fictional crime story at its heart. The setting is captivating, the characters quirky, and the tale is timed to coincide with Ramadan which adds another fascinating layer to the drama. This is Marrakech as you’ve never seen it before, but don’t worry, the shady individuals and devious plots won’t put you off going to visit!

What is it about? A young detective is set the task of tracking down the culprit after an English tourist is robbed during a sweltering summer in the red city. Follow him into a shadowy realm where murky secrets, dangerous foes and even death lurk around every corner. 

Best for: budding super sleuths who love solving mysteries against an exotic backdrop.

Buy A Death in the Medina

Adventures in Morocco – by Alice Morrison

Writer and adventurer Alice Morrison shares her own personal tales of life in Morocco, from running the famous Marathon des Sables to hiking in the Atlas Mountains . Well known on the geographical presenting scene, Alice’s experiences have served to inspire many an amateur explorer, particularly women who love hearing about her solo travels in this North African country. 

What is it about?  Alice first travelled to Morocco to run in the Marathon des Sables, but ended up making her home in Marrakech and visiting all corners of the country in search of adventure. Read about her exploits living with nomads in the Sahara, and experience Morocco through her eyes as she takes you on an inquisitive journey to far away places. 

Best for: self-confessed adventurers and armchair explorers will love these tales of cultural discovery and epic landscapes. 

Buy Adventures in Morocco

The Lioness of Morocco – by Julia Drosten

This enchanting Morocco fiction book is a real winner when it comes to unashamed indulgent holiday reading. Set in the 19th century, The Lioness of Morocco elegantly transplants an unmarried young woman from pre-Victorian England into the strange new world of Mogador on the North African coast. A story of survival and eventual triumph against the odds, this book complements any Morocco reading list. 

What is it about? Sibylla sees marriage as a way to escape the oppressions of London life, and sets off for a new start in Morocco. Things soon go wrong of course, with a deceitful husband, a handsome French soldier, and a wily sultan complicating matters. 

Best for: anyone wanting to learn more about the Berber culture while reading a jolly good tale.

Purchase The Lioness of Morocco

A House in Fez – by Suzanna Clarke

This is an intelligent book with real heart, charting the life of a couple who upped sticks from New Zealand and bought a crumbling house to renovate in the centre of Fez. Hidden down a maze of narrow alleys in this ancient city, the house was a labour of love and learning. The intrepid duo purchased another house a few years later – Dar Malika – which is a delightfully traditional riad with homely touches that you can stay in during your visit! 

What is it about? Susanna and her husband Sandy purchase a house in danger of collapse in the heart Fez, and spend the next few years bringing it back to life. Negotiating the curiosities of local life that bring with them both frustration and elation, the couple eventually finish the job and settle permanently in their newfound home. 

Best for: anyone who has dreams of running a riad in Fez and wants to know the pitfalls before taking the plunge.

Buy A House in Fez on Amazon

The Sultan’s Wife – by Jane Johnson

I make no apologies for including two fiction novels set in Morocco by Jane Johnson (in fact there’s another one to read too – The Tenth Gift ). As well as whisking you along for a rollercoaster ride packed with unlikely alliances, skulduggery, and murder, The Sultan’s Wife gives a rare glimpse into court life under tyrannical rulers. It’s also set in Meknes which is a welcome change from the usual haunts. 

What is it about? Englishwomen Alys is captured by corsairs during a sea voyage, and sold into the sultan’s harem. Battling to survive in this unknown and seemingly hostile land, she must choose between renouncing her faith, or certain death. Cue inquisitive slaves, impetuous royals, and a sorceress queen to perpetuate the mysteries of the Moroccan court in this captivating story. 

Best for: readers who as youngsters secretly dreamed about being captured by dashing pirates and transported off to a world of adventure and discovery. 

Purchase The Sultan’s Wife

For Bread Alone – by Mohamed Choukri

This autobiographical novel by Moroccan author Mohamed Choukri doesn’t fail to leave a lasting impact on anyone who turns these pages. For Bread Alone follows his story of desperation and the struggle for survival against a backdrop of famine and neglect in 20th-century Morocco. 

What is it about?  Mohamed arrives in Tangiers as a young boy, when his family are forced from their Rif Mountain home in the search for food, and a higher quality of life. Yet instead he is faced with the death of his siblings, as well as neglect, which sets him on a path of discovery in a world where alcohol and drugs reign supreme. Mohamed later gets caught up in the independence riots of 1952, which leads to jail time and ultimately a life-long passion for literature. 

Best for: those who want to read a book by a Moroccan author and get a taste of what life was like during the 1950s. 

Purchase For Bread Alone on Amazon

In Arabian Nights – by Tahir Shah

This is another compilation of folklore tales painstakingly researched and collected from all corners of Morocco. Tahir Shah is a supremely readable author, telling his stories with humour and insight. In Arabian Nights is one of the best books set in Morocco as it doesn’t just focus on the usual suspects. Instead it delves deeply into societal oral heritage, taking you on a whirlwind tour of a side to the country few outsiders ever get to know. 

What is it about? Tales that originated in the medinas of Marrakech and Fez are presented side by side with stories from the depths of the Saharan wilderness and the rocky Atlas Mountains. The characters in this Morocco book are eccentric and the narratives vivid, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns along the way. 

Best for: those who want to be whisked away to a world unknown in bite-sized snippets, where djinns and warriors roam the land.

Buy In Arabian Nights on Amazon

What Lies Within – by Annabelle Thorpe

This psychological thriller is an intense read, showing the less savoury side of expat life in Marrakech and how being a fish out of water can really take its toll. The book centres around friendships which turn out to be based on lies, set against the colourful backdrop of the red city’s souks and riads. 

What is it about? Three friends living very different lives come together and move to start a new life in Morocco. Things soon start to unravel, with revelations about their pasts sending shockwaves through the group. Add in an unthinkable crime and the confusion that comes from trying to fit into a new society, and you’re in for a wild ride. 

Best for:  anyone who loves an edge-of-your-seat whodunit story and is interested to find out about the less shiny side of Marrakech.

Buy What Lies Within on Amazon

The Sand Child – by Tahar ben Jelloun

This book set in Morocco draws on the rich oral history of the country to tell a tale that is at times as uncomfortable as it is revealing. It is a powerful relay of colonialism and gender politics in North Africa, with a very human story at its heart to convey the daring threads that challenge ideals and provoke discussion. 

What is it about? The eighth daughter of a man with no sons is raised as a boy to circumvent social rules and Islamic laws surrounding female inheritance. As she grows older, the girl begins to experience the sexual desires of a woman, and this novel follows the extraordinary chapters in her life as it unfolds. 

Best for:  readers who want to scratch below the surface and immerse themselves in a world where few outsiders have even trodden. 

Buy The Sand Child

Lords of the Atlas – by Gavin Maxwell

This one’s for the true Morocco enthusiasts who want a deeper understanding of the places they’ve visited and the sights they’ve seen in the country. Of all the historical books about Morocco, this is my favourite, because having visited so many of the kasbahs and strongholds mentioned, I can now appreciate the backstories of these special places. This is in no way fiction, but the characters and escapades revealed could truly have come out of 1001 nights!

What is it about? Lords of the Atlas charts the history of the Glaoui tribe, and follows their early 20th-century journeys from medieval Marrakech to their regal kasbahs perched high in the Atlas Mountains. This true story follows the lives of two warlord brothers and their feudal kingdom in southern Morocco, and the struggle to retain power against rival forces. 

Best for: anyone wanting to learn about how Morocco has been shaped over the centuries, to give context to the tourist sights of today.

Buy Lords of the Atlas

The Sheltering Sky – by Paul Bowles

Written in 1949 by American expat Paul Bowles, who settled in Tangier for much of his life, The Sheltering Sky targets the feeling of alienation often experienced by newcomers. The underlying theme of the tale that could be transposed to any part of the world, but draws on Bowles’ own experiences if living life in a new land. 

What is it about? Married couple Port and Kit travel from New York to explore North Africa, with open minds and no ultimate destination. Their mission is to rekindle their marriage, but the differences between their known modern world of America, and the unfamiliar cultures they are faced with soon take their toll.

Best for: readers keen to expand their knowledge of historical Morocco or those who have seen the 1990 film and want to find out more.

Purchase The Sheltering Sky

We hope you’ve enjoyed this list of books about Morocco, and have found a few things to add to your reading list. If there are any other novels set in Morocco that you think should be added, let us know in the comments! We’re always on the lookout for new Morocco books to sink our teeth into, and know that these just scrape the surface. 

Happy reading!

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Heather, here’s another novel set in Morocco that you’ll love: “Shadows the Sizes of Cities,” a sensual psychological thriller by author Gregory W. Beaubien

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Best Books about Morocco – 10 Great Novels set in Morocco

If you’re wondering what are the best books about Morocco or what are the best books to discover Moroccan culture, look no further. In this list, you’ll discover some of the best novels set in Morocco…

One of the realities of travel is long train rides and bus rides which will test both your bladder and your patience from time to time. So grab a book and settle in, we’re heading off to Morocco .

One of the best ways to visit a country (besides visiting it) is to plow into the literature it’s given birth to…and as I’ve been well known to have a book in my hands at all times for the last couple of decades…

I decided to gather together the best gems I found while living in and reading about Morocco.

Here are some of the best books about Morocco.

Disclaimer: This posts might contain affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through these links, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thank you for helping to support this website!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Hope and other dangerous pursuits – Laila Lalami

Told from the point of view of a group of survivors of an illegal attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and into Spain via rubber lifeboat. Some escaped into Spain, and some did not.

This takes four of them and tells you of their lives before the crossing; what was it that made them risk their lives to move into an unknown society, where it was imagined all would be better?

Told in bare-bones stripped-down storytelling prose, it’s just as relevant today as it was a decade ago, a penetrating examination of immigration and perception.

2. The voices of Marrakech – Elias Canetti

A strange, beautiful delight of a novelette. Writing filled to the brim with a piercing curiosity, sharp observations, insights, and meditations on ‘everyday’ encounters in Marrakesh during this Nobel Prize laureate’s several week visit.

A collection of short stories I was sad to leave when I’d finished.

Elias has one of the most human, elegant and non-pretentious writing voices I’ve encountered, and as you journey with him briefly through the alleyways, streets, souks, shrines, beggars, merchants and inhabitants of Marrakesh you’ll find a marvelous storyteller laying bare shreds of the city’s soul as well as his own.

3. Naked lunch – William Burroughs

I hesitated to put this book on the list, as it’s such a depraved tangle of phrases, paragraphs, characters, and emotions that once you enter it you’ll emerge later as from a twisted labyrinth, blinking with shock to see the sun still shining.

Though written while the author was living in Tangier , there’s not much storyline to speak of; it’s more of an onslaught of experimental and shocking writing meant to convey a spirit of paranoia, aggression, disturbing sexuality of the pedophile variety, and decadent hard drug use… plenty of which have all existed in the city at one time or another.

The Tangier that Burroughs buried like a hastily rotting corpse in this book doesn’t exist these days, more likely most of it existed only in his mind, but you can still smell the rank fear, urine, paranoia, and aggression that rears its fangs here in some streets on the right, or wrong night.

Reading Tip: The Most Beautiful Places in Morocco in Pictures

4. The sheltering sky – Paul Bowles

A masterpiece of tense, sparse, clean and beautiful writing.

Bowles lived in Morocco for the greater portion of his life, and his accounts of the country, its politics, cultural nuances, and way of life, particularly when a Westerner is immersed in and confronted by its unfamiliarity, are fascinating and illuminating.

This is a fictional account set in the late forties about a husband, wife, and one of their acquaintances following an impulse for exploration that leads to disaster and downfall.

I won’t spoil the arc, but like some of Bowles’ other pieces, it covers the fierce terror and exhilaration of traveling deep into a ‘wild’ country without a safety net, how it can erode sanity and take the traveler much further into realms they never imagined encountering.

5. For bread alone – Mohamed Choukri

Classic. A haunting biographical look through the eyes of an extremely impoverished Moroccan life in Tangier .

Told in simple, striking language describing truths with a direct force that lingers in your mind. This book will open your eyes to some of the harsh realities of life in the Moroccan underclass, in any developing country.

6. A street in Marrakech – Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

Reads like a slightly expanded personal journal told in almost academic prose, a consuming attention to detail which slowly unveils great complexity, the kind of writing which books aren’t written in anymore.

An anthropologist couple moves into a house in the old medina, or ancient city of Marrakech for a year with their two young children, circa 1972.

What follows is a hyper-realistic and intriguing account of the slow integration into everyday life, it’s various social tests, struggles, miscommunications, celebrations, stubbornness, and surprise.

An illuminating account, all the more so as it provides a unique if a brief glimpse into the society of Moroccan women.

Reading Tip: The Complete City Guide to Marrakech, Morocco’s Red City

7. The spider’s house – Paul Bowles

Set in Fez in 1954 during Morocco’s nationalist uprising, published in 1955, and 1956 was the year Morocco declared independence from the French protectorate.

Yes, Bowles is on here twice, covering some of the same themes, yet the tale told in The Spider’s House is one which rings with much more prescience and relevance today, not to mention it’s timing in a thread of events.

Told from the point of a view of a devout Moslem boy, an American expat who lived in and loves North Africa of the past, and an American tourist who exemplifies all the cliche’s you can think of.

It’s a clash of ideologies in a city of escalating violence where each of the characters begin to think differently. Oddly reminiscent of the current streams of conflict between East and West today.

8. Gravity according to birds – Leo Skala

Sure, I’m biased, I wrote it. This is a magical realistic novel based on my own experiences of first arriving in Tanger, planning to stay for a single day with only a hundred dollars to my name, and somehow ending up hitchhiking through the entire country and living in Tanger for several years.

To view the printings and see what other readers have said about it, visit Take High Ground .

9. The sacred night – Tahar Ben Jelloun

Sequel to The Sand Child, a hallucinatory masterpiece of surreal and terrifying secrets, guilt, and potent varieties of shame. You meet Zahra, a young Moroccan woman discovering womanhood.

Zahra had been born the eighth of eight daughters, endured several ‘circumcision’ rituals and passed off as a boy until her father’s death on the 27th Night of Ramadan, the Sacred Night, the Night of Destiny, just after he has for the first time acknowledged his daughter as just that.

A story of doomed and bizarre destinies, how they entangle, and what each member clings to in order to cope with the situation.

10. The caliph’s house – Tahir Shah

Tahir Shah decides to move his wife and three children from their dreary life in London into an ancient, ruined and haunted mansion on the outskirt slums of Casablanca . Dar Kalifa, the Caliph’s House.

It’s a jaunty, often funny tale, hinging around three Moroccan guardians who’ve come ‘in some sort of medieval transaction’ with the house, the rigors of remodelling amidst accepted social corruption, the belief that there is a horde of Djinn, or malicious evil spirits living in Dar Kalifa, and Shah’s ironic position of being essentially a Western foreigner with a rationalist mindset raised in England, though he is at the same time, in fact, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed through his Afghan family line.

Supremely readable with sometimes awkward writing, yet an absolutely wonderful tale highlighting a clash and reconciliation of cultures in a magical light.

Reading Tip: The 11 most Inspiring Travel Novels

Out of Africa – Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)

Bonus. Has nothing to with Morocco whatsoever, but I figured while we were in the general neighborhood of Africa we may as well pay a visit to Baronness Blixen on her coffee plantation in Kenya.

Blixen wrote this in the 1930s under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen to disguise her gender, and many readers were surprised to learn she was a woman.

This is her account of owning and working a coffee plantation for ten years with the local tribesman called the Kikuyu in the hills outside of Nairobi.

Such a surprising, gentle, fascinating tale which you’ll find yourself strangely enriched by as she lays out the hopes, dreams, rhythms, wonders, sadnesses, realities, and rugged beauties of this decade.

Justine – Lawrence Durell

Bonus again! This time we’re off to Alexandria, Egypt in the 1930’s in the first installment of the Alexandria Quartet.

A four-book series told during the same timeline around a set cast of characters, each book containing one of their voices, viewings, and versions of the same set of events.

A fascinating meditation on art and the varieties of love, despair, regrets, and hilarities of life told in sleekly muscular prose, studded with beautiful and terrible visions.

More MOROCCO TRAVEL Resources:

• What you need to know before you go: 23 Travel Tips for Morocco
• Is Morocco Safe? Safety Guide to Morocco
• How to avoid the 12 most common scams in Morocco
• See the best of Morocco by following these 3 great travel itineraries
• Visit these beautiful 17 places in Morocco
• Tips for traveling to Morocco during Ramadan
• Morocco City Guides: Fez , Tangier , Essaouira , Chefchaouen , Rabat , Meknes , Marrakech , Casablanca , Agadir
• The best daytrips from Marrakech
• Fun things to do in the Sahara: how to plan a desert trip to Merzouga
• The Complete Guide to Imlil and Hiking Mount Toubkal
• Everything you need to know about visiting the Ouzoud Waterfalls
• Rock climbing and other fun things to do in the Todra Gorges and Tinerhir
• How to get to the Akchour Waterfalls from Chefchaouen
• A guide to visiting the Ouzoud Waterfalls
• Surfing in Morocco – The best surfing spots in Morocco
• How to visit Paradise Valley in Agadir
• What to wear in Morocco: Complete packing list for Morocco
• Morocco photography tips: How to take portraits of people in Morocco
• Extend your stay in Morocco using one of these 3 ways to renew your Morocco visa
• Useful tips on how to take the ferry from Tangier to Spain
• Books about Morocco: 10 Great Novels set in Morocco

About the author

This list of best books set in Morocco was written by Leo Skala. Leo is a multidisciplinary artist and traveler whose primary focus is the Word. Written word, oral storytelling, musical phrases, chants, and djembe drumbeats.

Author of a book of poems and a novel, if he’s not out hiking in nature, doing yoga, or making music he may be found writing away on one project or another, studying a language, cozied up between the pages of a book, dancing or setting up a typewriter in a public street to write impromptu poems for passing strangers.

For awesome stories about his travels around the world, head over to his blog The Sounding Lines.

Any books about Morocco you recommend? Let us know in the comments below!

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