Early november 2021 we headed to Northern Africa after 2 months in Portugal & Spain. Our first stop was Morocco. We had planned a 1 month road trip (you can find more info HERE) but this was extended due to the covid omicron variant out break. Morocco closed it’s borders and we got “stuck”, (we had 6 flights cancelled in 14 days!) hence we ended staying 2.5 months. Mid January we were able to fly from Morocco to Egypt, where we spent 1 month (early 2022).

We thought they would be very similar, due to both being majority Muslim and North African countries, however we were very wrong and observed many differences! Below are some of them:

Mosques & prayers: both countries have a massive amount of mosques. In the smallest villages, with 2 dozen homes, you can easily have 3 mosques! In bigger cities you only walk a couple of blocks between mosques and sometimes there are 2 next to each other or across the street. In both countries we saw many Muslins praying and a constant coming and going in and around the mosques. Both countries also have their main prayer day on Friday. Most stores are closed and the bigger mosques are very busy! However, we found that Moroccan mosques were much more decorated, detailed and colorful then the more simple Egyptian mosques. From colorful tiles to detail carvings, the vast majority of the Moroccan mosques were stunning. Even the ones in the small villages with smaller minarets. In Egypt they were in general more bare and mainly made of concrete and not as colorful. The Egyptian mosques have skinny minarets while in Morocco they seem to be a more gracious part of the mosque. Another difference we noted was the prayers in Morocco all seemed to be done live. With the prayers or singing done by someone in the mosque on the spot. In Egypt, some of the prayers seemed to be broadcasted, taped and of lower quality, also partially due to the quality of the speakers.

Food: We had the chance to experience more of the Moroccan food as we spent more time there. But besides this, most menus in Morocco were in Arabic and in French, their second language and which we understand, making ordering easier. In Egypt, besides the touristy restaurants (which we normally avoid), the menus are only in Arabic and which made it extremely difficult to order and try different things (unfortunately the translation tools and apps didn’t work well at all!). The basic bread in both countries, like tortillas in Mexico, are abundant, cheap and delicious. The bread bakeries are everywhere and part of the culture, they are consumed daily with most meals by everyone! Both countries consume a lot of dishes that include beans like fava, garbanzo, lentils and white beans. They both have amazing shawarma and kebabs. Morocco is well known for their delicious tangines and couscous. Morocco offered many delicious street foods like fresh fried fish sandwiches and msemen (a soft flat bread which can be served with Nutella, vegetables or other fillings). Egypt offers many amazing stuffed dishes like stuffed grape or cabbage leaves, stuffed pigeons or ducks and rabbits. One of our favorite street food dishes in Egypt were the falafels. They we a quarter each and so delicious and fresh! For dessert, they both offer different styles of cookies with Morocco using a lot of orange and rose water to flavor. Both also offer baklava (one of my favorites!) but Morocco seemed to use nuts like pistachios, almonds and cashew while Egypt would have sugar or peanuts as filling.

Local people: In general we found the Moroccan people more genuine and friendly. And although we did meet many Egyptians that were very kind and helpful, we felt that many were just trying to get some extra $ or we were expected to pay some “baksheesh” (a little gratuity/bribe). Both countries are very kid friendly, however we felt that the random acts of kindness (like giving a piece of fruit, a pastry or a sweet) were genuine acts in Morocco and in Egypt we were frequently asked to pay some coins after someone was kind or had given something to the kids. Both countries offered smiling locals and always happy to help when asked for directions or information (although it was easier to do so in Morocco due to being able to communicate in french. Arabic is difficult!)

Haggling: it is known that in both countries you need to haggle, especially at the souks (markets) where you will find many tourists that are easy targets to be overcharged. However we found haggling fairly easy and efficient. Also, most items at these places are not necessarily unique and if your don’t get the price you want in one store, move on to the next one. However it is crucial to haggle. As an example, I bought beautiful earrings for $5 at a store, when I saw the same earrings in another store I asked the price and they were $50! I turned my back laughing and the vendor lowered it immediately to $20. Walking away is a great strategy for them to come after you with a better price. Of course, they are trying to make a living and you need to be fair. We found that Egyptian vendors were less likely to lower their price and were constantly over charging everything. In Morocco you can also find many stores that have price tags or signs (especially with consumables like fruit & veg, food, etc) In Egypt it is unusual to have pricing and they will ALWAYS charge more for tourists (see tourist tax below)

Tourist “tax”: this was something we encountered on our first days in Egypt. Most places don’t have price tags and the price is given when paying the merchant. We frequently saw locals paying 1/2 of what we were charged. This happened at markets, street food vendors, and even smaller grocery stores and restaurants (especially not having a menu we could understand). On one occasion we saw a pile of delicious guava with a sign of 5 Egyptian pounds on top of it (the kids learned the numbers in Arabic, which was helpful), we also saw a local woman buying 2 kilos and paying 10egp, when asked for a kilo, the merchant said that the 5 egp was per 1/2 kg! Hence it is important to know some basic prices so you don’t get overcharged (ex. a 1ltr bottle of water or a bag of fresh bread at the local baker should be 5 egp)

Traffic: We rented a car in Morocco for 1 month and drove 1450 miles around the country. This was easy going and although you had the many donkeys on the road, or horse carriage and even many cars that are unsuitable for the road, it was easy to get around and we had no issues. Roads in general were in good condition and there were many police check points, which make the roads safer. On the other hand, Egypt was a whole different story! I learned how to drive in Brazil, so I know crazy driving and traffic. We also saw some aggressive and unorganized traffic in many parts of south east asia, however Egypt took it to a whole different level. I would never drive in Egypt, especially Cairo. There did not seem to be any rules (traffic lights are scarce and not respected!), there are too many cars everywhere, kids seemed to be frequently behind the wheel or on motorcycles, there seem to be little traffic control by police and everyone just honks all the time! It truly was crazy!

Street Animals: There were so many street cats and dogs in both countries. One main difference was that they were better taken care of in Morocco. Although they lived on the streets, many locals made sure to feed and provide water for the animals. They seemed healthier. It was heart breaking to see so many kittens and puppies, many unsocial, scared and with years of hardship ahead and probably bearing many litters that continues this sad cycle. Donkeys and horses were everywhere in both countries. Some were in horrible shape and have endured years of hard work and abuse. Also heart breaking. And then there were the camels. Mainly used for tourist purposes. We did not ride them as it just seemed wrong. We saw many camels in very poor condition.

Language: as mentioned above, in Morocco most people are fluent in Arabic and french. Both Jason and I had some basic french and using tools like Google translate was easy and very helpful. However Arabic (which is the main language in Egypt) is a semitic language and is very different than any of the languages we know, hence it made it very difficult to communicate. Although we did find more Egyptians were versed in english then Moroccans, sometimes very basic but enough to communicate.

History: this of course is where Egypt really shone! It was truly impressive and made some of the other negatives vanish. Yes, there is history and some amazing sites in Morocco, but the ancient Egypt history is unmatched and vast. Besides the many sites and museums, it is literally everywhere. Our guide in Saqqara said that in most Egypt, you can dig anywhere and find something. There isn’t even enough funding or archeologists to process some of the current sites. In Luxor we went for a hike and stumbled upon an archeological site, which we were fortunate to be able to tour with a guard. Hundreds of pot fragments, some already put back together like a puzzle! We saw many active archeological sites in Luxor and Cairo. To give you a good idea of the these active sites, we found THIS Netflix documentary very interesting.

Of course the above are just some of the many difference but also similarities. Both countries were very unique and we highly recommend visiting.