Morocco

Read on for GEEO’s suggestions on books to read before you travel to Morocco. Our book club is a way for teachers and other participants to learn through literature about the places they will be traveling. Reading about Morocco is the next best thing to being there!

Reading fiction or nonfiction based on a country gives travelers the context needed to have deeper, richer experiences abroad. It is completely up to the participant whether they choose to read them, as the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs. We hope our participants will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance their experience.

You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!

Recommended books to read before traveling to Morocco:

Fiction:

• The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy
• A Spider’s House by Paul Bowles

Nonfiction:

• The Road from Morocco by Wafa Faith Hallam
• Dreams of Trespass: Tales of A Harem Girlhood by Fatema Mernissi

For those looking for more suggestions, here are some other books you may want to consider:

• Urban Restructuring, Power and Capitalism in the Tourist City: Contested Terrains of Marrakesh (Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the City) by Khalid Madhi (a GEEO alumnus!)
• Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami
• The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah
• A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna Clarke
• The Conquest of Morocco: A History by Douglas Porch
• My 1001 Nights: Tales and Adventures from Morocco by Alice Morrison
• The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco by Richard Hamilton
• The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
• Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua 1893-1956 by Gavin Maxwell
• A Street in Marrakech by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

Recommended films and videos to watch before traveling to Morocco:

• Casablanca (1942)
• The Blue Caftan (2022)
• Mimosas (2016)

GEEO utilizes Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!