As you relax in your hammam (steam bath), tuck into your tagine (stew), bargain in the souks or slide into your comfy caftan (ankle-length gown) - Moroccan trends much copied elsewhere but never equal to the originals - you may be surprised how easily you slip into another culture and another century. In these small signature moments of pleasure, Morocco warps all sense of time and place as surely as a desert mirage.
To get your bearings, just look to the horizon. You will notice refined minarets and rugged mud-brick ksour (fortifications), sparkling coastline with silken sand and striped canyons carved out of the High Atlas Mountains. Morocco has been staunchly independent throughout its history yet remained open to ideas, creating a heady mix of cultures, religions and languages with ancient roots and a strikingly modern outlook. The influence of Romans, Arabs and Europeans is spotted in monuments throughout the country. Though you will hear French spoken in city boulevards - a vestige of the 50-year French Protectorate - a half-dozen Berber languages and Moroccan Arabic are still widely spoken. So is Morocco Mediterranean, African, Arab or Berber?
For centuries travellers have crossed shifting sands and braved mountain passes in search of mythic Morocco, expecting to be dazzled by its royal palaces, unexpected oases, distinctive handicrafts and spectacular feats of hospitality. Modern-day Morocco doesn't disappoint. Whether you've come to relax in family-style riads (guest houses) or stretch your imagination on treks to distant Berber villages, you'll meet Moroccans who go out of their way to exceed your expectations. The people who have called Morocco home for millennia have proved themselves adaptable to Sahara Desert silences and chatty market-day medinas (old towns), mingling in Tuareg trading posts and ancient mellahs (Jewish quarters). The greeting that reaches your ears today echoes across the centuries: Ahlanwasahlan, you are welcome in Morocco.
MAURITANIA
Mauritania is a mysterious, little-known Saharan country, where temperatures in the dry desert heat can reach 57˚C (135˚F). Much of the land is dry and inhospitable and many locations are difficult to reach without long journeys in 4-wheel drive vehicles.
Ouadâne, an oasis settlement in the north concealed by waves of coloured sand dunes, contains 3,000 manuscripts and an ancient mosque, justifying its UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Northern Mauritania also contains the seventh holiest city of Islam, Chinguetti. In the Middle Ages, Mauritania hosted the Almoravid movement that spread Islam throughout north Africa. The country has a colourful, indigenous nomad Moorish population.
The coast is an 800km (500 mile) sandy beach, devoid of most vegetation but supporting an astonishingly large and varied population of birds. The Parc National du Banc d'Arguin is a stopover for birds migrating between Europe and Africa.
Though it remains one of the world's poorest countries, exploitation of Mauritania's offshore reserves of oil and natural gas could bring prosperity in the future.
MALI
With its giant mud-built mosques, villages carved into cliff-sides and massive camel caravans traversing the desert, Mali makes for a stunningly surreal destination.
Rapidly developing, particularly in the main cities, tourists can find high standards of accommodation and cuisine on offer. Intriguing and colourful markets, vast desertscapes and ancient tombs and relics are all waiting to be discovered. All of this makes it hard to believe Mali is one of the world's poorest countries.
Once an overseas territory of France, Mali gained independence in 1960, and today it is one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa.
SENEGAL
Senegal is a country full of contradictions. Wide open to modernity and the outside world, Senegal, nevertheless, remains deeply rooted in its tradition based on Diom (honour), Teranga (hospitality), and respect for the elderly. From the great Leopold Sedar Senghor to Mariame BA, Senegal has produced some of the best African artists and still plays a key role in West Africa's arts, culture and politics, despite its small size and population. Senegalese music, particularly the Mbalax, has become well known internationally over the last couple of decades thanks to artists like Youssou N'dour and Baba Maal, and Senegalese food is considered among the best in Africa.
Tourism has been a growing industry in Senegal for well over a decade. In 2000, it was ranked as the country’s second largest industry after fishing and before groundnuts and phosphates. The sector has created economic growth particularly in the Petite Côte, Senegal’s principal tourist region where a resort originally built around a fishing village, Saly, has become an international tourist destination.
Senegal has a variety of first-rate natural assets that help make it an attractive destination: six national parks and four reserves, a variety of birds, some wildlife, and access to big game fishing and scuba diving. But it is the people, their music, culture and handicrafts that make Senegal what it is: a great, diverse and very colourful country.
GAMBIA
Although The Gambia is mainland Africa's smallest nation, it is scenically varied, with sandy beaches, lush tropical forests, swamps, marshes and large areas of wooded savannah. The River Gambia, one of Africa's great waterways, dominates the country.
The Gambia is a birdwatcher's paradise, with over 540 different species. While the country's parks, reserves and up-country villages are a major draw for ecotourists and those interested in African culture, for many visitors it is the country's pleasant tropical climate and relaxing beach resorts which are the star attraction.
The Gambia was Britain's first and last colony, being officially colonised in 1765 and gaining independence 200 years later in February 1965. Since then, the country has enjoyed long spells of stability; unfortunately this has yet to translate into prosperity for its inhabitants.
GUINEA-BISSAU
Guinea-Bissau is a small coastal country just to the South of Senegal where the people speak a host of local languages and Creole together with Portuguese and a little bit of French.
Until recently, Guinea-Bissau was well off the tourist route. Struggles for independence and a civil war in 1998-99 devastated the economy. Tourist facilities and infrastructure remain, in general, very limited but efforts have been made to encourage visitors to this undiscovered gem of West Africa.
Although a relatively small country. Guinea-Bissau’s beaches and wildlife are exceptional while West African traditions and Portuguese colonial remains can still be seen. On the coast, you can find fishing villages surrounded by forests, whereas further inland the country is dry and dusty.
The islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau (the Bijagos Archipelago) are of exceptional beauty. These islands are home to a group of indigenous people. Turtles, sharks, manatees, and a very special and very rare form of hippopotamus that lives mostly in salt-water can all be seen here.
BURKINA FASO
Burkina Faso is situated in West Africa and bordered to the north and west by Mali, to the east by Niger, to the southeast by Benin and to the south by Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The southern part of the country, less arid than the north, is wooded savannah, gradually drying out into sand and desert in the north. The Sahara desert is relentlessly moving south, however, stripping the savannah lands of trees and slowly turning the thin layer of cultivatable soil into sun-blackened rock-hard lakenite. Three great rivers, the Mouhoun, Nazinon and Nakambé (Black, Red and White Volta), water the great plains. The population does not live in the valleys along the river banks due to the diseases prevalent there.
GHANA
Ghana has a rich natural heritage. A narrow grassy plain stretches inland from the coast, widening in the east, while the south and west are covered by dense rainforests which are being developed into nature parks, such as the national park at Kakum, for ecologically-minded tourists.
Although Ghana's national parks and game reserves are relatively small compared to other African countries, species of antelope, monkeys, lions and elephants can be seen here. Birds and butterflies are particularly numerous in Ghana's forests. Ghana's coastline is dotted with sandy palm-fringed beaches and lagoons where watersports can be practised.
There remain many traces of the country’s rich history. Ghana still boasts 42 European forts and castles including Elmina and Cape Coast Castles which are all recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Monuments as well as sites of wars between the British and the indigenous population. Colourful traditional festivals full of pomp and pageantry with chiefs and queen mothers riding on lushly gilded palanquins can still be seen throughout the country while traditional open markets provide the sounds and sights of the African bazaar.
