North Africa Voyage Tips and guide

In North Africa (also known as Maghreb), beautiful mosques, bustling markets, and ancient ruins lie between the Mediterranean coast and the Sahara Desert. It has an ancient history, with many Berber kingdoms as well as the Greek, Roman, and Ottoman empires ruling there.

• Atlantic Ocean Islands: the Canary Islands (Spain) and Madeira (Portugal) are integrated provinces of their respective countries
• Bi'r Tawīl – an unclaimed piece of land between Egypt and Sudan, with virtually zero infrastructure whatsoever. It's one of only three unclaimed territories, with the other two being Marie Byrd Land and Liberland.
• Spanish North Africa: Ceuta, Melilla, and some smaller territories along the coast of Morocco

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Map of North Africa

• 31.197529.89251 Alexandria — Egypt's major Mediterranean city is a pale shadow of its former glorious self but remains a major tourism site
• 36.7763893.0586112 Algiers — the capital of Algeria with a notable medieval casbah
• 30.04444431.2358333 Cairo — the largest city in North Africa with major monuments of Ancient Egypt nearby
• 33.599167-7.624 Casablanca — the largest city in Morocco is of sparse interest to the traveller, but is a major transit point
• 27.15-13.25 El Aaiún — the capital city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara
• 31.62947-7.981086 Marrakech — this historic Moroccan city close to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains is an extraordinary meeting of the ancient and modern
• 35.696944-0.6330567 Oran — this historic Algerian city is full of French, Ottoman, Moorish, and Algerian architecture like churches and mosques and parks. It also has a beautiful seashore and buildings.
• 32.8751913.187468 Tripoli — Libya's capital was long off-limits to most travellers but is experiencing a real resurgence of interest
• 36.80083310.189 Tunis — the capital of Tunisia is a relatively small and sleepy city but is the gateway to the remains of Carthage and other very notable historical sites.

• 22.33694431.6255561 Abu Simbel — a very remote area in far south Egypt, with some beautiful ancient temples
• 36.85255810.3234612 Carthage — Phoenician colony in Tunisia and the biggest trade metropolis of the antique world; famously razed by the Romans and the remnants are now encased in a museum
• 33.3683336.86753 El-Oued — in Algeria with its domed architecture & nearby Grand Erg Oriental — the Sahara's second largest dune field
• 24.96111110.1754 Ghat - an ancient settlement in southwest Libya with prehistoric rock paintings and very challenging desert trekking
• High Atlas — hiking, skiing and Berber culture amongst these peaks and valleys in Morocco.
• 32.63833214.2904965 Leptis Magna — extensive Roman ruins in Libya
• 33.5426399.9668066 Matmata — desert village in Tunisia of cave abodes, where Star Wars's Tatooine was filmed
• 31.099167-4.0116677 Merzouga and M'Hamid — from either of these two settlements in Morocco at the edge of the Sahara, ride a camel or 4x4 into the desert for a night (or a week) among the dunes and under the stars
• 25.7402532.6023588 Valley of the Kings — the great site of Ancient Egypt

North Africa, as a region, is very different from the countries to the South. The people and culture are Arabic, the food is different, and Islam is the dominant religion. Many organizations now group North Africa and the Middle East together as MENA (Middle East North Africa) because North Africa has much more in common with countries like Syria or Jordan than countries like Mali or Ivory Coast.

The North African peoples have seen many empires come and go, each bringing both wars, and contributions to local culture. Ancient Egypt was one of the world's longest-living urban civilizations, and Phoenicia, ancient Greece and later the Roman Empire came to dominate the Mediterranean Sea. The Arabs and Islam arrived in the 7th century (see Islamic Golden Age) and were displaced by the Ottoman Empire. The French colonial empire came to include Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and had the Suez Canal completed in 1869, while Egypt became part of the British Empire in 1882 following the Anglo-Egyptian War. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Libya would become part of the Italian Empire. During World War II in Africa, the Italians and later the Germans failed to conquer the whole of North Africa. After the war, Arab nationalist movements demanded independence. The North African countries took different paths to independence, and in the 2020s only a few coastal territories of Spanish North Africa are under European rule.

North Africa was a scene for the Cold War with mostly authoritarian leaders, with allegiance either to the West or the Soviet Union. In 2010, the Arab Spring began as a series of public revolts. As of 2020, the outcome has been varied, with Tunisia adopting a democratic constitution, and Libya stuck in civil war.

Arabic is without a doubt the dominant language, and is the official language in every North African country. However Arabic dialects are mutually unintelligible, so there's no way a tourist speaking standard Arabic could understand a Moroccan speaking their dialect. However, standard Arabic is always the official language, and well-educated people will be able to speak it.

French is the most widely known second language in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, due to much of the area's history as a French colony. In Libya and Egypt, English is the dominant second language (except among older Libyans, where Italian is more prevalent).

Many people in North Africa, especially in Algeria and Morocco, speak an Amazigh language (also known as Berber, although that term should be avoided) as their mother tongue.

There are some ferries from Italy (notably Sicily), Spain, and Gibraltar – see Ferries in the Mediterranean‎.

All five countries in North Afrixa have rather impressive archaeological sites and historic cities – the sites in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, however, are far more accessible than their counterparts in Libya or Algeria. Many of these sites are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Egypt is famous for the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, as well as the temples in Luxor and Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings. The Mediterranean city of Alexandria offers both a lot in terms of heritage alongside its coastal charm.

Marrakech, Fez and Meknes are all imperial Moroccan cities with no shortage of centuries-old architecture. The ancient capital of Mauritania (in modern-day Morocco), Volubilis, also contains many old Roman ruins.

Tunisia might appear small on a map but it has no shortage of heritage sites: the most famous of them are perhaps the Carthage ruins to the north of Tunis, and El Jem, a Roman amphitheatre. The city of Kairouan is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In Algeria, Timgad and Djemila are good examples of heritage cities.

The cities of Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Cyrene on the Libyan coast are relics of the Roman Empire. However, preservation can be a hit or miss due to ongoing internal crisis in Libya.

The cuisine of North Africa, also known as Maghrebi cuisine, is shaped by the Mediterranean and desert climate. Influences from the Levant starting no later than the Arab invasions and arguably as early as the Phoenician colonies, and more recently from the Ottoman Empire, have brought similarities to Middle Eastern cuisine. However, there are quite a few differences, and many of the people in this region are Berbers, rather than Arabs, with their own traditions.

While influenced by French cuisine due to French colonisation, Maghrebi cuisine has also in turn been successful in France, largely owing to North African immigration to France.

As pork is taboo in Islam, the most popular meats are beef, sheep, goat, and poultry.

Traditional spices are cumin, ginger, paprika, cinnamon, and saffron.

The archetypal staple food is couscous. Wheat bread is also ubiquitous. Aside from couscous (not just the grain but a meat with sauce, vegetables and couscous), tagines are a typical dish.

There are many North African mezes, and quite a few of them are distinct from common Levantine mezes - for example, spicy carrots. In this region, harissa is a fiery red chili-based sauce with a unique mixture of spices.

Alcoholic beverages are restricted, but can still be bought and consumed in most resort towns. Wine is also made by the Jewish minority for sacramental use.

The restrictions on alcohol, and the hot climate, make soft drinks and fruit juices popular.

Green tea with mint has status of national beverage in Morocco.

Arabic coffee, which involves adding cardamom to flavour the coffee, is also popular throughout North Africa.

Avoid drinking untreated ground water. Avoid Libya, southern Algeria, the Sahrawi areas of Western Sahara, and southern Tunisia due to the risk of armed conflict or insurgent violence.