Morocco, seen from the Gulf

Faith sets the rhythm of the day here too: the adhan five times a day, Friday as the day families gather, Ramadan nights that come alive after iftar. Hospitality will feel familiar as well, with tea in place of coffee and dates offered at the door.

Travelling as a family is normal. Gulf families and groups of several generations are a growing share of Morocco's visitors, and riads, beach hotels and restaurants are used to large tables.

Darija. It is Arabic, but Moroccan Arabic, fast and full of French, Spanish and Amazigh words, and many Arab visitors say they can't follow it at first. You'll rarely need to: Moroccans often switch to Fusha, or to the Egyptian and Levantine Arabic they know from television, when they hear another Arab dialect.

The weather and the green. Morocco has seasons. The Middle Atlas around Ifrane is cedar forest, springs and, in winter, snow; Moroccans themselves go there to escape the summer heat. The Rif around Chefchaouen is all mountains and running water.

Walking. The old medinas are lanes, not roads. In Fes el-Bali no car can go in, so a riad may be a ten-minute walk from where the taxi stops.

The Andalusian heritage, above all. Fes, Tetouan, Chefchaouen and the Oudayas in Rabat carry the houses, gardens and music of the families who came from Al-Andalus, and for many Arab visitors this is the heart of the trip.

The food at home with a family, the Atlantic beaches in summer, and the feeling of a country where you can walk in the evening and the street is full of people.

In everyday terms, as fellow Arabs and Muslims, which is why people so often switch dialect to make you comfortable. We found no reliable study of how Moroccans see Gulf visitors in particular, so we won't claim more than that. If you have a story, tell us.

Fly into Casablanca, see the Hassan II Mosque on the ocean, then take the train north. Rabat's Oudayas and Fes are the Andalusian heart; Ifrane is a cool stop in the cedar forest; end in the blue of Chefchaouen. In summer, swap the mountains for the Atlantic beaches; in winter, go south to Marrakech and the desert.