Urban reference · Morocco
What you notice, explained.
Why riads feel cooler. Why there are cats. Why Google Maps fails. Derb explains the systems behind the everyday details of Morocco’s cities.
82 questions · 7 guides · browse them all →
Today in the alley:
Seven doors
Pick a door
Each guide opens onto a courtyard of related questions. Hover to peek inside.
By topic
Every question, sorted
Freshly updated
- What is the tourist tax?A per-person, per-night city tax your riad collects at checkout — usually in cash.Arrival & Logistics · 2026-07-04
- How do I get a petit taxi to use the meter?Say “compteur, s'il vous plaît” before the car moves — or agree the price before you sit down.Arrival & Logistics · 2026-07-04
- Why is the riad so hard to find?Because a derb is a dead-end, house numbers restart in every one, and GPS can't see past the walls.The Medina · 2026-07-04
- What does "Balak!" mean?“Mind out” — and something large is about to occupy the space you're standing in.The Medina · 2026-07-04
Bookmark these
The official websites
Trains, buses, airports, gardens. The real sites, not the resellers.
Getting around
- ONCFNational railways: timetables, Al Boraq high-speed trainoncf.ma ↗
- ONCF VoyagesBuy train tickets onlineoncf-voyages.ma ↗
- CTMIntercity buses, the big national networkctm.ma ↗
- SupratoursONCF's buses, linking stations to towns trains don't reachsupratours.ma ↗
- ONDAMoroccan airports: arrivals, departures, terminalsonda.ma ↗
Darija
Words you’ll hear
Moroccan Arabic is the language of the street, the souk and the riad. These are the ones that fly past you in any medina.
- derbدرب
DERB
alley / neighborhood
A small residential alley in the medina, or the neighborhood it defines. The basic unit of medina social life.
- mdina qdimaمدينة قديمة
mdi-NA qdi-MA
old medina
The historic walled city center. Narrow winding streets, souks, riads.
- babباب
BAB
door / gate
The monumental gates of Moroccan cities — Bab Agnaou, Bab Doukkala. Used for navigation.
- zanqaزنقة
ZAN-qa
street / alley
The narrow streets of the medina. Used for addresses: zanqa X, derb Y.
- riadرياض
ri-YAD
riad
House with interior courtyard. From the Arabic for garden.
- suqسوق
SUQ
market / souk
The traditional market. Organized by trade — spice souk, leather souk, carpet souk.
- 7anutحانوت
HA-nut
corner shop
The neighborhood corner store. Sells everything from bread to phone credit. Every derb has one.
- zelijزليج
ze-LIJ
zellige tiles
Hand-cut geometric mosaic tilework. Found in riads, mosques, and fountains across Morocco.
- wst ddarوسط الدار
wst d-DAR
courtyard
The central open-air courtyard of a riad. The heart of traditional Moroccan domestic life.
- qsbaقصبة
QS-ba
citadel / casbah
A fortified quarter or citadel. Historically where the ruler and garrison lived.
- atayأتاي
a-TAY
mint tea
THE Moroccan drink. Gunpowder green tea, fresh spearmint, and lots of sugar. Refusing is rude.
- tajinطاجين
TA-jin
tagine
Both the conical clay pot and the slow-cooked dish. The most iconic Moroccan dish.
- khobzخبز
KHOBZ
bread
Round flatbread, the staple of every meal. Never thrown away — given to the poor or fed to animals.
- ferranفرّان
fer-RAN
communal oven
The neighborhood bread oven where families send their dough to be baked. A social institution.
- salamسلام
sa-LAM
hello / peace
The universal Moroccan greeting. Used any time of day. Often followed by labas? (how are you?).
- balakبالاك
BA-lak
watch out!
You'll hear this constantly in the medina — from motorbikes, donkeys, and carts squeezing through.
- taksiطاكسي
TAK-si
taxi
Petit taxi (within city, by meter — in theory) and grand taxi (between cities, shared).
- mnaraمنارة
mna-RA
minaret
The tower of a mosque from which the call to prayer is broadcast. A medina landmark.
10,000+ words and 1,500+ phrases at darija.io.