Lively souks and blooming Atlas roses are just a few of the offers of Morocco. 

Explore Morocco: Luxury Trips to Morocco | PRIOR

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From the bustling souks of Marrakech to the windswept dunes of the Sahara, Morocco is a sensory tapestry woven with vibrant markets, exquisite craftsmanship, and age-old traditions. Dive into a world where labyrinthine medinas hum with artisanal rhythms, ancient riads promise quiet refuge, and each moment offers a new passage into timeless North African allure.

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Stills from Sam Youkilis' beautiful day in the storied Medina of Fes, Morocco. 

Fes Hero

Fes index

Videographer Sam Youkilis spends a day in the storied Medina in Fes, Morocco, documenting the hustle and the best place for mint tea.

Exploring the Medina of Fes: A Video Diary | Prior

Contributor Sam Youkilis spends a day 
in the labyrinthine Fes’s Medina. 

Souk Life

When a new expat arrives, the rest of us Tangerines (as anyone who has lived here for more than thirty years calls themselves) now realize that there is little point asking what she or he does. They will all be interior designers. Why have so many fans of Regency, guéridons, opaline glass and Napoleon III chosen to rendezvous in this new, not particularly beautiful city, similar to so many other port metropolises around the Mediterranean? For its light, perhaps, so cherished by Matisse? For the muezzins’ chant? For the supermarkets and their car parks? For the new seafront boulevard that resembles a freeway exit ramp? For the plans to build a cable car from the tourist port to the “regenerated” Casbah? 

In some mysterious way, the new Tangier continues to be the same place we have known and loved: the Firbankian operetta setting of David Herbert, who welcomed his guests wearing a tarboosh over his wig and a parrot on his shoulder; the antiquarian and erudite city of Christopher Gibbs and Richard Timewell; Joe Orton’s brothel; Paul Bowles’s literary circle; the sit-in of the Beat Generation; Barbara Hutton’s salon; the bird’s-eye engravings of James McBey, Marguerite McBey’s watercolors, or Tessa Codrington’s photos. 
Strange as it may seem, the heart of that happy Tangier still beats in the cosmopolitan interiors of the expats who continue to settle here. If these foreigners choose to come here instead of going to Marrakech or Phuket, it’s because the whole city is under the spell of this spirit of decoration, creating an aura—a huge silk lampshade, you might even say—that attracts decorators to these shores like a lighthouse in a storm. But what do I mean by “spirit of decoration”? And why, of all places, should it be typical of this grubby north African city with a bad climate, no monuments, and a few antique dealers, rather than of one of the hubs of contemporary bric-à-brac, like the Îsle-sur-la-Sorgue?

Why Tangier instead of Parma or Gatwick, the Rive Gauche or Khan el-Khalili? I shall risk an anthropological explanation: the Jbala, the Berber people who have lived in this corner of Morocco since time immemorial, love their homes with a passion that is unmatched in other parts of the country. A walk through the old Medina will confirm it: pastel-painted walls, pot plants on every windowsill, plastic flower garlands framing mirrors that look like those from Murano, and heavenly symmetries in the humblest of dwellings. 
Tangier is a city in love with objects. And even this grey contemporary Tangier, a victim of globalization, still shelters and envelops its ancient core, without completely shutting out its light. Rather than a lampshade it’s a nightlight, a naked flame, a will-o’-the-wisp, a firefly, a faint light, but it provides a consoling glimmer and attracts foreign designers like moths. This ancient, wind- swept city, enamored of beautiful objects, has lost so much of the beauty that destiny conferred upon it, but it remains cool and witty, and is still able to speak all the languages of these newcomers. 

*A complete version of Umberto Pasti’s introduction appears in* Inside Tangier: Houses & Gardens *by Nicolò Castellini Baldissera & Guido Taroni (Vendome Press)*


## DAR BABA
<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/5CFOqmKayYqhM8wiCAReXj/13f5da0658d4c0739263104cdad7fef8/TangierHomes_Dar_Baba_credit_Guido_Taroni9.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

When shoe designer Bruno Frisoni and furniture designer Hervé Van Der Straeten first visited Tangier in 1997, they were not immediately taken with it, but as they spent more time with long-time residents, they were slowly drawn to its charms. They began to appreciate that life here revolves around entertaining at home, and in 2002, when a friend recommended they view a house for sale near Barbara Hutton’s Sidi Hosni, they bought it. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/4ZqLIMn1r9Is0iesuDoKMJ/6f69ec9f4b29115dca627bd46642fd46/TangierHomes_Dar_Baba_credit_Guido_Taroni8.png"/><figcaption>Photographs by Guido Taroni</figcaption></figure>


## LALLA YENOU
<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/7oBWPcnjLCThz8VO1Xd2F1/0f0ae3d018a1facd64fc9e38a9962ade/Lalla_Yenou_TangierHomes_credit_Guido_Taroni7.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Sarah Wheeler first came to Tangier with her family as a young child. 
Her grandparents owned the iconic Dar Sinclair, which today belongs to her sisters. Her mother, the late photographer Tessa Codrington, visited her parents every summer with her husband, Stewart Wheeler, and their three daughters, Sarah, Jacquetta, and Charlotte. As Tessa recounted in her book Spirits of Tangier (2008), Sarah at first hated coming to visit, smuggling in frozen pizzas and white sliced bread in her suitcase, disliking Moroccan food. She could have no idea how things would change for her. Leaving university in the UK, she went to live at Dar Sinclair, taught English at the American language center and learned Arabic. Later, her mother’s friend, the late Johnnie Gairdner, bequeathed her Lalla Yenou, a charming house named after a nearby spring, with a wonderful garden sloping down to Dar Sinclair. 
<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/5q9rtcJ0HsHjgjEruxFeH5/740ae8610917463c66cf1c4051810b3d/Lalla_Yenou_TangierHomes_credit_Guido_Taroni6.png"/><figcaption>Photographs by Guido Taroni</figcaption></figure>

## DAR OUEZZANE
<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/2SjqmhY2Ea8sc3TKNP0D9o/1d124a36eb607c7b0e16b877ac690d47/Dar_Ouazenne_TangierHomes_credit_Guido_Taroni2.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Merchants have a long history in Tangier—the reason the Legation was founded here in the 18th century as America’s first consulate, and why European powers have long jostled for control of the “White City.” Although the days of easy pickings are gone, as generations of foreign residents and their friends have combed the souk and shops on Rue de Fez, antiques dealer Gordon Watson was undeterred. Over sev- eral years, he has steadily pieced together his ocher enclave, Dar Ouezzane. The entrance to the main house is at the top of Rue Shakespeare, in what might be considered the “pal- ace district” of the Marchane, but there is another way in, through the little house just off the cemetery, where shepherds in brown djellabas graze sheep and goats. The only indication of what lies beyond this relatively understated building is the unusual shade of clay that runs throughout the compound. 
<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/4OmdWWSK8fUm32GzM3T0df/f811b0e5f79236c0be481d980c82e0db/Dar_Ouazenne_TangierHomes_credit_Guido_Taroni3.png"/><figcaption>Photographs by Guido Taroni</figcaption></figure>  

## LA DI DAR
<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/52Iy1S7mO65bOvjPV7UG4v/95e3720d3f7a991fdb494918455ed479/La_Di_Dar_TangierHomes_credit_Guido_Taroni4.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Tucked away from the busy streets of the main Medina-Casbah intersection lies La Di Dar, as the owner of this charming four-storey home has dubbed it. A talented London-based interior decorator, Gavin Houghton has made this his hideaway, and an endless source of inspiration for both his work and his main hobby: painting. Details of the colorful riad provide recurring motifs in his watercolors and on his Instagram feed, where the candy-striped red-and-white ceiling of his L-shaped living room has been a particular hit.
<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/oc8dxvhvd87u/41FHLaId3xx2M2VxMQESrz/83250170ff935b282f31b96c2de69067/La_Di_Dar_TangierHomes_credit_Guido_Taroni5.png"/><figcaption>Photographs by Guido Taroni</figcaption></figure>

Dar Ouazenne TangierHomes credit Guido Taroni

Guido Taroni

Tangier

Explore Tangier's unique appeal to expat interior designers who have made this Moroccan city their creative haven. Discover the eclectic charm and cultural influence that has drawn creative minds to Tangier, shaping its cosmopolitan interiors. From historical anecdotes to contemporary design stories, immerse yourself in the captivating world of design that thrives amidst Tangier's vibrant past and present.

The Allure of Tangier's Expat Interiors: A Cultural Odyssey of Design

A new book celebrates the palaces and riads of the former trading post which are now in the custody of visiting designers with bold ideas. 

Tangier’s Houses

Morocco’s exquisite and earthly gifts have served as playgrounds for the most sophisticated and tasteful, Yves St. Laurent and Talitha Getty alike. At the same time, this land has inspired people all over the world to involve its native resources, such as rosewater from the exceptionally perfumed Damascena rose and ghassoul clay harvested in the Atlas Mountains, in their beauty regimens. These most effective and prized ingredients are readily available in Marrakech’s local markets and bazaars, sparing you a long trek over valleys and deserts. Below are a handful of some of the most cherished products that have long been implemented into Moroccan beauty rituals, passed down from generation to generation.

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/38sZJclQ0wtp8S6jJtKHrw/152db2a34a45ee43af6161c1033e4ae7/Moroccan_Beauty_Products_body.jpg" alt="Atlas Mountains."/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Ghassoul Clay 
Also known as Rhassoul, this potent, magnesium-rich clay comes from the Atlas Mountains and can be used to detoxify the face, body and even hair. Best purchased in powdered form, the clay can be mixed with warm water (and even rosewater and essential oils) to achieve the desired consistency and quantity for the area of application. The negatively charged minerals of the clay help wash out the skin’s positively charged toxins, enabling it to draw out impurities all over the body. Ghassoul clay is also gentle enough to be used as a daily skin cleanser. At the local hammams, the clay is applied pre-bath to cleanse and soften the skin. For hair, it can be used as a natural shampoo as well as a soothing scalp treatment. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/1y26waK1pHOqTlvlkF2pQU/3d93fa70ab4bb2618b3d0b0e33a5602e/Moroccan_Beauty_Products_body2.jpg" alt="Rose harvest in Morocco."/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Rosewater 
A long-trusted Moroccan remedy, rosewater is one of the earth’s most natural anti-inflammatories, helping to relieve dry, itchy skin. Because of its low ph 5.5, it’s easy to incorporate into your skin regimen as a gentle, purifying toner. Its antioxidant properties make rosewater a go-to remedy for minor infections and eye irritations as well. Roses bloom everywhere in Morocco, but the majority of the rosewater sold in the regional bazaars is derived from the famed hot pink Damascena roses grown in the Kelaat M’Goun valley. Here, the native roses are steam distilled to preserve their intense perfume, unlike other parts of the world where rose oil is simply mixed with water. These exceptionally fragrant bouquets are not only cultivated in the region for rosewater production, but the blooms are celebrated with a yearly rose festival each May. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/3ZeDCegysuJ8oIObMPkh54/6949808893f253d72299b43934eed04c/Moroccan_Beauty_Products_body3.jpg" alt="Goats in Argan trees courtesy of Pablo Zamora."/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Argan Oil 
In the last ten years, the world has finally caught on to what Moroccans have known for centuries – that Argan oil, also referred to as liquid gold, is one of the most fortifying and beneficial oils for hair, skin, and internal health. Found primarily in the Sous Valley, a region near Essaouira, obtaining argan oil is pretty labor-intensive and multi-step. The fruit of the Argan tree is consumed by goats who climb up into the branches and then spit out or excrete the large seeds. The oil that’s then extracted from the kernels of these seeds is bountiful in nutrients. Largely produced by Berber women cooperatives, argan oil can be used directly on the skin to heal wounds, hydrate, and aid in elasticity. The most popular use is as a superfood for hair, applied as a thick mask. Applying a small amount post-styling will help repair split ends and give a deep shine to hair. Pure culinary Argan oil is also sold at various local souks; a powerful antioxidant, rich in vitamin E, this oil is best used at room temperature, often served drizzled over bread or vegetables in Morocco. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/3yVNslb3rcWLHoGwiCZJnr/e21c496b7d9c3f61b1411d0155d4ae07/Moroccan_Beauty_Products_body4.jpg" alt="Olive tree fields in the Atlas Mountains."/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Sabon Beldi 
This famed “Moroccan Black Soap,” sold in the local markets and used widely in hammams, is one of the purest forms of soap you will find. Made from virgin black olive oils, it’s gentle enough to be used every day. The ingredients are also free of any synthetic additives and irritants unlike commercialized brands. Also – because of the high vitamin E content, it will not rob your skin of the existing oils, nor will it dry your skin out like regular soap. Most often sold as a dark green paste, sabon beldi should be left on the skin for several minutes to reap the moisturizing benefits. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/2X5m1HZ4EFsocIku4QDr42/a460feba33af34358292348a24813137/Moroccan_Beauty_Products_body5.jpg" alt="Hammam in Fez courtesy of Gonzalo Riestra via Flickr."/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Kessa Exfoliating Mitt 
The Kessa (sometimes known as Kees-eh in other regions of the Middle East) is an inexpensive but priceless bathing tool that uses natural fibers to exfoliate dead skin. This bathing ritual is a regular and essential practice among Moroccans to refresh and restore the healthiest state of their dermal layers. This simple but effective bathing tool can be found nearly everywhere in Morocco for little cost and big payoff for overall skin health. Use in tandem with beldi soap, to invigorate the skin and the mood, promoting circulation and soft, vibrant skin. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/5g3jKeik9lRoNnXe1X9fZy/a8900c16d3e56e879bfea13db8855cb9/Moroccan_Beauty_Products_body6.jpg" alt="Oranges at Moroccan market courtesy of Conor Burke."/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Bitter Orange Blossom Oil 
Also known as neroli, this oil, extracted from the wonderfully aromatic and antioxidant-rich white flowers of the bitter orange tree, yields a healthy dose of moisture when applied directly to the skin. And for those who are prone to breakouts, this is an excellent option because the antibacterial properties of the oil helps control the production of sebaceous cysts, as well. The steam- distilled essential oil has also, for centuries, been used to aid in easing tension, anxiety, and stress. When taken as an ingestible tonic, bitter orange oil has been traditionally used to improve digestion and as an appetite suppressant. It’s a worthy scent to add to your fragrance collection, beautiful paired with both soft jasmine and more vibrant aromas.

<figure class="align-right hidden"><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/5KfVaXHErOHnwe5IEyu84H/1649372703909d2236f50bb2e978aaa8/Moroccan_Beauty_Products-1.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure class="align-right hidden"><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/2RccBtdKc22MCGEtWyJs2d/44965fe964ceb877f6fe0bcb4bc8bfee/Moroccan_Beauty_Products-2.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure class="align-right hidden"><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/2PVFvt9Ueg4T4UbppUh7kj/cf63da620cb3ab9d33a941bbcd00511c/Moroccan_Beauty_Products-3.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure class="align-right hidden"><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/6GKyTGK8BBCjYRKhmrlSRf/a7e5ceb693fd657ed9362f3beed0bdd1/Moroccan_Beauty_Products-4.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure class="align-right hidden"><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/60PWhI6AoXtAzjPthRfdm6/869ed1b613c4a96d4e3c60b2d66fc374/Moroccan_Beauty_Products-5.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure class="align-right hidden"><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/1fmWiFAOZ5LVyWWSSYJBWR/b60abbe762ca4092a91f629f52fd22ff/Moroccan_Beauty_Products-6.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure class="align-right hidden"><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/3XCTt7uUM2HsxRB1h6CHFF/012238397ce343c322bafb3d18f19658/Moroccan_Beauty_Products-7.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


Photos of landscapes, buildings, and natural foliage that depict the beauty of Moroccan beauty products like ghassoul clay, black soap, and argan oil. 

Moroccan Beauty Products hero

Moroccan Beauty Products index

The PRIOR guide to powerful, healing natural Moroccan beauty products like argan oil, black soap, rosewater & ghassoul clay.

Moroccan Argan Oil, Black Soap & Healing Beauty Products | Prior

The expansive orange, olive and argan groves, mineral-rich Atlas mountains and Damascena rose fields of Morocco are bountiful resources when it comes to naturally-derived beauty products. Here, a guide to six of the powerful, healing and indulgent ingredients to search out in the souk.


Morocco

Explore Morocco

Souk Life

Tangier’s Houses

Morocco’s Natural Beauty

Oh... and also

See the uniquely Moroccan art deco villas, theaters, hotels and churches of downtown Casablanca’s boulevards and plazas.

Spend the night in a fully serviced tent pitched among dunes beneath the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.

Celebrate the year’s harvest at the Morocco Rose Festival in El Kelaa M’Gouna, the “Valley of Roses,” and stay in a 200-year-old kasbah.

Morocco