Although I have this maroc-o-philes section on the website, it would be hard to interview myself… Fortunately expat.com wanted to do the job for me. Here is their interview with me, Lynn Sheppard….

Lynn in Essaouira: “The Moroccan lifestyle is pretty laid back”

British expat, Lynn moved to Essaouira more than three years ago to be with her Moroccan partner. Freelance author and travel writer, she particularly enjoys the sun, the beach and the relaxed pace of life in the country.

Photo: Amanda Ponzio-Mouttaki

Amanda Ponzio-Mouttaki, aka MarocMama, is a professional writer and world travelling wife and mum of two boys. She is currently an American expat living in Marrakech, Morocco, exploring all that Morocco has to offer.

MoP: Amanda, what first brought you to Morocco?

The first time I heard about Morocco I was probably 12 years old. The TODAY show (an American morning TV show) did a segment called “Where in the World is Matt Lauer” where everyday for a week he’d turn up somewhere else in the world. One day it was Marrakech. I so vividly remember him standing in Djmaa el Fna with a monkey on his shoulder! Maybe two years later, I saw Malika Oufkir on the Oprah Show talking about Morocco and her book. I read the book and Morocco stuck even deeper. When I finished high school, my dad wanted to take my sister and I somewhere, anywhere we wanted in the world, and we eventually settled on Morocco (at my insistence), even though neither of them really even knew where it was. That was 2004. It was on that trip I met my husband in a very chance encounter (you can read about it here) and never looked back. Continue reading →

Emily Burrows is one half of Wild Morocco, a Berber-British joint venture specialising in private Sahara tours and desert trekking in the region of the Erg Chigaga great dunes in the Iriqui National Park. Wild Morocco brings the best of both cultural backgrounds. Emily first came to Morocco in 2008. Thereafter, she gave up her management career in London, where she had worked in a number of household-name multinationals to move to Morocco and work in a number of tourism roles. Wild Morocco was created with business partner, Yahya in 2011.

MoP: So, Emily, what first brought you to Morocco and why?

The High Atlas mountains – I did an 8-day trek with the Toubkal summit as one of the trek highlights. At that time, I didn’t know much about the mountain range, but I was keen to discover more as it conjured up images of a compelling adventure in a range less busy than the Alps – besides, I love camping!

Continue reading →

Pauline de Villiers Brettellphoto credit: Pauline de Villiers Brettell

is a freelance writer, interior designer and stylist from South Africa who spends an increasing amount of her time on Africa’s most north-western tip at Assilah, near Tangiers. She is the author and curator of the tea in tangiers blog. A lover of textiles, design and colour, she is an an avid poster on instagram and pinner on Pinterest.

MoP: Pauline, what brought you to Morocco and why?

My first trip was many years ago – 18 to be precise and I was heavily pregnant with my eldest daughter. It was a work trip so was a whirlwind affair of photo shoots and interviews, but I knew that one day I had to bring my husband to Marrakech’s Jmaa el Fna! Several years later we returned with 2 children in tow and had a memorable family holiday that ended up with us making an offer on some land just outside of Assilah. We now return as often as possible with a view to eventually making it home. Continue reading →

image: Marlene Pauly

The next maroc-o-phile in this series is Marlène Pauly, a Belgian architect and designer now based in Essaouira. With her partner, Peter, she runs property search, interior design and architecture services through Mogador Home Resort and exports fair trade Moroccan handicrafts and interior decoration products through Souk Morocco. If you would like to share their Mogador lifestyle on a buying trip or a holiday, they have an apartment for rent in Essaouira.

MoP: Marlène, what first brought you to Morocco and why?
oh la, la! At first, it seemed a coincidence. But when I thought about it, Morocco and the Islamic culture have always been intriguing me. As an architect I was impressed by the beauty of the old Medina houses, the technical skills and the craftsmanship you can find here. So probably it was something that was somehow meant to be and it was only waiting for me to be ready. Continue reading →