Category: Morocco Villa
Posted by Brian - August 16, 2011 - Morocco Villa
Today has been an interesting day we had a lot of people stopping on the road nearby where we are building asking if we wanted to sell our land, I guess we were lucky we bought it nearly 4 years ago and were one of the first people to buy, I think now most of the land near the sea and beach has been sold. Good for us the prices are shooting up, not that we want to sell. The villa building is coming along great as you can see we are nearly finished the foundations and just about all the steel reinforcement is in place. Tomorrow we start to mix and pour the cement for the foundations. The photo below shows the current state of construction, you are able to see the outline of the villa.
Scorpions
As we were digging around the foundations one of the builders dug up a scorpion, not a big deal for them but for me it was a bit of a fright and I really wanted to get a good look at it, apparently scorpions are common in Morocco and there are quite a few deaths every year through scorpion stings, the black scorpions being the worst and most deadly. My wife is terrified of them, once I got over my initial shock I was just interested, when we got back home I was straight onto Google to look up scorpions in Morocco.
The one we found is the common type not really deadly, I also think it was a female. They generally prefer to hunt at night, feeding on bugs and other insects and even other scorpions.
And finally my donkeys of the day these two kids came trotting by one a big donkey and a small donkey, I see a lot of kids riding donkeys in Morocco especially out in the country side.
Posted by Brian - August 11, 2011 - Morocco Villa
Villa Plans
We have had the Villa Plans for quite some time they were professionally drawn up by a Moroccan architect, coming up with the right Villa Plans was not easy we needed to take in all the local building regultions as well as the layout and shape of the land. In the end we opted to go for something simple, which was just as well because a year ago we were told that we could not build on the first 10 meters of our land because the government may need it to extend the road. So thank god we opted for a simple Villa Plans that can be changed easily.
Villa Plans Location
We have a plot of land near a small village called Beddouza or Bedouza or even Meddouza on google maps, anyway the villa is located about 3 kilometres before the village coming from El Jadida. We are between Safi and El Jadida right on the Atlantic coast, the views out over the Atlantic Ocean and the beaches are absolutely stunning, it s one of the main reasons why we commissioned the Villa plans for this spot.
We are more or less situated in the middle of Morocco, we can be in Casablanca in just over 2 hours or Marrakesh in 3. While the beautiful town of Essoura is only just under 2 hours away. So as you can see the Villa is in the right spot, now onto the villa plans.
Villa Plans Land size
Villa Plans Foundations plan and ground floor plan, We also have a another plan for the foundations for all the steel that has to be laid down in the foundations and supporting beams for the villa.
Villa Plans First and second floor, as my wife is Moroccan we will probably stick with a traditional Moroccan building and design, we currently have a bit of a hot discussion about patio doors I want them and she says they will be a security hazard when we are not in the villa, I just thought it would be nice to sit in my office and look out over the pool. I suppose we could compromise and settle for large windows.
Villa Plans first and second floors 
Villa Plans Front and side views
Finally what the finished villa is supposed to look like when its finished, lets hope we get somewhere near it.
Villa Plans that’s all for now folks.
Posted by Brian - August 9, 2011 - Morocco Villa
Building A Villa In Morocco
Finally we have all he permissions we need to start building, its taken nearly 4 years of submitting papers, getting stamps, licenses and permits. We have so much paper and permits I have a huge file full of papers, and already the local authorities are asking to see them as we start to lay the foundations for the villa. We have had the plan for nearly three years now, so I know where every brick will go by heart.
So to start we will build a garage, this will be used as a store to keep all the building materials in such as cement, bricks and steel, all the stuff we have to keep on site as its to far away to from the nearest town to buy daily.
So the first photos is of the foundations going down for the garage. Thats my wife giving the builders instructions, in Arabic they have a phrase that is Bash Mohandes it means big engineer. That my wife’s nickname Bash Mohandes because she knows everything about everything, she never built a villa but has been giving out orders like a seasoned building site foreman.
Building A Villa In Morocco -One of the locals turn up to see what’s going on, so my wife leaves her duties as site foreman to see what’s happening and to say hello, In case you didn’t notice my wife is Moroccan, anyway she has a good chat and gets all the local news and gossip. We must be on the local donkey highway as I normally see about 20 or more donkeys and riders passing daily.
Building A Villa In Morocco – Mixing cement for the foundations, I dont think builders using pink buckets will catch on in Europe.
Building A Villa In Morocco -Pouring the cement into the foundations of the garage
So all in all not a bad first day considering it was also the first day of ramadan as well.
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Posted by Brian - July 6, 2011 - Morocco Villa
Holidays To Morocco
Visit Morocco
Holidays To Morocco – If you are thinking about booking your family holidays to Morocco, then here is some information for you to consider. Morocco has two coastlines in the North the Mediterranean which has warmer calmer water, and in the South the Atlantic, which can be very slightly cooler and the waves are bigger. The Atlantic coast of Morocco is actually great for surfers there are some places that have fantastic waves nearly all the year round, but lets leave that for another post. If you are booking your holidays to Morocco then the chances are you are considering one of the 2 main tourist destinations.
Holidays To Morocco Agadir
Agadir is situated in the south of Morocco with a Atlantic coast line, the trip from the airport to the main hotels area should take no more than half and hour. Hotels in Agadir are mostly very good and service is great, however do not expect the same hygienic standards to apply as you would find at home. While generally the Hotels are very clean you will find some things you don’t like, flies being one example, but don’t let this put you off every hot country will have these problems.
Agadir is great for the beach and the hottest part of the year is from June to September, the beaches are fantastic not to crowded like Spain, and best of all they are clean, you will see cleaners patrolling the beach picking up any litter and in general keeping things tidy. One of the most important things to remember when thinking of booking a holiday to Morocco is buy good Suntan lotion,
the sun in Morocco is very strong and you will burn
so make sure you have plenty of sun tan cream.
There are loads of restaurants and bars in Agadir if you booked your holidays to Morocco to take advantage of the night-life you wont be disappointed the night-life in Agadir is excellent.
Holidays To Morocco Marrakesh
I love Marrakesh just the name conjures up all the smells and excitement that the city has, holidays to Morocco and in particular Marrakesh are like nothing else you will have experienced, lets start at the beginning there is no beach in Marrakesh but most Hotels do have amazing pools. Marrakesh is situated in the Middle of Morocco so the temperatures are a lot hotter than the coastal areas, I have yet to see a bad hotel, but I do tend to stay away from the cheap ones.
Jemaa el-Fnaa
Thought to mean “The Mosque at the End of the World” is in fact a square in the city centre that comes alive at night with the most amazing variety people and vendors you will ever see, snake charmers (with real snakes) dancing groups, musicians, faith healers, herbalists, singers and one thousand other things. Jemaa El Fnaa is one of the attractions that you really must see in Morocco.
Marrakesh Souk while most Moroccan towns have a souk there is nothing as big as Marrakesh souk it will take you days to see it all its well worth a visit.
Night-life and bars restaurants in Marrakesh are numerous and general quite good, if you don’t like Moroccan food then there are MacDonalds KFC and of course Pizza places.
Booking holidays to Morocco you wont be short of options. More information from Holidays To Morocco.
Posted by Brian - June 24, 2011 - Morocco Villa
Morocco economy may be slow, but thanks to tourism it’s getting better!
Morocco is portrayed in travel brochures as a wonderful place of relaxation and beautiful beaches accompanied by luxury hotels, spas, and resorts. The natives are often portrayed as being friendly, genuine people who are very helpful and who will talk your ear off at any given moment. Golf and business are conducted there to foster relaxed genuine deals. All these things are true about Morocco, but past the spas, the beach, and the golf courses, is a struggling group of people trying to survive off low funds. This is why tourism is so embraced by Moroccan citizens.
Most citizens in Morocco who are not involved in some sort of tourist business live below the poverty level. Do not worry when going to see the beautiful culturally landmarks or take the Mountain tours, both of which are opportunities that every Moroccan traveler should take advantage of, because the crime rate is low and as long as you follow the basic safety rules as you would anywhere else, you will be fine among the Moroccan people.
Moroccan people are genuinely happy go lucky people who appreciate the beauty and culture of their land and appreciate you taking the time to come experience it. This appreciation and inviting spirit of art is present everywhere you turn as you see the hard work that Moroccans put into their villas, gardens, and pools. A Moroccan values art and individuality, so when every creating something physical in the environment, they try to emulate the individuality of the land and their selves by using simple but striking gardening arrangements. Understanding this will help you to also love the land and people of Morocco even more than you originally probably did.
Morocco Climate
Morocco’s climate matches the sunny disposition of the people as it is located in the Mediterranean climate area and the weather seldom drops below 65 even at night throughout the winter. Most of the time, winter temps are 70-75 and summer temps are 80-90. (Fahrenheit) Perhaps this is why the people of Morocco are so happy all the time, it’s hard to even get bitter in a place that never does! There are rainy seasons with heavy downpours during the winters (November thru March) but with a raincoat and an umbrella with the high temperatures you will simply get wet, not cold, so if you can handle that, you will actually save money and the risk of sunburn by travelling to Morocco in the winter and fall.
Morocco
The country is a wonderful place to visit and even though the economy has been sluggish for a while, with the increasing tourism and investments from foreigners into the Moroccan culture, Morocco is getting stronger as a country every day. Regardless of where Morocco stands as a country, the one thing you can be comforted by, is knowing the people will still be there to greet you with a smile!
