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My 1001 Nights: Tales and Adventures from Morocco
TV presenter, writer and adventurer Alice Morrison gives her own unique and personal insight into Morocco, her home for 1001 nights.
When Alice Morrison headed out to Morocco , it was to take on one of the most daunting to run in the famous Marathon des Sables . Little did she expect to end up living there. But as soon as she settled in a flat in Marrakech , she was won over by the people, the spectacular scenery and the ancient alleyways of the souk. Soon she was hiking over the Atlas mountains , joining nomads to sample their timeless way of life as they crossed the Sahara desert, and finding peace in a tranquil oasis.
Despite more than 10 million tourists coming to Morocco each year, there is remarkably little that has been written about its people, their customs and the extraordinary range of places to visit, from bustling markets to vast, empty deserts. Alice makes sure she samples it all, and as she does she provides a stunning portrait of a beautiful country . As a lone woman, she often attracts plenty of curiosity, but her willingness to participate - whether thigh deep in pigeon droppings in a tannery or helping out herding goats - ensures that she is welcomed everywhere by a people who are among the most hospitable on the planet.
Alice came to fame with her BBC2 series Morocco to Timbuktu , and now she joins the ranks of great travel writers who can bring a country vividly to life and instantly transport the reader to a sunnier place. If you're thinking of going to Morocco, or you want to recall your time there, My 1001 Nights is the ideal book.
When Alice Morrison headed out to Morocco , it was to take on one of the most daunting to run in the famous Marathon des Sables . Little did she expect to end up living there. But as soon as she settled in a flat in Marrakech , she was won over by the people, the spectacular scenery and the ancient alleyways of the souk. Soon she was hiking over the Atlas mountains , joining nomads to sample their timeless way of life as they crossed the Sahara desert, and finding peace in a tranquil oasis.
Despite more than 10 million tourists coming to Morocco each year, there is remarkably little that has been written about its people, their customs and the extraordinary range of places to visit, from bustling markets to vast, empty deserts. Alice makes sure she samples it all, and as she does she provides a stunning portrait of a beautiful country . As a lone woman, she often attracts plenty of curiosity, but her willingness to participate - whether thigh deep in pigeon droppings in a tannery or helping out herding goats - ensures that she is welcomed everywhere by a people who are among the most hospitable on the planet.
Alice came to fame with her BBC2 series Morocco to Timbuktu , and now she joins the ranks of great travel writers who can bring a country vividly to life and instantly transport the reader to a sunnier place. If you're thinking of going to Morocco, or you want to recall your time there, My 1001 Nights is the ideal book.
245 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 18, 2019
116 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 13, 2023
The author came to my attention through her BBC documentary 'Morocco to Timbuktu' when she travelled by camel across the Sahara following the old trade routes.
This book is all about Morocco and a real treat. You’ll read about Marrakech, running 7 days of marathons through the Sahara, trekking the Atlas Mountains, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Essaouria, Rissani, Tighmert - even the names at the start of the chapters thrilled me and had me ‘googling' images to see photos of these enticing locations. You’ll also learn about the Berbers and other people who make up this fascinating nation.
Alice is an intrepid adventurer and clearly has a deep affection for the land and its people. Being a fluent Arabic speaker gives her an insight and interaction few of us could achieve. Her writing is vivid and engaging.
I loved it.
This book is all about Morocco and a real treat. You’ll read about Marrakech, running 7 days of marathons through the Sahara, trekking the Atlas Mountains, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Essaouria, Rissani, Tighmert - even the names at the start of the chapters thrilled me and had me ‘googling' images to see photos of these enticing locations. You’ll also learn about the Berbers and other people who make up this fascinating nation.
Alice is an intrepid adventurer and clearly has a deep affection for the land and its people. Being a fluent Arabic speaker gives her an insight and interaction few of us could achieve. Her writing is vivid and engaging.
I loved it.
June 10, 2019
My 1001 Night by Alice Morrison
Amanda Earlam 10/06/2019
Alice Morrison is an adventurer and a writer, whose journeys I have been following for a few years now. Her latest book My 1001 Nights is, as the title suggests, a collection of stories. Alice has been in Morocco for longer than 1001 nights by now but that was the waypoint celebrated in this book.
I tore through it in no time at all. Allice’s deceptively simple and engaging style of writing is backed up her deep knowledge and understanding of Arabic and Amazigh culture, language and history. This means the reader like myself can experience through her eyes many aspects of Morocco otherwise inaccessible.
My 1001 Nights is a series of episodes, some in Morocco’s gorgeous cities, others in smaller towns, and the rest in the middle of enormous landscapes. The stories, like old-fashioned tales, digress often, filling in background details and adding off-piste mini anecdotes. This is a property of the best tales and indeed the best conversations.
You could experience the book as a series of images, from the scary majesty of the Atlas mountains with no maps and a teetering 4x4 stuck in a torrential river, to a city cat released into an oasis garden, racing round and round in sheer delight, to two little children transfixed by seeing for the first time “monsters and dancing reindeer” superimposed on mobile phone images of themselves.
The stories are full of smells, some nice some not: Alice squelching through a trough of curing animal skins as she has a go at helping to make leather. The irresistible aroma of an enormous lamb couscous when she is very hungry, and her fingers are crooked to dig in.
Lastly, it is a story of finding a home, complete with friends, cats, markets, a place to stay, new challenges and the music of new languages.
Alice is a great, swashbuckling adventurer but for me it is the human interaction (which of course also happens on adventures) whether in town or way out in the desert, and the observation of the life all around her which makes this book special.
If you want to follow Alice’s previous and further adventures, the best place to start is on her blog Alice Morisson, Adventurer, Journalist and Consultant.
Amanda Earlam 10/06/2019
Alice Morrison is an adventurer and a writer, whose journeys I have been following for a few years now. Her latest book My 1001 Nights is, as the title suggests, a collection of stories. Alice has been in Morocco for longer than 1001 nights by now but that was the waypoint celebrated in this book.
I tore through it in no time at all. Allice’s deceptively simple and engaging style of writing is backed up her deep knowledge and understanding of Arabic and Amazigh culture, language and history. This means the reader like myself can experience through her eyes many aspects of Morocco otherwise inaccessible.
My 1001 Nights is a series of episodes, some in Morocco’s gorgeous cities, others in smaller towns, and the rest in the middle of enormous landscapes. The stories, like old-fashioned tales, digress often, filling in background details and adding off-piste mini anecdotes. This is a property of the best tales and indeed the best conversations.
You could experience the book as a series of images, from the scary majesty of the Atlas mountains with no maps and a teetering 4x4 stuck in a torrential river, to a city cat released into an oasis garden, racing round and round in sheer delight, to two little children transfixed by seeing for the first time “monsters and dancing reindeer” superimposed on mobile phone images of themselves.
The stories are full of smells, some nice some not: Alice squelching through a trough of curing animal skins as she has a go at helping to make leather. The irresistible aroma of an enormous lamb couscous when she is very hungry, and her fingers are crooked to dig in.
Lastly, it is a story of finding a home, complete with friends, cats, markets, a place to stay, new challenges and the music of new languages.
Alice is a great, swashbuckling adventurer but for me it is the human interaction (which of course also happens on adventures) whether in town or way out in the desert, and the observation of the life all around her which makes this book special.
If you want to follow Alice’s previous and further adventures, the best place to start is on her blog Alice Morisson, Adventurer, Journalist and Consultant.
September 29, 2022
I have never been a fan of running, mostly because at school I couldn’t. The thought of doing the Marathon des Sables which is six, yes six days of running makes me shudder. Yet it was this daunting (insane?) event that brought Alice Morrison to Morocco. She didn’t think she would finish it. Nor did she expect to be still living there a few years later.
Pre-covid it was a popular place for tourists to visit, but they mostly stayed in resorts and carefully curated the experience of life there. Morrison didn’t want to do that, she wanted to meet the people of this country. It is the beginning of a series of adventures that will take her from being thigh-deep in poo, across the mighty Sahara desert, to the city of Fez and walking with a family as they take their flock to the summer pastures.
Whilst this wasn’t quite was I was expecting, I ended up liking it. Morrison has a knack for integrating herself with the people that she meets in her daily life and travels around the country. And I guess because she speaks the language she is able to understand and empathise with the numerous people that she meets on each of these adventures. If you want to read an insider’s view of Morocco seen from the perspective of an outsider who has made it her home, then this is a great book to read.
Pre-covid it was a popular place for tourists to visit, but they mostly stayed in resorts and carefully curated the experience of life there. Morrison didn’t want to do that, she wanted to meet the people of this country. It is the beginning of a series of adventures that will take her from being thigh-deep in poo, across the mighty Sahara desert, to the city of Fez and walking with a family as they take their flock to the summer pastures.
Whilst this wasn’t quite was I was expecting, I ended up liking it. Morrison has a knack for integrating herself with the people that she meets in her daily life and travels around the country. And I guess because she speaks the language she is able to understand and empathise with the numerous people that she meets on each of these adventures. If you want to read an insider’s view of Morocco seen from the perspective of an outsider who has made it her home, then this is a great book to read.
February 14, 2023
I completely loved this book. Maybe it’s because I’m about to leave for Morocco. Maybe, like the author, I’m “of a certain age.” Maybe, like the author, I’m not an Olympic triathlete, but I like to get out there and push myself and try things best not attempted by . . . Women of a certain age who aren’t Olympic triathletes. And did I mention that the author is funny? She has a wonderful, self-deprecating sense of humor that never devalues her strengths while making me chuckle because I can relate to her.
If you’re a traveler (not a tourist), if you’re even an armchair traveler to whom casbahs and riads and camels sing a siren song, then read My 1001 Nights and treat yourself to a vicarious trip to Morocco.
HIGHLY recommended., especially for a snowy winter night.
If you’re a traveler (not a tourist), if you’re even an armchair traveler to whom casbahs and riads and camels sing a siren song, then read My 1001 Nights and treat yourself to a vicarious trip to Morocco.
HIGHLY recommended., especially for a snowy winter night.
February 22, 2020
I'd have raced through this book in one go if I'd had a clear run. As it is, the book is a clear run across Morocco. One of those books that opens windows.
A little masterpiece of fast-paced history (love history and Georgette Heyer too!!!). Landscapes that entice, animals that sing to the heart, people of grace and hospitality... food, clothes.
Some kind of superior travelogue and potted history, then? NO, IT IS NOT.
Here is a quote to send a reader on his or her way: 'When Rachid told the other guides what we were doing, the response went something like, 'Nah you'll never make it. She'll give up.'
You are not just crossing the sands, you are living friendship and life. I haven't mentioned the pyjamas... Read on.
A little masterpiece of fast-paced history (love history and Georgette Heyer too!!!). Landscapes that entice, animals that sing to the heart, people of grace and hospitality... food, clothes.
Some kind of superior travelogue and potted history, then? NO, IT IS NOT.
Here is a quote to send a reader on his or her way: 'When Rachid told the other guides what we were doing, the response went something like, 'Nah you'll never make it. She'll give up.'
You are not just crossing the sands, you are living friendship and life. I haven't mentioned the pyjamas... Read on.
March 21, 2025
This is a memoir of one very adventurous woman’s time spent in Morocco. I loved how she fleshed out her experiences in places I only touched for a few hours or a day. Especially harrowing is her account of a foot race across the Sahara. At age 50+. Also, she’s Scottish so her style is dry and funny. Unique memoir.
April 3, 2020
Ugh. Unfair of me to rate this without finishing, but could not continue reading despite several attempts. It feels like an amateur travel blog. Sincere and well intentioned, but not entertaining or illuminating in the least.
April 12, 2023
A witty, personable and engaging read that expresses the culture of Morocco through a series of entertaining stories. The book is well balanced, not ignoring some of the issues a western reader may pick up on - such as the role of women in society, the incredible hardships of what seems a romantic way of living, and animal cruelty.
What will strike any reader most when reading this book however, is the incredible kindness and hospitality of the Moroccan people. Weaved into every story is some amazing act of assistance, offer of a meal and shelter, or companionship (although the author does speak Arabic which may impress a greater disposition to help than someone speaking loudly in English and wildly gesticulating).
A wide range of places in Morocco are covered, from the more obvious (Marrakech, Fez, Casablanca) to the less well known (Essaouira, Chefchaouen), with each place having a distinct and vivid character. With each city comes its own big characters that breathe life into the book and the adventures therein.
Overall, a really good book for getting a picture of Moroccan culture, the people, the cities, and the different ways of life practiced. Probably more useful than a travel guide in getting a sense of the country so would thoroughly recommend.
What will strike any reader most when reading this book however, is the incredible kindness and hospitality of the Moroccan people. Weaved into every story is some amazing act of assistance, offer of a meal and shelter, or companionship (although the author does speak Arabic which may impress a greater disposition to help than someone speaking loudly in English and wildly gesticulating).
A wide range of places in Morocco are covered, from the more obvious (Marrakech, Fez, Casablanca) to the less well known (Essaouira, Chefchaouen), with each place having a distinct and vivid character. With each city comes its own big characters that breathe life into the book and the adventures therein.
Overall, a really good book for getting a picture of Moroccan culture, the people, the cities, and the different ways of life practiced. Probably more useful than a travel guide in getting a sense of the country so would thoroughly recommend.
April 23, 2019
If you're thinking about going to Morocco or want to recall your time there read this book! Adventurer Alice Morrison tells about her adventures in living in Morocco and in exploring this wonderful country. She will have you laughing at her tales but also provides a thoughtful insight into this complex country.
A wonderful read, I didn't put it down. Highly recommend
A wonderful read, I didn't put it down. Highly recommend
May 14, 2020
Fascinating tales from Adventurer Alice Morrison, describing both daily life in Morocco and the various challenges she has taken on in the region. Written engagingly, with lots of history and background information, as well as beautiful descriptions, her love for the country and its people clearly comes through.
October 9, 2024
Read this to prep for a trip to Morroco next month. Excellent choice. Morrison is a very good writer and combines history, culture, and personal adventures to create a very entertaining and readable book. One of the better travel writers I've come across lately. Oh, her BBC series Morocco to Timbuktu is worth watching as well.
January 4, 2025
Having recently travelled to Morocco, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this adventure filled book through the many different states of Morocco, some I adventured through myself, others not so much. Well written and enjoyable. I also learnt a lot of additional information on the people, cultures and history of Morocco.
May 3, 2020
I really enjoyed this. Part travel log, adventure book, love letter to Morocco. Nice one for people looking for tales of adventure without the usual soul searching, self discovery bits that these types of books usually entail.
December 29, 2024
loved it! informative. funny
Perfect read for before my first trip to Morocco! I was entertained, enthralled, couldn’t put it down, and best of all prepared to visit Morocco in a way that I felt more informed about its history and people, geography, and sites. Well done!
Perfect read for before my first trip to Morocco! I was entertained, enthralled, couldn’t put it down, and best of all prepared to visit Morocco in a way that I felt more informed about its history and people, geography, and sites. Well done!
July 25, 2020
This is such a great book. Alice really takes you along in her adventures. Her knowledge about Morocco and her passion for exploring shines through which is wonderful.
August 27, 2023
Great insight into the people, geography and history of Morocco, a country I knew little about before reading this book. Written in an amusing and relatable way. Enjoyed a lot.
June 30, 2024
Wonderful
I feel like I've just come back from a fabulous holiday in Morocco with my good friend Alice.
I definitely recommend this book!
I feel like I've just come back from a fabulous holiday in Morocco with my good friend Alice.
I definitely recommend this book!
March 20, 2021
Might be my new favorite book! So fun to read Alice’s adventures, while also learning about the history and culture of Morocco. Look forward to reading some of her others.
June 8, 2023
Contains interesting factoids on Morocco. It lacks depth however.
July 25, 2021
Lovingly described
I was introduced to Alice Morrison through the Armchair Explorer podcast, and when the host mentioned she had books, I immediately ordered this one. She’s a wonderful writer and loves her subject (Morocco and it’s people). I thoroughly enjoyed this tour of the country and her blend of geography, history, and real encounters with everyday people.
I was introduced to Alice Morrison through the Armchair Explorer podcast, and when the host mentioned she had books, I immediately ordered this one. She’s a wonderful writer and loves her subject (Morocco and it’s people). I thoroughly enjoyed this tour of the country and her blend of geography, history, and real encounters with everyday people.
April 24, 2021
Easy travelogue of an able- bodied, multi- lingual adventurer who makes Morocco her home. While not the most insightful or eloquently written set of stories, she has stories to tell worth reading, especially if you are a newcomer to Morocco and have an avid interest in learning more about it.
August 3, 2021
I hope the book gets better. Now on page 12, bored beyond words due to the incredibly unimaginative writing. No challenge, no spark in these pages. Should it continue on at this level, I won't finish it.
February 20, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed this book and sent one as a gift to my adventurous daughter! Now ordering all of her books on Kindle! I’m not a physical trekker like Alive. But I did move to Mexico at 85. Big adventure.
August 27, 2023
must read before Morocco
Loved this cant wait to see the bbc series Alice’s account is humorous and heartfelt it has made my trip to Morocco great
Loved this cant wait to see the bbc series Alice’s account is humorous and heartfelt it has made my trip to Morocco great
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews