WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY MARKUS STITZ
While airports around the world are pretty interchangeable, hotels are often not and the Mogador Kasbah hotel offers a first flavour of the weeks ahead of me. A massive chandelier looms above the lobby, its light reflected by the shiny stone floors. While I walk to the check-in desk, I spot a small sofa with a table to my left, occupied by two men drinking tea, engaged in a conversation. the unique Moroccan tea, often called Berber whiskey, can be found everywhere in the country. Usually consumed with a hefty amount of sugar, mint tea is not just a drink, but also a symbol of hospitality, tradition and Moroccan culture. As alcohol is not easily available in the country, having tea is the equivalent of catching up for a nice single malt back home in Scotland. there is an art not only to making the tea, first introduced by the British in the 18th century, but also to serving it. I observe one man holding the teapot more than a metre above the small cup while pouring it. As I find out later this is the proper Moroccan way or - better - the ‘art’ of serving tea.