If your travel itinerary includes Morocco, here’s some helpful tips and insights into the culture and customs of Morocco to keep you on the right foot

• Greetings are important in Morocco, and a cursory greeting is considered rude. Upon meeting, Moroccans shake hands and then touch their hearts with their right hands as a show of affection. Friends ask not only how each other is doing but how each other’s family is as well.

• Honor and dignity are especially important concepts, not just a person’s individual reputation but also the honor and dignity of his or her family. One of the worse fates imaginable is to bring shame to oneself or one’s family.

• Moroccans may be very inquisitive about your family, reflecting the importance the family has in their lives. If you are traveling alone, they will have difficulty understanding why you are not accompanied by a spouse, sibling or other family member. Moroccans are so averse to the idea of living alone that they may actually feel obligated to invite you to their home.

• While Moroccan homes are private affairs, people entertain their guests at home rather than at a cafe or in a restaurant. Moroccans feel a strong duty to be a generous host, meeting their guests’ every need. A Moroccan proverb goes, “Feed your guests, even if you are starving.”

• During a meal, and especially at the end of it, be free with your compliments on both the quality and quantity of the food served.

• A Moroccan will appreciate your profuse thanks and gratitude in return for any hospitality shown or favors done for you, especially if expressed in the presence of others. The individual will, though, dismiss your gratitude with statements of modesty and humility.

• Moroccans enjoy spending time with friends, and close, same-sex friendships are important among both Moroccan men and women, even for married couples. Such friendships are filled with trust and confidence and within them Moroccans tend to be generous with both their time and possessions.

• Under Islamic law a Moroccan husband may have up to four wives, providing equally for each. To take another wife, a man must have permission from his current wife or wives. Under Moroccan economic reality, though, the actual practice of polygamy is rare.

For more information on Moroccan culture and customs, read Culture Briefing: Morocco.