Taking a ferry across the Mediterranean Sea from Algecira in Spain to Tangier in Morocco, one of the first things I noticed is how conservative the Moroccans are compared to their neighbors across the narrow strait.  Women are typically covered as you see on TV, hair and sometimes face hidden.  Many men wear long hooded robes with prominent beards untrimmed. It makes a boy from the sticks very conscious of his own dress.

Back home, shirts are optional and bikini tops not an uncommon sight during the summer.  There, the principle of being yourself and letting the world beware makes for great ad copy and sells a lot of sneakers and ironic t-shirts.  We pride ourselves on the appearance of individuality.

Here, families are close-knit and a man sitting on another's lap is a common sight in the streets.  Despite that, the current in the air blows conservatively and in a country where public lashings are not uncommon, the first thing I did on arriving at the Hotel Continental was to discreetly go into the men's washroom and turn my t-shirt inside out.  A graphic that's funny in Spain (if you're not a matador) just isn't worth 20 lashes in Morocco.