Why Morocco/Agadir specifically?
First, because it is Lat. 30°. I have special affinity to Latitude 30, it’s where I lived my childhood and teen years in southern Iraq. We always slept on the rooftop during Iraq’s hot summers. Light pollution back then was minimal, and I used to see the milky way on every moonless night before going to sleep. I vividly remember how rich the Sagittarius region was, and how easy it was to spot Andromeda galaxy every night and show the rest of my family.
Secondly, Morocco shares the same time-zone with us in the UK, and for most of the year the same time. Thirdly, Agadir is a close and relatively cheap destination for UK travellers, and the Atlas mountains around Agadir provide ideal spots with low light pollution. Lastly, because I can easily communicate with Moroccans in Arabic (and now understand their colloquial Darija). An added bonus is that I love Tagine, the famous Moroccan dish.
When I first started I didn’t know anyone in Morocco at all. I took advantage of social media to pitch the idea and find friends who could help me with the task of finding an ideal site to set up an affordable observatory. I was astonished by the extent of popular excitement and the hosting offers that I received, there was even competition between villages to offer generous help so that I could test their sites.
Mount Tojrart
My first trip in March 2019 was to Mount Tojrart (1380m), with Bortle 2/3 sky and only one hour away from Agadir airport. I drove towards the summit with my very enthusiastic Moroccan friend Abdullah, a first year Physics student. At its highest point there was a monastery-like Islamic school that was built hundreds of years ago. People there were very generous and the Sheikh of the madrassa was super excited about the idea of building an observatory.
They offered us a room to sleep in and provided everything we needed to set up my small telescope. We found a nearby circular stone area, apparently built to be a spiritual isolation spot. How compatible with stars-gazing !