In addition to using Tinder myself, I got a clearer idea of how Moroccans dated one another from anecdotal evidence. I took advantage of the opportunity to practice the vocabulary that I had developed in class, strengthening my once-dubious grasp of Darija. After I moved to Rabat, my friends brought me to bars, took me to the movies, and walked me through the ins and outs of life in a new city. Given that, before my arrival, I barely spoke the Moroccan dialect of Arabic-Darija-I needed all the assistance that I could get. I also befriended a few Moroccans who had traveled to China on scholarships, a critical link between Beijing and Rabat.Īs much as I enjoyed discovering new details about Morocco, I most appreciated online dating applications for connecting me with my closest Moroccan friends. A number of my friends from online dating applications worked at French call centers, highlighting Morocco’s little-known role as a hub for the Francophonie’s ever-expanding need for customer service. On a wider level, the friendships and relationships that I formed through Tinder taught me facts about Morocco that I might have missed otherwise. The friendships and relationships that I formed through Tinder taught me facts about Morocco that I might have missed otherwise. Both my dates advised me to avoid the man with the monkey in the medina, a lesson whose importance became clear when he tried to put the animal on my shoulder. My first Tinder match in Morocco introduced me to Meknes’ best cafes, and my second told me the bizarre saga of the city’s abandoned zoo, now an accidental sanctuary for muscular goats. I arrived in Meknes in 2019 planning to study Morocco’s culture by interviewing academics and touring archives, but my months-long foray into online dating revealed more about the lifestyles of Moroccans my age. Whereas I had only spent a few weeks in Iraq as a journalist and a little over a month in Oman as a student, my six months in Meknes and Rabat gave me time to date.
“Tinder is a global online dating platform and is available in 190+ countries,” notes the website of a mobile app that advertises itself as the best way to go about “dating, meeting new people, expanding your social network, or meeting locals while traveling.”ĭuring my half year in Morocco as a participant in a student exchange program, I learned of this trend firsthand. In an era where a growing number of Americans have met their spouses on Tinder, online dating services are making their presence felt in a lesser-known market for Internet romance: the Arab world.