Given the seismic nature of political events in Tunisia and Egypt, not to mention the shockingly violent response to protest demonstrations seen in Libya and Syria, one might be forgiven for questioning the safety of other tourist destinations in the Arab or Islamic world, such as Morocco. Although it would be foolhardy to predict the final outcome of the movement for change currently sweeping the region, it should be said that Morocco, though by no means wholly immune to the tide of recent events, is in a different position to countries of the Middle East and elsewhere in North Africa from which it is so far removed both geographically and politically. Despite the concern aroused, understandably, by the unrest in many Arab states it should be remembered that most of them are a very long way indeed from the north-west corner of Africa. An important fact underlining the difference between Morocco and countries elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa is that Morocco is a sovereign democracy with a parliamentary system. The young king (Mohammed VI) has been doing his best to keep the economy moving and is gaining respect for his attempts at flushing out corruption.