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What started as a simple football getaway, watching a few matches and perhaps visiting Morocco’s major cities, quickly turned into a full-blown Atlas Mountains adventure.
Saudi influencer Khalid Al Olayan landed in Morocco in mid-December 2025 to attend the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. He watched the opening match at Rabat’s Moulay Abdellah Stadium, but soon after, the tone of his mini vlogs began to shift. The content he shared with his 4.4 million followers on Instagram and more than 11 million on TikTok took an unexpected turn.
Khalid didn’t fall for Marrakech, Fez, or Tangier. Instead, he was drawn to places foreign visitors rarely explore. Curious to see snow, still a surprise to many who don’t associate Africa with winter, he stopped in Ifrane before pushing his journey even further.
His destination: Midelt, and a small village high in the Atlas Mountains, home to one of Morocco’s most authentic and entertaining social media figures, Rachid, the chicken farmer, better known today as the proud «father» of Morocco’s most famous goats: Kharbouch and Kharboucha.
Lost in translation
Rachid Ouabbas has become an internet sensation by sharing daily life from his mountaintop home. He cooks, bakes bread in an outdoor clay oven, explains how he collects drinking water, and passes on centuries-old know-how for surviving the region’s harsh climate. And, of course, there’s his daily «diary» with Kharbouch and Kharboucha, who seem to speak a language only Rachid truly understands.
With snow covering the village, Rachid became the perfect host for Khalid. Through content creation, two very different worlds collided. Invited by Rachid himself, the Saudi influencer paid a visit, and the encounter turned out to be pure gold for both of their audiences.
While Khalid spoke Arabic in a Saudi dialect, Rachid switched effortlessly between Darija and Amazigh. The communication gap quickly became meme material online. As Rachid introduced Khalid to mountain life, he explained everything in Darija heavily sprinkled with Amazigh expressions. The result: hilarious misunderstandings, confused looks, and moments where neither quite understood the other.
Together, they climbed snowy hills, played with Kharbouch and Kharboucha, and watched Morocco’s matches side by side. Rachid insisted on feeding his guest local food. To understand and introduce Moroccan food to his audience, Khalid asks his host to explain, but the explanations were hard to understand.
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Their videos quickly went viral. Khalid loved his stay so much that he invited his entire family, his mother, father, brother, and even nephews, to join him. They canceled a previously planned trip just to visit Rachid and finally meet the now-famous goats, Kharbouch and Kharboucha.
The story doesn’t end there. Khalid and Rachid attended the historic Morocco vs. Nigeria match, marking the very first time Rachid has ever watched a football game inside a stadium. Khalid’s gift to his host, in return for his legendary hospitality.
