Rabat, July 27 -- A man wakes up and has a leisurely breakfast - he's retired and does not need to rush out the door for work. Eventually, he says goodbye to his wife and children, leaves his home, and strolls down the street. He weaves through the rows of tables and chairs, facing the street not each other, that cover the sidewalks out of each cafe he passes until he arrives at his usual place.

He greets the waiter and the other regulars, sits down and orders a cafe noir. After a few hours, he might stop home for lunch, only to return to the cafe in the afternoon.

"I understood it's basically part of every man's routine - the man of the house routine," Anas, a 23-year-old PhD student, said of his impression of cafes growing up. "You wo...