Armchair Express to Marrakech

MOROCCO ( International Video Network, 53 minutes, 1993 ).

The distance between Europe and Africa at the Strait of Gibraltar is just 8 1/2 miles. This proximity has created one of the most colorful and exotic areas in the world--Morocco.

Woven into this tapestry are the cultures of the early Berbers, the Arabians who brought the Islamic religion and language, and the Portuguese, Spanish and French influences of more recent history.

The video begins with tours of some of its major cities: the busy port of Casablanca, the capital of Rabat, cosmopolitan Tangier and the Atlantic beach resort of Agadir. In each there are visits to ruins, mosques, minarets, old souks (market places), medinas (old towns) and Casbahs (fortresses). Tapes are available from International Video Network, 2246 Camino Ramon, San Ramon, Calif. 94583; telephone (800) 669-4486. Price: $29.95 (plus tax and postage).

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL (Wilderness Skills, 30 minutes, 1993).

According to National Park Service personnel, there has been a significant increase in the number of vacation travelers who prefer the unstructured wilderness experience over the predictable, artificial resort stay. As a result, the number of search-and-rescue efforts has increased.

The film demonstrates ways to find or create shelter from the heat or cold; how to improvise signals to contact rescuers; how to find water, which is a more immediate necessity than food, and how to start a fire.

Suggestions: Carry a map, carry a cigarette lighter or waterproof matches, dress for the climate, stay on trails and let someone know where you plan to go and when you plan to return.

It is available from Wilderness Skills, P.O. Box 18105-9998, Reno, Nev. 89511; tel. (800) 909-9696. Price: $19.95 (plus tax and postage).

LAND OF ENCHANTMENT ( Santa Fe Video Collection, 45 minutes, 1993 ).

New Mexico’s special qualities are its timeless beauty--vast deserts, shimmering aspens, snowy mountain peaks--and the mystique of the American Indian cultures woven in.

Actor Peter Strauss discusses history and lore. Viewers visit Chaco Canyon and the Anasazi pueblos and ruins.

Available from Ellis Productions, P.O. Box 2532, Toluca Lake, Calif. 91610; tel. (818) 567-2244. Price: $27.95 (including postage).

Videos appears monthly.