Morocco October 7-18, 2014
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It took us a while after we got back to take in all we'd experienced in this land of contrasts--from ocean to desert and mountains to valleys!
Our journey began in Casablanca, the most European city we visited, beautifully situated on the Atlantic Coast. Our guide for the entire trip, Amrani, met us at our hotel the first afternoon. Highlights here included the old and new medinas, the Royal Palace, costumed Water Carriers on Mohammed V Square, the Central Market, and of course Rick's Cafe. Several in our group partook of hammams, traditional baths. The biggest attraction was the incredible Hassan II Mosque that rivals St Peter's Basilica in size and capacity for worshipers. Its architectural style is mostly Moorish and the walls and columns are tastefully and delicately carved in a variety of intricate patterns. It's built partially on land and partially over the ocean and at 689', it has the highest minaret in the world. Morocco's languages are French and Arabic and in some areas, Berber. We found ourselves having to use French from time-to-time, especially with restaurant menus! En route to Fez, we visited Rabat, political and administrative capital of the country. Here our city tour included the Royal Palace where the king resides; Oudaya Kasbah, a nearly 1000 year-old city within a city, home to approximately 2,000 citizens with its own mosque, communal bread oven, fountain, and hammam; Hassan Tower, the minaret of an incomplete mosque begun in 1195; and the Mohammed V Mausoleum, final resting place of three members of the royal family. In Fez itself, we stayed for 3 nights in a lovely riad, a traditional Moroccan house with an interior garden / courtyard, which was situated well within the medina. We loved the open-air breakfasts as well as our group's private dinner set up in the courtyard. Then there was the outdoor cocktail lounge on the upper floor, with its happy hour..... Sightseeing here included an overview of the medieval medina (the Old City), UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also visited Fez el Jdid, the new section of the city. We saw the Nejjarine Fountain with its colorful mosaics, got a look at the Karaouine Mosque, second largest and most sacred in Morocco, and Moulay Idriss Mausoleum. We visited a pottery factory where we watched workers at their craft, a silk store where members of our group served as models for various styles of scarves, and a tannery where we held herbs under our noses to mask the smell, then shopped for some leather items. Venturing outside the city, we visited two World Heritage Sites. Meknes was founded in 1601 and here we saw the gate of Bab el-Mansour, the grandest of all imperial Moroccan gateways, drove through the ancient Jewish Quarter and visited the Royal Stables.once home to 12,000 horses. We had a privately guided tour of the archaeological site of Volubilis, dating back to the 3rd century BC. Departing Fez, we journeyed into the Middle Atlas Mountains, passing through Berber (indigenous people of North Africa, the majority of whom are farmers or migrant workers) villages. We arrived in stunning Marrakech, the red city, where we spent the next 3 nights. Here we visited the Saadian Tombs, mausoleums dating back to ~1600; Majorelle Gardens, villa-residence of Yves St. Laurent; saw Koutoubia Minaret and Bahia Palace; and spent some time at Djemaa El-Fna Square with its vendors and snake charmers and at the surrounding souks (huge marketplaces) and handicrafts quarters. Outside the city, we traveled to the Ourika Valley and visited a Berber cooperative where the argan nut is cultivated for its oil. We also toured a saffron farm. Before our final dinner in Marrackech, we were taken by horse and carriage through the city. At dinner we were entertained by a belly dancer and live music. Leaving Marrackech, we set out for the desert. We traveled over the High Atlas Mountains and visited the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, another World Heritage Site. Here an extraordinary group of earthen houses are crowded together and surrounded by high defensive walls. Also within the walls are a mosque, a public square, grain threshing areas, a caravanserai, two cemeteries (Muslim and Jewish), the Sanctuary and more. A resident guided us through and showed us his own home. This site was featured in several movies including Lawrence of Arabia and Sodom and Gamorrah. Later we traveled through the picturesque Draa River Valley, the country's date-growing region, with its many villages and palm groves and overnighted at a riad in Zagora. We continued through the pre-Saharan desert landscape of the South with its numerous Berber villages and viewed the rugged Sargho Mountains en route to Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara. Four-by-four vehicles took us to our group's own tented encampment, but first, just before sunset, we rode camels on the dunes. Our group of camel experts guided us to the top of one of the dunes where we waited until the gorgeous sunset. They wrapped our heads in colorful scarves while we waited. Judging by the number of photos taken, this was clearly the group's favorite part of the trip! After sunset we rode back to our encampment where we were served a Berber feast. The next morning about half of us rose early enough to see the sunrise over nearby Algeria. On our way out of the desert, we traveled through the oasis town of Tinghir with its palm groves and Glaoui Palace ruins. We continued through the Todra Gorges where canyon walls soar to 900'. We had lunch at at the foot of Dades Canyon at a restaurant with stunning views. We continued along the legendary Route of 1000 Casbahs and arrived at our final destination, Ouarzazate, which we nicknamed "OZ". We departed early the next morning filled with the images of all we'd seen and done. |