WELCOME TO CASABLANCA

Start your morning off with coffee and baguettes at one of the cafes. 
View the French architecture complemented with Moorish design in Place Mohammed V, the protectorate square. Pass by the prefecture, law courts, central post office and cultural centers. Enjoy music played by the attractive monumental fountain. Next enter Place des Nationes Unies. Now lined with impressive 1930’s apartments, shops and restaurants, the square was no more than an entertaining market place at the beginning of the 20th century.

Make sure you have a camera in hand to take pictures of the famous clock tower, art deco hotels, the eleven story Moretti apartment block and the high rise art deco buildings covered with loggias, columns, zellij tiles and geometric carvings on Boulevard Mohmmed V.

After lunch visit the Mosque of Hassan II. Casablanca is home to the Hassan II Mosque, designed by the French architectMichel Pinseau. It is situated on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic, which can be seen through a gigantic glass floor with room for 25,000 worshippers. On Fridays, the Mosque of Hassan II is open to non-Muslims.

Take the road from Casablanca in mid afternoon and drive to the Imperial City of Rabat.

After breakfast depart Rabat and drive to Fes, Morocco’s spiritual capital.

Arrive in Fes and settle in at your riad. Have dinner in a traditional Fassis restaurant of a tajine or couscous.

After the breakfast, your day will begin at the Merenid Tombs of Fès. Standing among olive trees and blue agaves, the sixteenth century elegant ruins of marble and epitaphs face a breathtaking view of the Fès. Continue along the old curtain wall of the medina and make a stop at the Musée des Armes, a fortress that once protected Fès. Today it is possible to see a display of 8,000 pieces of artillery from Madina, the arsenal built by Moulay Hassan I.

Next, enter the Fès el- Bali through the symmetrical horse shoe arches at Bab Boujeloud(The Blue Gate). Fès -el Bali, best characterized as a sea of rooftops embellished with minarets and domes, is too narrow for cars. Aside from walking, donkeys and mules are still the best way to travel within the cities old walls.

Moving along, stop to admire Ech Cherabliyine Mosque (Mosque of the Slipper makers) then browse the surrounding lines of souks selling henna, slippers, caftans, silks, jewelry and spices crowded around the kissaria. Next visit the UNESCO recognized site, Fondouk el- Najjarine. Within the foundouk’s three floors is the Musée de Bois, which displays carved doors from the Bou Inania Medersa.

After lunch, and within the medina, we will the following historical sites:

Medersa Bou Inania: An (Islamic school) founded by Abu Inan Faris that is highly decorated from floor to ceiling. The medersa is one of the few religious places in Morocco that is accessible to non-Islamic tourists.

Kairaouine Mosque: Morocco’s second largest mosque was built by Fatima in 857. The Kairaouine Mosque became the home of the West’s first university and the world’s foremost center of learning at the beginning of the second millennium.

University of Al-Karaouine: Founded in 859, this university is one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world and is considered the oldest continuously operating institution of higher learning in the world.

Medersa el Attarin: A (Koranic school) that was named for local spice merchants known as attar. Founded by Sultan Abou Saïd in the 14th century as a students’ dormitory, it is attached to the Kairaouine Mosque.

Zaouia Moulay Idriss II: A zaouia (shrine) dedicated to and the tomb of Moulay Idriss II, who ruled Morocco from 807 to 828 and founded the city of Fès for the second time in 810.

After breakfast we leave Fes to Sefrou, an impressive town that can be a quick stopover on the way to the Sahara or an overnight trip.

The first lake Dayet Aoua sits in a natural depression surrounded by hills and is surrounded by orchards. When the lakes are full, the area becomes a natural reserve for many species of birds like kites and kestrels, and waders such as avocets, cattle, egrets, and grey herons. You will also see Dayet Ifrah, one of the largest lakes in the area. 

Lunch is in Midelt, an agricultural area home to many Amazigh extending from the Moulouya River to Jbel Ayachi, bounded on the east and west by dry plains.

After lunch we will drive directly to the Sahara, we will pass by the Ziz Gorge where the Wadi Ziz springs from and great quantities of dates are dried during the autumn harvest. Along this road, look for signs “Er-Rachidia”. Here the palm groves of the Ziz and Tafilalt begin and you can catch a glimpse of the Er-Rachidia’s administrative and military center built by the French in the early twentieth century.

Arrive in the evening to Merzouga and spend the night in a Berber biouvac tent near the Erg Chebbi dunes.

After breakfast at your hotel, we will depart Ouarzazate and take the pise (windy road) towards the Oasis of Fint passing the “Plateau de pierres“. On this road you will find a shining Oasis of palms.

Visit the Oasis of Fint that hovers under the Atlas Mountains. Journey on a one-hour walk inside the Oasis where you will have a cup of tea with the headmasters family Azziz Ouaziz and tour the surrounding area where date palm oases and dramatic desert sceneryare king.

After visiting the Oasis of Fint we will take the road to Kasbah Tifoultoute which stands majestically on the banks of Oued Tifoultoute. From a distance this old Kasbah is impressive with its castle-like architecture. In the 1960’s the Kasbah was converted into a hotel for the cast ofLawrence of Arabia. Tour the Kasbah and have lunch at its restaurant which is known for delicious mint and herb teas. See panoramic views from the rooftop.

After lunch, visit the Atlas Film Studios. The studios are flanked by Holly-wood style Egyptian figures and cover 30,000 sq m of desert. David Lean filmed Lawrence of Arabiaat The Atlas Film Studios in the early 1960’s. Since then many famous directors have followed in his footsteps to exploit the magnificent scenery. International blockbusters shot here in recent years include: the French version of Cleopatra, Bertolucci’s Sheltering Sky, Scorsese’s Kundun, Gillies MacKannon’s Hideous Kinky, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Black Hawke Down, Oliver Stone’s Alexander The Great, Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, and Penelope Cruz’s Sahara. Most of the filming takes place in the desert in the south however you can view the Tibetan monastery featured in Scorese’s Kundan and an Egyptian temple from Cleopatra.

Arrive at Marrakech. Have dinner and pend the evening exploring Djemma el Fna Square.

Rise early, have breakfast and begin your tour of Marrakech.

Your introduction to Marrakech will begin in the Medina, the old quarter of Marrakech. From here we will explore this historically charming area by foot. In Djemma el Fna, you will visit the famous 12th century Koutouba Mosque and its influential minaret.

Enjoy a three- course lunch consisting of fresh salad, tajine and fruit at one of Marrakech’s most delectable restaurants. After lunch we will head north of the Mellah to visit the 19th century Bahia palace, originally built for Si Moussa, a former slave who became King Moulay Hassan’s chamberlain. The palace holds a courtyard and riads decorated with beautiful carved stucco and Arabic architecture.

Next we will visit the contemporary Moroccan Art Museum or Tiskiwin, a private museum dedicated to popular arts & crafts, styled as a beautiful Spanish-Moroccan house, next door to Dar Si Said palace, a smaller version of the Bahia.

Now onward to the new city, we will navigate our way to French, Gueliz and head to the Majorelle Gardens, a magical and lush small garden estate designed by Jacque Majorelle and maintained by Yves Saint Laurent. The Majorelle Garden is filled with colorful walkways, ponds, cactus and plants as well as a beautiful shop with hand-made goods. On our return to your hotel, we will pass by the La Mammounia Hotel Garden (where Alfred Hitchcock wrote the famous film The Birds).

For dinner, dine in the Djemma el Fna, a UNESCO recognized site. Afterwards, stroll Djemma’s labyrinth like streets and enjoy squares where snake charmers fiddle flirtatiously with their cobras, fire swallowers eat fire, storytellers entertain big crowds, fortune tellers mesmerize tourists with stories and the rhythms of African and Arabic sounds hypnotize the crowds.

Return to your hotel to rest and prepare for next day’s journey to Casablanca.