Discovery of Morocco

Day 01: CASABLANCA

• Arrival to Casablanca international airport, meet & greet by your English speaking guide and transfer to your hotel.
• Overnight in Casablanca Hotel.
• City tour of Casablanca (depends on your arrival time)
  • Start with Park “De La LigueArabe”, a huge garden with avenues lined with tall palm trees, fichus, arcades, pergolas and flower beds. On its edge is situated near to the church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, even its disused but still splendid example of Moresque architecture.
  • Moving north, work your way up to the old medina, moving through Place Mohammed V and Nations Unions, the main focal points of New city. See French architecture complemented with Moorish design in Place Mohammed V, the protectorate square.
  • Then enjoy the visit of the Mosque Hassan II. Designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau, situated on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic, which can be seen through a gigantic glass floor with room for 25,000 work shippers. Their minaret is the world’s tallest at 210 meters. It is an enormous architectural masterpiece and the second largest religious building in the world.
  • End of your tour with visit of Anfa District and AinDiab Sea Resort.

If arrival late in the day the city tour will take place, the next morning

Day 02: CASABLANCA – RABAT

• After breakfast start your tour by Rabat city. Rabat has a population of 2 millions is a main university town and the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Bouregreg River.
• Your tour will start by the Hassan tower, which stands on the hill overlooking the Wadi Bouregreg. It is a gigantic mosque, emblematic of Rabat and famous for its unfinished minaret where storks nest. Next door, visit the beautiful Mausoleum of Mohammed V decorated with stained glass windows, white marble and a wrought-iron entryway with a stairway leading to an impressive dome. Also on the list of New town have wide boulevards, open green spaces and avenues lined with residential blocks, a railroad, the Bank of Morocco, Museum of the Poste and the Cathédrale Saint -Pierre.
• Next, your guide will escort you on a walk around the picturesque Almohad northern walls of the Oudaïa Kasbah. The kasbah was built by MoulayIsmaïl from 1672-1727 to protect of the city, and is enclosed by ramparts dating from the Almohad period. Visit Bab Oudaïa, a monumental gate and example of Almohad military architecture. Before moving out from the medina, relax in the Moorish style Andalusian garden.
• Overnight in Rabat Hotel.

Day 03: RABAT – MEKNES – VOLUBILIS – FEZ

• After breakfast take way to Fez. On your way to Fez stops to discover the fabulous Volubilis
  Explore the breathtaking archaeological site of Volubilis (Walili: original name in Arabic). Once occupied by the Romans, Volubilis has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site and gained international acclaim when Martin Scorsese made it as feature location for his film, The Last Temptation of Christ.
• Begin your visit by discovering the fascinating Roman ruins adorned with beautiful mosaics and colorful tiles depicting Roman mythology. The ruins are spread out across several acres and what remains visible is several fragments of wall, parts of massive columns, the capital, the basilica and a triumphal arch. The ruins reveal how the Roman Empire transformed the original Carthaginian settlement into a typical Roman city complete with mansions, a town center, a triumphal arc and temples devoted to the Roman gods.
• Continue to Mekne. Arrival in Meknes and begin your tour of Meknes at Bab Mansour. First we will pass through the triumphal arch. Standing at sixteen meters high with an eight meter long arch, the intricately patterned triumphal arch is argued to be the most beautiful in Morocco. Enter Place El-Hedime (Square of Ruins) which links the Medina and the Kasbah. The square is lined with modern residential buildings and a covered food souk (market).
• You will stop and visit the Museum Dar Jamaï, a museum showing modern Moroccan arts, woodwork, ceramics, carpets, costumes, jewelry and metalwork. The sophisticated building was once a palace incorporating a mosque, Menzah (pavilion), courtyard, kitchen and hammam.
• Next we will visit the Bouanania Medersa to explore the beautiful Koranic school established by the Merinids in the 14th century. Opposite of the Medersa, see the Grand Mosque.
• Browse Rue de Souks, a street filled with hardware merchants (akarir), corn chandlers (bezzazine) and metal smiths (haddadin). Next visit the En-Nejjarine Mosque, a 12th century Almohad built structure. Before moving on, to see the square towers and zellijtile work of Bab el-Berdaïne gateway, catch the action of Ed-Dlala Kissaria.
  Drive to Fez, Check in and stay to your hotel.
• Overnight in Fez Hotel.

Day 04: FEZ

• Breakfast at the hotel then proceed with a full day tour of Fez.
  Start with the Fez 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.
• Upon entering to the main street of the medina named Talaa Kebira, you will see lines of shops covered by canopies. Make your way to the Karaouiyine Mosque. Located in the Karaouiyine quarter, the mosque is one of the oldest in the world and functioned as the first university in Morocco. After your visit, continue along the streets which will lead you to some of Fes’ most important buildings including Dar el- Magana, a fourteenth century water clock and Zaouia el Tijaniya, containing the tomb of Ahmed el Tijani, who spread his infamous doctrine Tariqq el- Tijaniya (The Way) throughout Morocco.
• We will also stop to visit the Ech Cherabliyine Masjid (Mosque of the Slipper makers) then browse the souks selling henna, slippers, caftans, silks, jewelry and spices.
• Next onto the UNESCO recognized site, Fondouk el- Najjarine. Within the foundouk’s three floors is the Wood Museum, which displays carved doors from the Bouaanania Medersa.
• After lunch (not included) you will visit the Museum Dar el- Batha to view the great collection of pottery, leather-work, wood, books and manuscripts from the nineteenth century.
• Next, enter Bab el Ftouh, the “Gateway of the Aperture” to explore the Andalusia quarter, a residential part of the medina full of monuments. Our last part of the tour will take you into the Fez el Jedid, a kasbah which functioned as Morocco’s administrative centre until 1912. Explore the royal palace and many interesting quarters including the Moulay Abdalllah Quarter, the Mellah (Jewish Quarter) and a little farther down south lies Ville Nouvelle (The New quarter).
• Overnight in Fez hotel.

Day 05: FES – MIDELT – ERFOUD – MERZOUGA DUNES

• After breakfast take the road to Erfoud via Midelt
  Drive to Erfoud via Midelt and the Ziz canyons a spectacular route offering wonderful scenery of the Atlas. Lunch (at leisure) in Midelt, continuation to Erfoud then Merzouga. Called Erg Chebbi is a strikingly strange natural formation of sand dunes. On the top of the flattest area you could imagine, suddenly a long mountain of sand rises. This mountain is surrounded by flat and desolate nature on all sides, and you could end up wondering if it’s real. Even if its existence is so weird that it has given rise to legends and myths among the inhabitants. One legend tells us that the dunes of Erg Chebbi were created by God as a punishment to the locals of nearby Merzouga after they refused to give shelter to a woman and her child during a local festival. A sandstorm came, and buried the village of Merzouga is it was then.
• Dinner & overnight in Bedouin tents
  The camp is in the heart of the dunes. Enjoy your special night under the stars at this beautiful oasis in a tent camp. On this journey you will experience a camel ride at sunset and sunrise from the top of the dunes.
  Your desert experience includes an authentic Moroccan dinner under the stars and breakfast in the morning.

Day 06: MERZOUGA – TINEGHIR – OUARZAZATE

• Early wake-up to witness the sun rise.Breakfast in the Camp, then departure to Rissani the holy city where Moulay Ali Cherif, ancestor of the Alaouite dynasty is buried. Visit of the Kasbah built in the 17th century and the KsarAbbar ruins. Continuation to Tineghir with numerous stops to take pictures of the wonderful and unique landscapes.Lunch at leisure on the spot visit of the Todra canyons which rocks reach 250m of altitude. The Todra canyons is near to Tineghir 14 km the road through the Todrha Gorges follows the right bank of the river, which is covered with palm trees. Farther east is the narrowest and most spectacular section of the gorges, where for a distance of 110 yards the narrow corridor between the sheer, towering walls of rock (985 feet high) is only 65 feet wide. After lunch departure back to Ouarzazate via Boumalne and El KelaaM’gouna (Roses festival). This route is called the road of the “Thousand Kasbahs”. It is worth stopping there to take some pictures of great panorama of Oases and Kasbahs over the valley. Arrival to Ouarzazate, (lunch at leisure) at a local restaurant settling at hotel.
• Dinner & overnight in Ouarzazate hotel.

Day 07: OUARZAZATE – MARRAKECH

• After breakfast, sightseeing tour of the main Kasbahs: “Tifoultoute and Taourirt” The Kasbah of Tifoultoute is situated to the outskirts of the city The Kasbah of Tifoultoute lies about 3 miles north of Ouarzazate. This beautiful structure; built about 250 years ago, used to belong to the Pasha Glaoui. It has been very tastefully converted into an inn and its rooms offer travelers a splendid view across the valley of the Oued Ouarzazate and the Jebel Saghro. Kasbah Taourirt in the city,this former Glaoui residence, situated on the edge of the town, on the road to Errachidia, is considered to be one of the most beautiful kasbahs of Morocco. It consists of a maze of luxury apartments, simple clay houses and crenelated towers which are lavishly decorated with geometric motifs. Part of the fortified village is open to the public. Then continuation to Ait Benhadou Kasbah 30 km far from Ouarzazate. It is the most spectacular fortress in the south of Morocco, used as decors for many films like the “Lawrence of Arabia”. Aït Benhaddou the fortified village of Aït Benhaddou has been classified by UNESCO as one of the world’s cultural treasures. It is studded with crenelated towers and its buildings decorated with geometrical motifs and considered to be one of the most beautiful villages of this kind in Morocco. A program of restoration work is currently under way to encourage the re-population of the village which is at present inhabited by just five families. Then take your way to Marrakesh via TizinTichka ,over the highest pass in Morocco mountain, is a spectacular route offering wonderful scenery of the Atlas and Taddert.
• Overnight in Marrakech hotel.

Day 08: MARRAKECH

• Breakfast at the hotel. Full day devoted to Marrakech city tour
• 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 square, you will visit the famous 12th century Koutoubia Mosque and minaret.
  Marrakech is a city of underground channels built by the architects from Cordoba, Spain to provide water for the town and Palmery. We will drive to the Lower Medina to explore more of Marrakesh’s secrets: the sixteenth century Saadian Tombs with stark towers, the ruined 16th century El Badhi palace, and the Mellah the Jewish quarter. Lunch at Leisure
• Your guide will lead you through the labyrinth streets and pathway of the Djemma el Fna. Enjoy aromatic smells, taste fresh squeezed orange juice and venture into the souks specializing in Berber carpets, silver jewelry, artisan workshops, handmade shoes and tanneries.
• Overnight in Marrakech hotel.

Day 09: MARRAKECH – CASABLANCA DEPARTURE

• Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Casablanca international airport for your departure flight.

This ends your Morocco travel experience.