Morocco Trip
Friday, April 6, 2018
[Nominal Day 1 of tour]
Fly to
Morocco
Saturday, April 7, 2018
[Day 2 of tour]
Tour Arrives
Casablanca/Rabat
We arrive
this afternoon in Casablanca, Morocco’s chief port, economic capital, and
largest city. We meet our Odysseys Unlimited Tour Director at the airport then
transfer by coach to Rabat. After
checking in at our elegant, well-located hotel near famed Hassan Tower, we have
a short time to rest and refresh ourselves before this evening’s dinner at the
hotel.
La Tour Hassan (Dinner)
Sunday, April 8, 2018 [Day 3 of tour]
Rabat
La Tour Hassan (Breakfast,
Lunch, Dinner)
Capital of
the French Protectorate of Morocco from 1912 to 1956, and Moroccan capital since
independence, Rabat has a European elegance yet maintains an Islamic character
all its own. We spend the entire day touring this unique city that also was one
of the four ancient capitals, or imperial cities. We visit the fortified Kasbah
des Oudaias, boasting signature blue and white buildings lining narrow streets,
beautiful Andalusian Gardens, and a wide plaza overlooking the mouth of the Bou
Regreg River. We also visit the Roman site of Chellah, where we see the remnants
of Sala Colonia, a port that was abandoned in 1154. The gardens, pavilions, and
ruins here are spread out over multiple levels, and now house a number of
curious cats and majestic storks. We have a short visit at the Museum of
Moroccan History and Civilization before crossing the river to Sale, where we
enjoy lunch in a private home. We then visit Rabat’s impressive new Mohammed VI
Modern and Contemporary Art Museum followed by a short walk through the
medina. Late afternoon we return to
the hotel before enjoying dinner together at Dinarjat, an acclaimed restaurant
in Rabat’s Old Town serving traditional Moroccan fare.
Monday, April 9, 2018
[Day 4 of tour]
Rabat/Meknes/Volubilis/Fez
Hotel
Sahrai (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Long travel day
This morning
we depart by motorcoach for Meknes, Morocco’s youngest Imperial City and also a
UNESCO World Heritage site, whose construction was dominated by the Sultan
Moulay Ismail, one of Morocco’s most powerful leaders. Despite his reputation as
a ruthless warrior, the Sultan was also a builder, and during his 55-year reign
developed Meknes from a small town into a majestic capital with gigantic
ramparts, monumental gates, more than 50 palaces, and 15 miles of exterior
walls. We see the impressive Bab el Mansour gateway and visit the ruins of the
imperial stables and granaries. Then we continue on to Volubilis, the largest of
the Romans’ 17 colonies established in Morocco between the 1st century BCE and
the 2nd century CE. The excavated ruins here are particularly noted for their
colorful mosaics. The setting is a photographer’s delight, and we have ample
time at this UNESCO World Heritage site to take photos. After lunch in a local
restaurant, we continue on to Fez, arriving late this afternoon. Tonight we
enjoy a traditional Moroccan dinner together at our elegant hotel just a short
distance from the medina, another
UNESCO World Heritage site.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018 [Day 5 of tour]
Fez
Hotel
Sahrai (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Known as the
“Athens of Africa” for its wealth of cultural, educational, and religious
institutions, Fez is the country’s oldest imperial capital, and perhaps its most
fascinating. “The history of Fez,” writes author Walter Harris, “is composed of
wars and murders, triumphs of arts and sciences, and a good deal of
imagination.” And a more captivating city you won’t find anywhere, as we
discover on our full-day tour. This morning we start with a comfortable walk in
the medina to discover some hidden
treasures, including the Blue Gate, the most picturesque of all the Old City’s
historic gates; the medieval school of Bouanania; the 12th-century home of
Jewish scholar Maimonides; and the authentic food market. We continue on to
visit the quarter where Fez’s renowned pottery and ceramics makers create the
complex blue-and-white geometric patterns of traditional “bleu
de Fez” household and decorative objects. After lunch together in the
medina, we tour the old Mellah (Jewish quarter) and its 17th-century synagogue
and the royal gates. After our touring, we dine tonight in our hotel’s
international restaurant.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 [Day 6 of
tour]
Fez
Hotel Sahrai (Breakfast, Dinner)
We begin today with a visit to the
Museum of Fez, then return to the labyrinthine medina, focusing on the artisans’
quarters, the 14th-century Koranic schools, and Al Karaouine, the medieval
theological university. The remainder of the afternoon is free for lunch on our
own and for independent exploration or relaxation. Tonight we enjoy a private dinner
at an intimate family-run riad in Fez.
Thursday, April 12, 2018 [Day 7 of tour]
Fez/Zeida/Erfoud
Le Palais du Désert Hotel
(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) (Elevation 2,648 feet)
Long travel day
Today’s
transfer from Fez to Erfoud in the Sahara desert is long, but our reward is the
breadth and beauty of the passing scenery. Traveling inland, we cross the
fertile plains beyond Fez and continue through the Middle Atlas mountain range
and its cedar forests, where we make a brief stop in the ski resort city of
Irfane. After lunch in the crossroads town of Zeida, we make a short stop
to see the local Barbary macaques in their natural
habitat. Continuing on we follow the Ziz River, passing rows of sky-scraping palm
trees and fortified adobe villages in the Talfilalet Oasis before reaching our
kasbah-style hotel on the outskirts
of Erfoud late in the day. Built by the French as an oasis fort, Erfoud is now a
sizable city and the gateway to the Sahara. Dinner tonight is at our hotel.
Friday, April 13, 2018 [Day 8 of tour]
Erfoud/Rissani/Merzouga
Le Palais du Désert Hotel
(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
This morning we stop at a workshop
where fossils are polished and prepared. Then we visit the city of Rissani, sitting on the edge of the Sahara and formerly the last staging post on
the southern caravan route. Once the seat of the Alawait dynasty, Rissani boasts
some striking architecture with its 18th-century
ksar, a virtually impenetrable warren
of alleys. After our touring here we enjoy lunch together, then set out in a
caravan of 4x4s for the breathtakingly beautiful dunes of Merzouga, on the edge
of the Sahara, and one of the highlights of our tour. We reach Morocco’s only
Saharan dunes late this afternoon where, in the enormous silence, we watch the
sun set over the desert as we take a camel ride along the
erg. Following this experience, we
have dinner together in this desert setting, before returning to our hotel
tonight.
Saturday, April 14, 2018 [Day 9 of tour]
Erfoud/Tinehir/Todra Gorge/Ouarzazate/Ait Ben Haddou
Ksar Ighnda Hotel (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Long travel day
With a fairly
long travel day ahead of us, we leave Erfoud this morning bound for Ouarzazate
in the snowtopped High Atlas Mountains, passing one scene of natural beauty
after another. We first pass through Tinghir, a stunning mountain oasis rising
on a series of lush riverside produce gardens accented by palm trees and
dominated by ornate clay villages. Here we visit 984-foot Todra Gorge, home to a
variety of rare plant and bird species. After enjoying lunch at a local
restaurant, we continue on to El Kelaa des Mgouna, Morocco’s “rose capital,”
before beginning our journey along the “Route of a Thousand Kasbahs,” a region
of fortresses with elaborately decorated façades. We arrive in Ouarzazate (the
“door of the desert”) late this afternoon and tour the Kasbah and the Cinema Museum, then
continue to our riad hotel in Ait Ben Haddou, one of southern Morocco’s most
recognizable villages since it is often used as a location for fashion and film
shoots (including Gladiator). A
UNESCO World Heritage site, the village’s old section consists of deep red
kasbahs so tightly packed together
they appear as a single building. dinner tonight is at our hotel.
Sunday, April 15, 2018 [Day 10 of tour]
Ait Ben-Haddou/Marrakech
Sofitel Marrakech (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Long travel day
We leave Ait
Ben Haddou for Marrakech today, stopping en route to climb to the top of the
uninhabited ksar. Then as we descend from the High Atlas mountains, we pass
through typical villages with fortified walls and stone houses with earthen
roofs. In Tizi N’Tichka, we traverse the Pass of the Pastures (alt. 7,415 feet),
where life is much as it was centuries ago: shepherds bring their flocks to the
high pastures every summer, then return with them to their villages in autumn.
Late this afternoon we arrive in fabled Marrakech, an ancient intersection of
Berber, African, Mediterranean, and Asian cultural and artistic influences.
Considered Morocco’s most cosmopolitan city – and some would say its most
beautiful – Marrakech boasts a spectacular location surrounded by rich farmlands
and high mountains. We dine tonight at our hotel.
Monday, April 16, 2018 [Day 11 of tour]
Marrakech
Sofitel Marrakech (Breakfast, Lunch)
Although its
origins are disputed, it is believed Marrakech was settled in the early 11th
century; five centuries later it was one of Morocco’s dominant centers of art
and culture. Today Marrakech is the nation’s fourth largest city, with an
exciting blend of modern architecture and an ancient walled
medina. On our full-day tour we
concentrate on Old Marrakech, taking in Saadian tombs, the Koutoubia Mosque with
its distinct 282-foot minaret, an architectural highlight visible from miles
away; the relatively contemporary (19th-century) El Bahia Palace with its
Andalusian influence and fascinating harem quarter; and the ruins of 360-room
Palais El Badii, built in 1578 in the style of Granada’s Alhambra and lavishly
decorated with Italian marble and gold. Moulay Ismail looted the palace, which
took 25 years to construct, to enhance
his palace. We return to our hotel for lunch then set out mid-afternoon to
explore the city’s souks, including
those of yarn dyers, wrought iron and lantern makers, herbalists, and wood
carvers and painters. Next we venture to Djemaa El Fna, the heart of Marrakech
where our fantasies of Morocco come to life. Here are snake charmers,
storytellers, acrobats, and musicians asking only a few
dirhams to enlighten, fascinate, and
entertain. It’s a circus atmosphere that has existed since the city’s earliest
days, serving as a mecca for both
locals and tourists who come here for food, for fun, or to find a brief respite
from daily life. Dinner is on our own in this exotic city.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 [Day 12 of tour]
Marrakech
Sofitel Marrakech (Breakfast, Dinner)
On today’s
excursion we travel via horse-drawn carriage from Menara to the lush Majorelle
Gardens, a botanical garden in the heart of the city. French artist Jaques
Majorelle created this masterpiece, known for its cobalt blue accents, in 1924
during Morocco’s colonial period as a protectorate of France. Here we are likely
to see many of the 15 species of birds endemic to North Africa. Following a tour
of the gardens, we visit the recently renovated Berber Museum and the Yves St.
Laurent museum, both located on the
grounds of Majorelle Gardens. The afternoon is at leisure before dinner tonight
at the famed restaurant Dar Moha, located in a spectacular riad in the city’s Old Town.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 [Day 13 of
tour]
Marrakech/Casablanca
Hyatt Regency Casablanca
(Breakfast, Dinner)
We leave
Marrakech this morning for the 3½-hour motorcoach ride to storied Casablanca,
Morocco’s largest and most sophisticated city, combining French and Moroccan
influences. On the way into the city, we will visit a palatial government
building and Notre Dame de Lourdes, a Catholic church boasting impressive
stained glass. After lunch on the Corniche, we visit the Grand Mosque of Hassan II, the
world’s third-largest Islamic house of worship, with a 656-foot minaret and a
prayer hall three times the size of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. A stunning
architectural achievement, the mosque boasts an equally stunning setting on the
banks of the Atlantic shoreline. It is also Morocco’s only functioning mosque
that is open to non-Muslims and our tour affords us the opportunity to see the
palatial interior with its polished marble floor, Venetian chandeliers, and
Moorish arches with 70 cedar-paneled cupolas. Tonight we gather for a farewell
dinner at Rick's Café to celebrate our Moroccan adventure.
Thursday, April 19, 2018 [Day 14 of
tour]
Casablanca/Depart for U.S. (Breakfast)
After
breakfast this morning we transfer to the Casablanca airport for our return
flight to the U.S.