Overview

 Casablanca and its pretty mosque ; Rabat – the Capital – and its beautiful monuments ; Fes the oldest imperial city and spiritual capital of the kingdom ; Meknes and its palaces ; the ruins of the capital of Rome in North Africa … and many more other happy surprises. It’s going to discover the multi-cultural facets of Morocco.

What To Expect

1^st Day : departure at 7h00a.m

A.- CASABLANCA VISITS

 1 Hassan II Mosque : Built on the sea, translation of the Coran verse that proclaims God’s throne was built upon water. The mosque is a truly marvelous piece of architecture. Huge monument, it can accomodate 25.000 worshipers inside and 80.000 more outside. The founder, King Hassan II, desired for the city to be endowed with a large, fine building of which it can be proud until the end of time. The mosque’s most exquisite examples of Moroccan craftsmanship are the blankets of zellij, some designs more than 10m high. The mosque is one of the world’s largest. 

2 Casablanca  Rick’s Café : the spirit of the movie Casablanca is alive and well in downtown. Madam Rick, an American woman who had lived in Morocco, had restored a multilevel former medina residence to resemble the era depicted in the movie, dominated by a central courtyard with its authentic 1930’s Pleyel piano. 

3 Place des Nations Unies : or United Nations square in some planes : administrative center of Casablanca with very beautiful buildings designed in the 1920’s by a french architect. The square is bordered by the Wilaya ( main government office ) flanked by a tower with clock; the courthouse; a beautiful musical and luminous fountain (at night) around which hundreds of pigeons come to eat the grains offered by the visitors and drink the fountain water.

B.- RABAT VISITS

4 Chellah necropolis : it is both a Roman ruin and Islamic burial place. As the roman city of Sala Colonia, it was a bustling trading post of the empire’s southernmost colony from A.D 40 onward, and was one of the lst to eventually sever links with the empire.

 5 Mausoleum of Mohammad V : The Hassan tower & mausoleum of Mohammed V : Hassan Tower or Sawm’at Hassan in Arabic, referring to the significant minaret shaft following the special Moroccan and Spanish style of architecture of the same time. The minaret was projected to be the largest of its type of all time around the world, yet – unfortunately – the construction processes stopped suddenly following the sudden death of al-Mansur in 1199.

 6 Kasbah of Oudayas : The Oudaya Kasbah is a haven of tranquility, with its flower-filled little streets, Andalusian garden, and Moorish café. Referred to also as Kasbah of the Udayas, the Oudaya Kasbah is one of the most unique sites in Morocco and is the first milestone of the city of Rabat. It’s located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, opposite the city of Salé, in Rabat, Morocco. UNESCO recognized the significance of the Oudaya Kasbah and added it to the World Heritage Tentative List in 2006.

 First night in a sumptuous Riad in the Medina of Fes El Bali

2^nd Day : departure at 9h00a.m

C.- FES VISITS

 Fes is the spiritual heart of Morocco and is the most ancient, and indeed the greatest, of the country’s imperial cities. It’s one of the undisputed highlights of any visit to Morocco. Within the walls of its Medina, Fes Al Bali (Old Fes), lies the world’s largest intact medieval city. More than 9,500 narrow streets and dim alleyways wind endlessly up and down, around and around, crammed with people, music, noise, and smells. Whether arriving from within Morocco or elsewhere, nothing can prepare you for this assault of the senses. 

7 Bounaniya Medersa : As a theological college and dormitories built by the Merenid dynasty, Bouaniya Medersa is a group of buildings built between 1350 and 1356 by Sultan Abou Inan. It simultaneously functioned as both an educational institute and as a congregational mosque, and accommodated shops and a large public latrine along the front façade. Zellij, carved wood and panels of stucco, originally a mix of plaster and egg whites, finely carved with Coranic verses, decorate every available surface of the courtyard. Wood mashrabiyya screens separate the marble-paved courtyard from the arcaded corridors leading to the student rooms. 

8 Chouwara Tannery : a picture straight out of medieval times, The Chouara Tannery is the larges and busiest of the four traditional tanneries still operating in the medina. Sheep, goat and cow skins are cured, stretched, scraped and dyed in numerous honeycombed earthen pits in a process that is still as manual as when it began in the 1th century upon the decline of Cordoba. 

9 Karaouiyine Mosque : and University : the most important mosque in Morocco, and one of the oldest university in the world, it was built in 859 by Fatima Al Fihriya, the daughter of a wealthy immigrant from Kairaouane (Tunisia) and by the 10th century had become the congregational mosque of the Karaouiyine quarter of the medina. Surrounded by medersas, it became a major intellectual center in medieval Mediterranean. 

10 Fes Jdid : At the beginning of the 14th century, Fes’s Jewish community was relocated to an area known as the Mellah in the Merenid-built Fes Jdid (New Fes). The concentration of the community’s skills – and wealth led to prosperous neighborhood of multistory houses with large interior patios and baconies hanging over the street, many of them decorated in the stucco and zelij designs from the jew’s Andalusian heritage. Close to the area, the royal palace of the King of Morocco

Second night in the same sumptuous Riad in the Medina of Fes El Bali

3^rd Day : departure at 8hOOa.m

D.-  MEKNES VISITS

For a medina lacking any great number of sights, those that Meknes offers visitors are up there with the best in the country. 

11 Bab Mansour : one of the grandest of Moroccan gateways. It is quite often overlooked by travelers who become ensconced in the activity and sights of the square opposite called Place El Hedim. Resplendent in green and blue zellij and towering columns 

12 Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail : a peaceful and spiritual resting place , one of the few sacred sites in Morocco open to non-Muslims 

13 Place El Hedim : the heart of Meknes medina. A smaller version of Marrakech’s Jamâa Lafna 

14 Volubilis : the most impressive Roman ruins in Morocco. The existence of a Roman city in the country surprises some people. The structure of Volubilis ( Latin for “morning glory “ ) is still clearly visible from the ruins. A visit of the UNESCO World Heritage site is highly recommended.

15 Moulay Driss Zerhoune : second pilgrimage center after Meccah, it is the home to the tomb of the great grandson of Ali and Fatima, the prophet Mohammed’s daughter. Moulay Driss was the founder of the first Moroccan dynasty , the Idrissides.

Return to Marrakech around 7h00 p.m

All Inclusive
– pick-up and drop off from and to anywhere in Marrakech city or region
– transportation in a minivan with A/C
– Driver/guide speaking English
– Monuments admission tickets
– 2 nights in a Luxury Riad in Fes with H/B (diner & Breakfast)
– 3 lunches ( different traditional gastronomy)
– 1L½ of mineral water per day

Observations
– possibility to start the tour from any other city in Morocco