JFK
to CASABLANCA
Flying Royal Air Maroc, is like starting your foreign
vacation as soon as you take off. In addition to superb Moroccan service and friendliness,
you will enjoy beverage service, delicious dinner and a complimentary movie. Your
professional and experienced Moroccan escort will give you every possible assistance
CASABLANCA
/ RABAT Morning arrival and assistance by
your host at Mohammed V Airport. transfer to the hotel then sightseeing tour of
Casablanca. "Principal city in Morocco and capital in all but administration"
Casablanca is now the largest port of the Maghreb - busier even than Marseille
seaport, the city on which it was modeled by the French. Your visit will include
the central market, the Habous district, the Royal Palace, the Mohamed V square,
the residential area of Anfa and the Hassan II Mosque. Optional sea food lunch
at the Corniche in Ain Diab (coast line). Afternoon departure to Rabat, the capital
of the nation. This city in many ways is what you would expect: elegant in its
spacious European in self conscious in Its very civilized modern ways. Our visit
begins in the Medina with the Kasbah of the Oudayas. Visit the venerated Mohamed
V Mausoleum, the Hassan Tower, the Mosque, and the ramparts and walls of the Mechouar
surrounding the Royal dinner and over night in Rabat.
Hotel Accommodations:
Chellah Hotel, Rabat
(1
night) RABAT/
MEKNES / FES
After breakfast, Departure to Meknes via Volubilis and
Moulay Idris. his excursion embodies much of Morocco's early history - Volubilis
as Its Roman provincial capital, Moulay Idris in the creation of the country's
first Arab dynasty then continue to Fez . Dinner and overnight at your scheduled
hotel. Hotel
Accommodations: Royal
Mirage Hotel,
Fes
(2
nights) FES
Full-day tour of the city of Fes, the Holy City of Fes is a jewel of Spanish-Arabic
civilization. Fes does not reveal its secrets easily. Secretive, shadowy, they
need to be discovered little by little, with reverence. Only in this way can the
splendors of Medrsa architecture be fully appreciated. Only in this way will the
call of the medina tempt you. Bustling with artisans and merchants, its captivating
sounds, fragrances and colors mesmerize the visitor with a constant swirl of activity.
The city of Moulay Idriss 1st, sanctuary of human and moral sciences. The
great À Karaouiyne University bas for eleven centuries been a religions and intellectual
center whose influence bas spread far beyond the Kingdom's boundaries. In
789, a pick-axe of silver and gold -"fas" in Arabic - was presented to Idriss
1st to use in tracing the outlines of the city. Hence the name of the city, which
lies at the far eastern end of the plain of Saïss, bordered to the south by the
hills outlying the Atlas Mountains. Cradle of religions, cultural and artistic
traditions, Fes, the double city, is the kingdom's spiritual capital. The Andalusia
mosque, dating from the 9th century, and further embellished by successive rulers,
is accessed through a mighty door of sculpted cedar. An imposing minaret decorated
with green faiences crowns the Rsif Mosque. The Medersas around the Karaouiyne
Mosque, former lodging houses for students coming from outside the city, attest
the importance of its thousand years of history. In the Medina, a labyrinth of
sloping, winding alleyways are crammed full of stalls and workshops. This is the
famed Kissaria -the commercial center. A multitude of locally produced goods are
on sale in this incredible maze-cotton fabric, silk, brocade work, slippers, and
many more. The craftsmen of the El Attarine souks
offer the visitor a non-stop spectacle. For hundreds of years such work bas been
regulated by traditional guilds, ensuring that its quality is worthy of the city.
Each district has its own specialty : cobalt blue enameled pottery, carpets, wrought
iron ... one looks on as the dyer stirs his yarns, steeped in their multitude
of colors, as the tanner tramples his skins under an open sky -skins that the
leather-worker will eventually adorn with fine gilt for book-binding . Leaving
the souks through the Boujeloud gate with its decoration of green and blue faiences,
the riches contained in the wonderful Museum of Moroccan Art await one Optional
lunch at the Medina and shopping in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at the
hotel. Hotel
Accommodations: Royal
Mirage Hotel,
Fes DAY
5) April 09 FES
/ AZROU / MIDELT /ERFOUD/MERZOUGA
After breakfast In the morning an enjoyable drive across
The atlas maintains, the first hills you see of the Middle Atlas seem surprisingly
un-Moroccan. There are evergreen pines. tall cedar trees on the peaks and poplars
on the foot hills. The road across is almost ceremonial. Azrou,
the first real town of the Middle Atlas stands at a major junction of routes.
It is an important market center, and has long held a strategic role in controlling
the Berbers of the mountains. Midelt: you have left
the Middle Atlas behind. Suddenly, through the haze, appear the much greater peaks
of the High Atlas rising sheer behind the town to a massive range, the Dgebel
Ayashi at over 12000ft. The drama of that sight, tremendous in the clear, cool
noon, is the most compelling reason to stop over for lunch. Dinner and overnight
in Merzouga: under tent. Hotel
Accommodations: Belere
Hotel, under tent, Merzouga
(1
night) MARZOUGA
/ OUARZAZATE An early wake up call for sunrise
excursion to Dunes. An experience not to be missed is to watch the sun as it rises
from the top of the golden dunes, a spectacular view of the Sahara which no words
can describe. Back to the tent for special Breakfast with the Touargees people,
then continue on to explore the holy ancient city of Rissani by your 4X4 Land
Rover. Early afternoon depart to Tinghir ,The highest and the narrowest gorges
in the region are Todra's, only 15 km from Tinghir. Traveling through the Dades
valley in spring you will find the bloom of thousands of Persian roses - cultivated
as hedgerows dividing the plots. Thousands of Kasbahs scattered along the Dades
river through El Kalaa Del Mgouna and Boumaine. Lunch at a local restaurant located
at the feet of cayons. Continuation to Ouarzazate. Dinner and overnight at the
hotel in Ouarzazate. Hotel
Accommodations: Kenzi
Azghor Hotel, Ouarzazate
(1
night) OUARZAZATE/
MARRAKECH After breakfast, tour of Ouarzazate.
Continue on to Marrakech with a visit to AIT BENHADDOU. Dinner and overnight in
Marrakech. Hotel
Accommodations: Tichka
Salam
Hotel,
Marrakech (3
nights) MARRAKECH
After breakfast, full-day tour of Marrakech. Historic
visit of Marrakech will include the Menara, a magnificent pool surrounded by flowers,
reflecting the image of a beautiful Moorish construction built in 1866 for the
dignitaries. See glorious sunsets with the Atlas mountains as a backdrop. Also,
the pool is a functional irrigation system to the surrounding areas. The tour
will see several impressive sights: The Koutoubia Minaret (the twin tower of la
Giralda in Sevilla, Spain), the Saadian tombs demonstrating Moorish architecture
in its perfection. The tombs, consisting of splendid mausoleums built in the sixteenth
century, were walled for some time, not to be discovered until 1917. Other sites
include: the museum of Dar Si Said with the best display of Berber arts and crafts
to be found; the remains of the Badii Palace, a historical monument chosen to
host the annual National Festival of Popular Art, beginning the second Friday
in June. The Bahia Palace still hosts dignitaries in the heart of the Mellah (Jewish
quarter) today. Lunch at the hotel then a walk through the colorful souks of Marrakech
in the afternoon. Conclude the day with a sunset drink overlooking the exciting
Jamaa El Fna Square. Optional dinner at "Chez Ali" under Berber tents with fantasia
show. Over night at the hotel. Hotel
Accommodations: Tichka
Salam
Hotel,
Marrakech MARRAKECH
/ OURIKA / MARRAKECH Excursion to the Ourika
Valley where we will visit Berber souks and Jewish Shrines. Lunch, then an afternoon
of shopping. Return to Marrakech for dinner and overnight at the hotel. Hotel
Accommodations: Tichka
Salam
Hotel,
Marrakech MARRAKECH
/ ESSAOUIRA
Departure to Essaouira (Mogador), a part from the immediate
impact of sea air and the friendly animation of the town, the predominant images
of Essaouira are of the Atlantic - of the rugged coast and offshore islands, the
vast expense of empty sands trailing back along the promontory to the south, and
the almost gothic scenery of the eighteen century fortifications. Lunch at Chalet
de la Mer. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel. Hotel
Accommodations: Les
iles Hotel, Essaouira: (1
night) ESSAOUIRA/EL
JADIDA/CASABLANCA After breakfast departure
to Casablanca via El Jadida stop at El Oualidia. Relay and seafood lunch. Departure
along the coastline to El Jadida - visit of the citadel. vestige of the Portuguese
occupation during the 11th century. Continuation to Casablanca. Dinner and overnight
at the Hotel. Hotel
Accommodations: Sheraton
Hotel, Casablanca (1
night) CASABLANCA
/ AIRPORT MOHAMMED V
Morning departure to Mohammed V Airport with a memorable
trip of a life time.
Farewell to a joyous trip! |