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Mystical Ancient Exotic
Morocco is a melting pot of Berber-Arab-Spanish-Portuguese-French people with a country whose landscape varies as much as its culture and history. To find out more about shopping in Morocco… http://www.travellady.com/articles/article-shoppingmorocco.html
MARRAKESH, often called the Pink City, is a labyrinth of alleyways, secluded palaces, museums, mosques and markets. After nightfall the city square comes alive with dancers, fortune-tellers, musicians, acrobats, storytellers and snake charmers. It is an exciting and occasionally bewildering place – an exotic spectacle that is striking and endlessly surprising.
“FEZ is the soul of Morocco. It’s the last bastion of what Morocco really is.” Faded but stately, crumbling but proud, the walled city of Fez might well be the largest and most enduring medieval Islamic settlement in the world. It is indisputably Morocco’s spiritual and cultural heart.
Riads of Morocco
A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden. The word
riad comes from the Arabian term for garden, “ryad”. Historically, riads were inward focused which allowed for family privacy and protection from the weather in Morocco. This inward focus was expressed in the central location of most of the interior gardens and courtyards and the lack of large windows on the exterior clay or mud brick walls. Entrance to these houses is a major transitional experience and encourages reflection because all of the rooms open into the central atrium space. The style of these riads has changed over the years, but the basic form is still used in designs today. Where possible we will overnight in traditional Moroccan riads.
Shopping in the Souks:
Souks are found in many of Morocco’s cities but the most expansive shopping areas lie in the cities of Marrakech and Fes. Here within the ancient walls of the medina, daily life follows a centuries-old pattern. Goods are haggled for in tiny shops and stalls, often over glass after glass of what might be considered the national drink–hot mint tea as sweet as liquified chewing gum. Craftsmen pound out designs on brass, as the echoes reverberate along narrow passageways where veiled women move through the day’s activities.
Day One:
MSY-Casablanca, overnight flight
Day Two:
Arrive CASABLANCA: early morning depart for FEZ via private driver (4 to 5 hrs), Hotel: Riad Dar Dmara or Fes: Riad Dar Dmana or Riad Dar Masmoudi. Short afternoon cultural tour of medina. Welcome Dinner at riad
Day Three:
FEZ: Breakfast at riad – Dinner on your own
Day Four:
FEZ: Breakfast at riad, Optional: Cooking Class OR trip to the Roman ruins at Volubilis, Dinner on your own
Day Five:
MIDELT: Hotel Kasba Asma
Journey towards the fabulously scenic Middle Atlas Mountains (approx. 4 hours) a territory populated with wandering nomadic shepherds attending to their flocks. Our route takes us through cedar forests, home to the Barbary Apes, North Africa’s only monkey, and into the picturesque valley between the Middle and High Atlas mountain ranges where our destination Midelt is situated. It is a dramatic setting and our peaceful accommodation is nestled in the farmland and orchards. In the afternoon we stretch our legs and explore the nearby village of Bremmem, to take a closer look at the local farming life (Midelt is the apple capital of Morocco).At some stage we will also visit Kasbah Myriam, a carpet and embroidery workshop run by Franciscan nuns with the aim of providing sustainable employment and education to local Berber women. The wares they produce are beautiful and of high quality, so it’s the perfect place to buy a memorable souvenir. Check into guest house, Free time to explore this village – Folklore musical performance for MAD 300 if interested, Dinner on your own
Day Six:
SAHARA CAMP: Guest house Yasmina or Erg Chebbi
It’s a stunning drive today (approx. 5 hours) towards the mighty Sahara Desert. We have many opportunities to stop and admire the panoramic views of the Kasbahs and palmeries (valleys lush with date palms, fields and orchards) en-route, since we have the convenience of our own private minivan (there are not many options for public transport in these parts). We can pause insome of the frontier towns such as Erfoud and Rissani until we reach the end of the road and the small Saharan settlement of Merzouga.
- · Check into guest house for overnight stay w/ dinner
- · Check into guest house—camel ride into the desert and return to guest house for the night
- · Camel ride to an overnight Berber desert camp experience, camel ride back to guest house in the morning for breakfast
From here we will store our main baggage before saddling up our day packs and ourselves onto camels (approx. 1 hour each way), heading off into the sunset for a memorable night in our Sahara camp. The 
camp is a simple affair with bedding and basic toilet facilities provided. Our local friends will prepare a hearty feast so all we must do is soak up the experience. (Our camp does provide blankets but for extra warmth and your own comfort, you might like to bring your own sleeping bag in the months from November to March). Our visit is to the Erg Chebbi dunes, which are the most stunning in the country and an experience essential to complete any visit to Morocco. An Erg is a vast sea of shifting wind-swept sand that is formed into picturesque undulating crests and valleys, and the Erg Chebbi are one of the worlds classic landscapes of towering dunes, up to heights of over 150 meters. Located at the end of the sealed road, and just 20 kilometres from the Algerian border this is wonderful frontier country.
Day Seven:
Todra Gorge: Guest house Taborihte, Breakfast at Sahara guest house
For the early risers the morning of Day 7 begins with a sunrise over the majestic dunes, before riding our camels back to our small Auberge for a basic breakfast and freshening up. We take another classic drive today with dramatic changes of landscape to the stunning Todra Gorge (approx. 4 hours).
Enroute we will stop in a small town called Tinejdad (approx. 2 hours from the desert) and we can visit the Museum El Khorbat, which has a great collection of rural and historical Berber artifacts, clothing, jewelry and tools. It is housed in three restored homes of a Ksar and provides a wealth of information about Berber people living in the area. On arrival at our hotel in Todra Gorge the first afternoon is an opportunity to explore the beautiful surrounding Palmeries or to make the short walk up to the nearby Gorge itself, a spectacular canyon with sheer rock walls up to 300m high, now gaining fame as a rock-climbing destination. Dinner on your own
Day Eight:
Todra Gorge: Guest house Taborihte
A full day to enjoy the area. The option of a guided hike through the Gorge and a loop over a near-by mountain pass is highly recommended. You might even be fortunate enough to meet and join some of the local Nomadic inhabitants of the area for a glass of mint tea. For lunch you have the option to join some local ladies of a nearby village in their mud brick Kasbah. This provides a fantastic opportunity to get an idea of how locals live in this largely unchanged culture. There are also options for Rockclimbing, a guided trek or Mountain biking (these can be easily arranged by your group leader on arrival in Todra or an extra MAD 200-250). But for the less energetic, simply lounging by the hotel pool on the terrace with gorgeous views of the surrounding lush palmeraies and the rich red soaring cliff faces enjoying a book is a great way to spend your day in wonderful Todra. Dinner on your own
Day Nine:
AIT BEN HADDOU: Guest house La fibule d’Or
On the morning of day 9 we say goodbye to the enchanting Todra Gorge and make our way further South towards the Kasbah country of Ait Benhaddou (approx. 4 hours). This scenic drive offers a glimpse of times gone by via the ruins of ancient Kasbahs; once colonial military desert outposts, austere mountains, wide open spaces, valleys of palm trees and irrigated fields. En-route we can pause for lunch in Ouarzazate, the film capital of Morocco, where films such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘The Sheltering Sky’ and ‘Black Hawk Down’ have been filmed. Time permitting we can take a tour of the Atlas Studios for MAD 50. After lunch we drive on (approx. 45 minutes) to our final destination, the grand Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou – one of the most beautiful in all of Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This fortified village is a fine example of clay architecture and is also famous for its role on the silver screen, featuring in numerous films such as: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Kundun (1997), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Alexander (2004). Centuries ago, Ait Benhaddou, on the Mellah River, was an important stop for the caravans passing through as they carried salt across the Sahara, returning with gold, ivory and slaves. Today, it is inhabited only by a handful of families and we can explore the maze of its streets at our leisure, or soak up the atmosphere from the terrace of our family run Guest House as you watch the sunset over this magnificent site. This evening, we join in on a simple cooking demonstration of Moroccos most famous cuisine: Cous Cous and Tajine. The ladies of the kitchen will prepare some fabulous traditional meals and we willat well tonight.
Day Ten:
MARRAKECH: Riad Aladdin Farewell the Sahara and head to the hills. Arrive MARRAKECH Late afternoon. The route is an epic journey (about 4 hours) as we farewell the landscape of the Kasbah’s and Sahara, passing over the desolate high altitudes of the Tichka, before traversing some stunning lush valleys and winding our way to the end of the road at Marrakech. After settling in to our hotel we can join the thronging crowds and enjoy dinner at the ultimate el fresco experience of the infamous Djemaa el Fna. This is undoubtedly an unforgettable introduction to bustling Marrakech where we can wander around the singers, drummers, dancers, snake charmers, fortune tellers, tooth pullers, storytellers, jugglers and even old medicine men, altogether who make up what has been dubbed the greatest spectacle on earth. Dinner on your own
Day Eleven:
MARRAKECH: Riad Aladdin
Shopping in the Souks – Souks are found in many of Morocco’s cities but the most expansive shopping areas lie in the cities of Marrakech and Fez. Here within the ancient walls of the medina, daily life follows a centuries-old pattern. Goods are haggled for in tiny shops and stalls, often over glass after glass of what might be considered the national drink–hot mint tea as sweet as liquified chewing gum. Craftsmen pound out designs on brass, as the echoes reverberate along narrow passageways where veiled women move through the day’s activities. Some people like to hire a guide.
Day Twelve:
MARRAKECH: Riad Aladdin
Today is free to explore the Medina and sights of Marrakech, or possibly experience a Hamam (public 
bath) for MAD 50-200. Medersa, museums and monuments in Marrakech – MAD10-30 and the Jardin Marjorelle in Marrakech (Gardens that have been lovingly restored by Yves Saint Laurent) – MAD30
Day Thirteen:
MARRAKECH: Riad Aladdin
The monuments of Marrakech are numerous and range from the well-known Koutoubia Mosque and its superb minaret – famous throughout the Islamic world and the ‘sister’ to the Giralda in far-away Seville, to the lesser-known tropical gardens of the French Painter Jacques Majorelle (now owned by Yves Saint Laurent). There is the Palais Bahia, a superb example of Muslim architecture, and the ruins of the Palais Badi, reputedly one of the most beautiful palaces in the world in its time. The Saadian tombs are a recently uncovered gem of the Medina. All of the above can be a challenge to locate, but that is all a part of the experience of exploring the phenomenal Medina’s of Morocco!
Day Fourteen:
Transfer to airport for your return flight home
