Michele Schwartz

Makin' Memories Travel

Desert Delights: Guided Tour of Morocco's Markets, Holy Sites & Cuisine

Nov 3, 2024 to Nov 10, 2024
Morocco

We have tailored an itinerary to suit your interests, focusing on the Moorish and Jewish heritage, historical landmarks, architecture, and scenic landscapes of the country.

 

A colorful mix of Islamic, Arabic and African influences, Morocco has fascinated travelers for centuries. The bright labyrinths of its imperial cities contrast with the dramatic gorges and oases of the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains and the solitude of the Saharan desert that lies beyond. 
 
 
Welcome to Casablanca

**Optional, arrive to Casablanca the night before the commencement of the tour on November3, 2023.  After completing Immigration and custom formalities, you will be met by your guide outside the airport.

Day #1 November 3, 2024 drive approximately 90  minutes to the political capital of Morocco, Rabat.  

Rabat Tours with Local Private Tour Guides

 
Rabat

The political capital of Morocco (in Arabic Ribat) was founded in the 10th century near the ruins of the Phoenician and later Roman port of Sala.  It became the capital of the great 12th-century conqueror Yacoub El Mansour, who ruled an area that extended from Tunisia to northern Spain. After the death of Mansour, Rabat lost much of its importance and was not to recover its status as capital until the French occupation in 1912

 

The visit will include:

  • Hassan tower: the unfinished minaret of Hassan Mosque, constructed by Yacoub el Mansour in the last five years of his reign after his victory over the king of Castle and Leon at Alarcos.
  • Visit the nearby white marbled Mausoleum of the King Mohammed V, where both kings are buried (Mohammed V, Hassan II and his brother Prince Moulay Abdullah).
  • Kasbah des Oudaïas, built on the bluff overlooking the estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, dominate the surrounding area and can be seen from some distance.
  • The Oudaïas garden is a superb Andalusian style garden, located in the heart of the Kasbah of the Oudaïas, in Rabat. Developed in the 1920s by the architect Maurice Tranchant de Lunel, the Jardin des Oudaïas is a typical example of a riad garden. Protected by ramparts, this garden consists of four beds bordered by olive, orange, tamarisk, rose, laurel, banana, datura, and lemon trees. Particularly well maintained, this garden is very popular with locals who come to chat in the shade of the trees.
 

Check in & overnight at MGallery Le Diwan Rabat 

Rooms 4

Mixing style and elegance with Moroccan colors, Le Diwan invites you to relax in the luxurious 94-room air-conditioned complex and the oriental spa with hammam and massage. The hotel restaurant serves French and Mediterranean cuisine, and the bar is available for delicious moments. WIFI is available in the building.  Located near a streetcar station in Embassy district, Le Diwan Gallery is ideal for exploring the sites high up in Moroccan capital.

FES

Day #2 On the Road to Fes:
 

Drive to Fes by Highway via Volubilis & Meknes: Volubilis ranks among the best-preserved Roman towns in North Africa. Volubilis was once the home of Cleopatra’s daughter who eventually married the Berber King Juba II. Continue to Meknes: It is often used as movie backdrops by film producers from all over the world. This monumental gateway separates the central square of the Medina, Place el Hedim, from Moulay Ismail’s vast enclosed imperial city. It has come to symbolize Meknes: It is reproduced in countless books, articles, postcards, and posters.

Lunch & Wine Experience: The wine tasting tour at Château Roslane is the perfect tour to discover the region of Meknes as well as one of the most beautiful wine estates in Morocco. Located not far from the city of Fez, Château Roslane is a winery located in the region of Meknes. It is the first winery in North Africa to be classified as a “Château”

 

The Château Roslane – River Camp Morocco

 

Continuation to Fes the oldest of the imperial cities,

 

Fes is arguably the symbolic heart of Morocco. Founded shortly after the Arab swept across North Africa and Spain, it quickly became the religious and cultural center of Morocco. Even on those periods when it was not the official capital of the whole country, Fez could not be ignored and never ceased to be consider the northern capital. The Medina of Fez el-Bali (Old Fez) is the largest living medieval cities in the world and the most interesting in Morocco.

 

Check in and Overnight at Fes Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace

 

Entrance of the Fes Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace

 

Immerse yourself in stylish luxury, Fes Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace is a welcoming respite for discerning travelers. Unpack your bags in elegantly appointed accommodations enhanced by refined design elements and bathed in natural light.

 

Day #3 Full Day City Tour of Fes

Breakfast at the hotel

 

  • Qarawiyin Mosque/Medersa: the oldest university of the world founded In 859 by Fatima Fihriya (a noble woman from an intellectual family of Fes).
  • The Mellah: The old Jewish quarters. There are few Jews left, but a legacy of jewelers’, brocade, balconies, small windows with their tracery of iron grille work, and an air of business gives the quarter something of its old distinctive atmosphere. 
  • Home of Maimonides, who lived in the city from 1159-1165. Maimonides emigrated to escape forced conversion. In the face of a declining population, the Jewish community of Fes is working hard to maintain its community spirit and preserve its heritage and traditions. The community center, Centre Communautaire "Maimonides," is one of the most well organized in Morocco, with a kosher restaurant and modern synagogue on the premises
  • The Aben Danan Synagogue: This place of worship, integrated towards the end of the 17th century, was the property of a family of rabbis, the Abendanan, whose Fassi lineage dates to the end of the 14th century. This synagogue is one of the jewels of Moroccan Jewish culture and one of the most important synagogues in North Africa. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Aben Danan Synagogue was recently renovated. It has been open to visitors since 2013 as a synagogue-museum.
  • The Jewish Cemetery: The nearby cemetery contains the tombs of more Jewish saints than any other cemetery in Morocco. One of the more important saints is Solica, who was killed for refusing to convert to Islam.
  • Nejjarine Museum: Museum of wood arts and crafts, a former place of trade strengthened in 1711 under the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismail, and now listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, this museum has been magnificently restored to house sublime pieces of wood such as objects of daily life, carpentry tools, musical instruments, weapons as well as objects of worship such as rosaries.
  • Bab Semmarine: Restored in 1924, you pass through the glittering displays of the jewelers’ souk. The Bab Smarine used to separate the mellah from the Muslim quarters, and before that marked the southern entrance of the city.
  • Bab Boujloud: The Bab Boujloud is the main point of entry to Fez-el-Bali. For 500 years, this area was a wasteland, caught between the cities of Fez Jdid and Fez-el-Bali, until the Sultan Moulay Hassan into the three garden of Dar Batha, Boujloud and Dar Beida, developed it in the 19th century
  • Chouara Tannery is one of the three tanneries in the city of Fez, Morocco. Built in the 11th century, it is the largest tannery in the city. It is located in the Fes el Bali. Since the inception of the city, the tanning industry has been continually operating in the same fashion as it did in the early centuries.
  • Souks of Fes: Set within the high walls of the city's historic medina, stepping into the souks of Fes is like stepping back in time to medieval times. The narrow streets twist and turn like a maze, with shops and boutiques lining the tangle of alleys. Covering one of the largest car-free zones in the world, the cacophony of sounds, the mixture of unknown aromas, the rich colors and the overwhelming crowd of people certainly stimulate the senses. It's normal for new visitors to feel rather overwhelmed! The medina of Fes is a city-workshop, a lot of craftsmen work wood, leather, metal on site and sell either directly to you or most often indirectly via merchants. Do not miss your chance to observe them doing it is often admirable dexterity.
 

 

 

Casablanca

Day #4 Drive to Casablanca

 

Breakfast at the hotel

 

Drive to Casablanca by highway

 

In a century and a half, Casablanca has grown from a small village of a few thousand inhabitants to a city of nearly four million, and has become a large industrial and commercial center more open to the Western way of life than other cities of Morocco.

 

The very name of Casablanca evokes love. Stroll through the medina and the Old Town, where a scent of nostalgia floats, in the footsteps of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Arteries bordered by palm trees, large business buildings and the Atlantic that opens up to the world: Casablanca is the economic heart of Morocco, a bustling metropolis constantly on the alert. Modern infrastructures mingle with charming neighborhoods, between Arab-Muslim heritage and the legacy of the colonial period. Discover all its nuances: stroll through the medina, one of the latest in Morocco, cross the center and its art-deco buildings

 

  • Visit of the Hassan II Mosque: Built partly on the sea, it is a religious and cultural complex, spread over nine hectares and has a prayer room, an ablutions room, baths, a Koranic school (madrasa), a library and a museum. The Hassan II Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world, and has a minaret with a height of 200 to 210 m according to sources, the tallest in the world.
  • Beth-El Synagogue: Casablanca has a strong Jewish community with many synagogues. Beth-El Synagogue is one of the largest and most beautiful noted for its stained glass windows, in the style of Marc Chagall. Sunlight, tinted by stained glass, bounces off a gigantic crystal chandelier creating thousands of shimmering rainbow mosaics on every surface. The ark, the most important thing in the synagogue, houses the Hebrew scrolls and these are dressed in exquisitely embroidered velvet mantles. The walls are inscribed with gilded quotes from the Bible and the ceiling is equally decorative.
  • Museum of Moroccan Judaism of Casablanca: A Museum of History and Ethnography The Museum, which covers an area of 700 square meters, is the first of its kind in the Arab world. It consists of: The Museum of Moroccan Judaism of Casablanca is a museum of history and ethnography, created by the Jewish Community of Casablanca in 1997 with the support of the Foundation of Jewish-Moroccan Cultural Heritage. It uses world-class standards of conservation for its national and international collections.
  • Dinner at the Rick’s Café Restaurant.  Rick's Café is a restaurant, bar and café located in the city of Casablanca, Morocco. Opened in 2004, it was designed to recreate the bar from the film Casablanca, released in 1942. The establishment is full of architectural and decorative details reminiscent of the film: curved arches, a sculpted bar, balconies, balustrades as well as lighting and plants that cast luminous shadows on the white walls. There is an authentic 1930s Pleyel piano and the tune As Time Goes By is a common request for the house pianist.

 

 

Check in & Overnight at Hyatt Regency CasablancaAn iconic address in the heart of the legendary Casablanca.  An oasis of elegance, Hyatt Regency Casablanca is located few steps away from the Medina and the Art Deco buildings, in the historical center of Casablanca. A mythic address to discover this legendary, vibrant and cosmopolitan city. Our hotel is known for its luxurious atmosphere and its innate sense of hospitality between heritage and modernity.

 

Marrakesh

Day #5 On the Road to Marrakesh:
 
 

Drive to Marrakesh by highway Marrakesh:

 

There's only one world to define it: magical. There are a thousand legends which describe its history, which began in 1070.  Marrakesh, the capital of the south, has a mysterious and seductive air. Marrakesh, a name with a magical sound evokes palm groves and caravans, oriental markets and international spies, and duels to the death in an oasis of peace. Many are the roads which lead to Marrakesh which make it a cross road from north to south and from east to west.

 

Upon arrival; start your visit of Marrakesh The Ramparts (City Walls):

 

  • The city walls of Marrakesh, built in the XII century and subsequently destroyed and rebuilt, is about 15 kilometres long, reddish in colour and two meters thick. It has powerful ancient ramparts, various styles and many monumental doors,
  • Bahia Palace: is considered one of the grand palaces of the Moroccan city of Marrakech, or what is called the Red City.
  • Medersa Ben Youssef: is a historic Islamic school located in the heart of Marrakech, Morocco. Built in the 14th century, this madrasa was once the largest Islamic school in North Africa and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • The Jewish Mellah: Founded in 1558 by Moulay Abdallah, the Mellah district was designated as the Jewish quarter in Marrakech. Visit the Marrakech Lazama Synagogue in the old medina. This Quarter was created in the Kasbah area in 1558. The Jewish community enjoyed autonomy even though Jews weren't allowed to own any property outside the Mellah and controlled the sugar trade. There are approximately 250 Jews still living in Marrakech, and most live outside the Medina
  • Le Jardin Secret: The origins of the complex date back to the Saadian Dynasty, more than four hundred years ago. Le Jardin Secret has been the home of some of Morocco and Marrakech’s most important political figures. Le Jardin Secret is part of the great tradition of stately Arab-Andalusian and Moroccan palaces.
  • The souks of the medina: Marrakech owes its fame as much to the colorful animation of its famous souks, renowned for the quality of the handcrafted items found there.  A stroll through the souks of the Medina and the famous Djamaa El F'na Square the ancient meeting point of the tradesmen in Northwest Africa, with its entertainers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, story-tellers, public-scribes, soothsayers, medicine-men, snake-charmers.
 
 
Check-in & Overnight at Demeures d’Orient Riad & SpaDemeures d'Orient Riad & Spa Marrakesh is a charming hotel located in the heart of the old medina of the red city. A large heated pool is at your disposal in the center of our patio with flowers and majestic palm trees.  A piece of heaven in the heart of the Moroccan life fastsRelax around our large pool, enjoy a massage at the spa or a steam room with essential oils.
 
Day #6 Marrakesh
 

Breakfast at the hotel

 

  • The Majorelle Garden: The Majorelle Garden: is one of the most enchanting and mystical gardens in Morocco. Created in the space of forty years, the set, surrounded by walls, consists of a labyrinth of intersecting alleys, intertwined levels and Moorish buildings in Art Deco style with bold colors. The garden is a gigantic and opulent heap of exotic plants and trees from the most distant lands, designed both as a sanctuary and as a laboratory by the French painter Jacques Majorelle from 1922. In 1980, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, bought the Majorelle Garden to save it from a hotel complex project that envisaged its destruction. The new owners decided to live in the villa of the artist Jacques Majorelle, renamed Villa Oasis.
  • The Berber museum: The museum is set up in four separate spaces, organized around so many themes. First, the history and geography of the Berbers (Amazighs) of Morocco are presented, as well as cartography of the most significant tribes: a rich audiovisual documentation accompanies visitors throughout their journey.
  • YSL museum: Dedicated to the designer and his work, the Yves Saint Laurent museum in Marrakech opened its doors in Morocco in October 2017.
  • Cooking Class: Enjoying the multicultural gastronomy of Morocco: A cooking class usually starts with a comprehensive introduction that highlights the importance of cooking in Moroccan society, and reviews the variety of recipes created by dadas (traditional woman cooks) over the centuries for special occasions such as marriages, baptisms, and circumcisions. Then proceed to an overview of the most traditional recipes such as pastilla, couscous, and the broad variety of tajines (stews usually made with lamb or chicken), while reviewing some of the basic pillars of Moroccan cuisine.

 

Overnight & Breakfast at the hotel

 

Day #7 Marrakesh

 

Overnight & Breakfast at the hotel

 

Day #8 Departure 

 

Breakfast at the hotel and transfers to the airport

 

 

 
 

Available Packages

Experience the Magical Wonders of Morocco: From the Bustling Streets of Casablanca to the Ancient Medina of Marrakesh, and Everything in Between!
Unavailable as of May 31, 2024

Starting At: $2,975.00
Deposit: $1,165.00 per person

Are included :

  • Accommodation 7 Nights in above selected Hotels, or similar, on Half board.
  • Private Transportation by A/C Luxury Mercedes Sprinter throughout the tour.
  • Private Assistance of an English speaking Tour Guide throughout the tour .
  • Entrance fees to the monuments.
  • All hotel taxes and services.
  • Lunch & Wine degustation at Chateau Roslane (Meknes).
  • Cooking Class
  • Dinner at Rick’s Café Restaurant. (Casablanca).

 

Excluded services are :

  • Any airfare ticket.
  • Drinks except what is mentioned on the program.
  • Meals except  what is mentioned on the program.
  • Tips for driver and guide.

Extra Options

Optional Tours
Unavailable as of October 15, 2024

$0.00

Optional Services :

 

  • Hot Air Balloon (Marrakech).
  • Dinner & Show in famous Restaurants (Marrakech).
  • Horse Carriage (Caleche). (Marrakech).
  • Hammam (SPA; Traditional Moroccan Bath). 
  • Vintage Sidecar (Marrakech).
  • Quads & Buggy (Marrakech).
  • Camel Ride (Marrakech).