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Trip Overview
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Explore the land of the sheltering sky An illustrated itinerary of one of our many gay travel adventures. This information supplements our Morocco days and nights are sure to delight the senses as we travel from Casablanca, to Fes to a Sahara Desert camp to the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. Like Lawrence of Arabia, we'll head out to the romantic and picturesque dunes and oases and even sleep in a Bedouin tent underneath a canopy of stars. There will also be plenty of time to enjoy the exotic flavors, the native music and the colorful bazaars of Fes and Marrakech.
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1: Arrival in Casablanca
Our tour starts in the modern port city of Casablanca. Travelers from North America will depart the day before our first tour day. Royal Air Maroc has several flights a week from New York, and you can also connect via most European hub airports. This city hugging the Atlantic Ocean is famous not only as the setting for the 1942 film Casablanca, but it is also the country's modern economical and cultural capital. If you arrive in the morning, you'll have to afternoon to see the sites, such as the King Hassan II Mosque, which is the largest in Morocco and has the world's tallest minaret. A few other sites worth seeing are the Place de Mohammed V and the Port of Casablanca.
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2: Casablanca to Fes
After breakfast at our Casablanca hotel, we will drive to Fez. Our journey passes through an agricultural and forested part of this country - quite a contrast to the arid mountain passes and deserts that we will see later in our journey. Today we will see three of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco. Enroute to Fes, we will pass Rabat, home of today's king, and the ancient city of Meknes. The latter is often used by film producers from all over the world for movie backdrops. The city's most glorious days were under Sultan Moulay Ismail (1672-1727), a contemporary of Louis XIV of France, whom he tried to emulate. During his reign, the sultan attempted to construct the "Versailles of Africa!" His admiration of the French king was such that he even asked for Louis' daughter's hand in marriage. We'll make a stop at the holy city of Moulay Idriss, home to the sanctuary of its namesake. The picturesque little town is a national pilgrimage site as it holds the tomb of the holy saint Moulay Idriss. We next visit Volubilis or "Oualilli" as it is known by the Berber. Volubilis easily ranks among the best preserved Roman towns in North Africa. It was once the home of Cleopatra's daughter who eventually married the Berber King Juba II.
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3: The Original Imperial City of Fes
We spend the full day today sightseeing in Fes (also spelled Fez). The oldest of the imperial cities, Fes is arguably the symbolic heart of Morocco. Founded shortly after the Arabs swept across North Africa and Spain, it quickly became the religious and cultural centre of Morocco. Even during those periods when it was not the official capital of the entire country, Fes could not be ignored. The Medina of Fez el-Bali (Old Fes) is the largest living medieval city in the world and the most interesting in Morocco. With the exception of parts of Marrakech, Cairo and Damascus, there is nothing remotely comparable anywhere else in the Arab world. The narrow winding alleys and covered bazaars are crammed with every conceivable sort of craft workshop, restaurant, fresh food market and mosque, as well as extensive dye pits and tanneries – a veritable assault on the senses as you squeeze past donkeys and submit to the sounds and smells of this jostling city. During the tour, you will see the Qarawiyin Mosque / Medersa, the oldest university in the world, founded in 859 by Fatima Fihriya, a noble lady from an intellectual family of Fes. We will also see Borj Nord, the second of the Saadian fortresses designed as much to cover the city with a threatening field of fire as protect it. In the Mellah, or traditional Jewish quarter, even though few Jews remain, we can observe the legacy of jewellers, brocade work, balconies and small windows with iron grille work. We will also see the Dar Betha Museum and the tomb of Moulay Idriss II.
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4: Fes to Erfoud
Departing from Fes we'll climb the cedar covered slopes of the Middle Atlas Mountains to Imouzzer, dominating the plain of the river Sebou. Then we continue past the hill station of Ifrane, the town of Azrou with its old kasbah and handicraft center, the pass of Zad and the town of Midelt, a center of lead mining. Continuing from Midelt we will pass through the awe-inspiring Tizi N'Talghemt Pass, then along the Gorges of the Ziz river to Errachidia, a garrison town where we will have a stop for lunch. Our destination today is the picturesque oasis of Erfoud, situated amongst the impressive sand dunes of the Sahara Desert.
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5: Merzouga Dunes
A highlight of this trip is sure to be our excursion off the main roads and into the desert, and our night spent in a tent camp under the stars. We'll depart Erfoud in rugged 4x4 Land Cruisers, the only vehicles that can safely traverse the sand drifts and pebbles of the desert. Our first stop is at the nearby village of Rissani, once home to the African/Berber trading market. People used to exchange gold for salt and sugar. Caravans guided by Touareg (Blue Men) would travel between here and Timbuktu in Mali and the Niger River, exchanging goods between Europe and North Africa on one side, and West African communities on the other. We will re-board our Land Cruisers and drive another 20 miles to the village of Merzouga. The town lies at the base of Erg Chebbi (Chebbi Dunes), one of Morocco's two most prominent Sahara sand dunes reaching over 450 feet high and stretching 15 miles. The dunes are fascinating, changing color from pink to gold to red at different times of the day. It is a great place to appreciate the immense, clear desert sky. For bird-watchers, this is the best area in Morocco for spotting many desert species, including the Desert Sparrow, Egyptian Nightjar, Desert Warbler, Blue Cheeked Bee-Eater, and our favorite, the Fulvous Babbler. Tonight we stay in a permanent Bedouin encampment of several camel-skin tents, including a restaurant tent, strategically located in the middle of the Erg Chebbi dunes. Marvel at the warm colours of the sunset before experiencing a night in the desert. With clouds and moisture in the air so rare, and with great distance from any ambient light, the desert sky presents an amazing night show of the moon, and more stars than most of us will have ever seen.
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6: Gorgeous Gorges and Ouarzazate
Start your day with the spectacular sunrise at dawn. After breakfast we re-trace our steps to Merzouga and Erfoud. We soon head west from Erfoud and begin our journey along the southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains. We'll make stops at the Todra and Dades Gorges that nature has carved from these slopes over the millennia. Our destination today is Ouarzazate where we will spend one night. This fortified town was created by the French Foreign Legion in 1928 as a military outpost, and features curious lofty adobe dwellings. During our sight-seeing tours, we will explore this fascinating town and its surroundings. Ouarzazate stands in the middle of an arid plateau that contrasts sharply with the rich vegetation of the nearby slopes of the High Atlas Mountains. The market is renowned for its fine pottery and magnificent carpets woven by local tribes, so this will be a good opportunity to make purchases of typically Moroccan products for anyone looking for souvenirs of this trip. The city's two most famous man-made locations are the outdoor movie studio where movies such as Cleopatra were filmed, and one of Morocco's most famous kasbahs, Ait Ben Hadou. One year, several members of our group enjoyed visiting a neighborhood hammam, or Moroccan bathhouse, where we were scrubbed down by a young attendant. Next to us were the men of three generations of a Moroccan family washing each other in the local tradition: a 70 year-old grandfather, his 40 year-old son and 12 year-old grandson. It was quite an invigorating experience!
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7-8: High Atlas Mountains and Ouirgane
We leave Marrakech in the morning and drive up a winding mountain road toward the famous Tizi-n-Test Pass. Before reaching the summit, we turn off at the village of Ouirgane, to check in at our unique mountain lodge, the Roseraie Inn. On the following day, weather permitting, our guide will lead a hike through the valley in which our hotel is situated, to give us a better sense of how our kasbah-like hotel fits into this spectacular landscape. We may also take an excursion to the nearby Berber village of Imlil, 5000 feet above sea level. We approach the village along a rushing stream of water pouring from the snow-covered peaks higher up the valley.
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9: Arrival in Marrakech
Today we drive down the northern slope of the Tizi-n-Test Pass to Marrakech - Morocco's fourth imperial city. Upon arrival in Marrakech, we drive to the heart of the old city to our unique boutique lodging, our home for the next two nights. Nearby are many fine restaurants and cafés, as well as the main market selling fruit, vegetables and local handicrafts. The rest of the afternoon is free to rest or get a taste of Marrakech. To conclude our tour on the most authentic (but very comfortable) note, our Marrakech lodging will be in a tiny riad, which is a private home in the ancient medina built around an inner courtyard. These were once the homes of the most successful traders in the bustling market, but a handful are now available for visitors to enjoy. While a riad lacks room service and certain other big-hotel amenities, we will be surrounded by Berber rugs and cushions, and relax in our own private courtyard.
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10: Imperial Glories of Marrekech
Marrakech is known as The Pearl of the South, and it is a truly magical place, magnificently situated in an oasis, with the High Atlas Mountains as a backdrop. During our tour of Marrakech, we'll inspect the most beautiful of the city’s gates, the ancient Bab Aguenau; the fabulous 19th Century Bahia Palace, with its Moorish gardens and Andalucian decorations; and the picturesque Koutoubia mosque. If we have time, we'll drive to the delightful Majorelle Garden with its luxuriant subtropical vegetation and Museum of Islamic Art, created in the 1920s, but restored by Yves Saint-Laurent. One of the greatest delights of being in Marrakech is to stroll through its souks. There we can see leather workers, shoemakers, dyers, brass-smiths, spice merchants and antique dealers in their working quarters and shops. We'll wander around the legendary Djemaa al F'na Square which is always filled with entertainers, medicine-men, musicians, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, storytellers, soothsayers and snake charmers. You can enjoy meals at a variety of restaurants, ranging from sidewalk cafés ideal for people-watching, to the excellent restaurant Yacout, housed in a traditional-style Marrakech mansion. Tonight, we have our farewell dinner together, and perhaps savor typical Moroccan cuisine such as cous-cous, harira, tagine and pastilla. This is a good review of the many kinds of food served in Morocco is at: http://www.sallys-place.com/food/single-articles/savoring_morocco.htm
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11: Departure Day
Those of us returning to New York today will take a morning 45-minute flight from Marrakech to Casablanca, where we connect to the Royal Air Maroc non-stop flight that arrives in New York in the afternoon local time, enabling same-day connections to most US and Canadian cities. Others may take one of the few direct flights from Marrakech to a European hub to connect with flights home. And as we fly home, we will be already thinking back on the magic and mystery of our nights in Morocco!
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