Fez
Fez is one of the largest
living medieval cities in the world Its narrow alleys and
streets along with medieval looking Islamic Schools,
restaurants, workshops, markets, shops and ancient palaces do
make something special although chaotic to experience. Fez,
the capital of the North was funded a few years after the
Arabs came to this region. Around 800AD, King Idriss II
continued his father will of building a new bigger capital
city, so Fez was born and grew from a modest Berber town to a
considerably residential and commercial centre with the
arrival of 8000 Al-Andalusian families that quickly mixed
along some Arab families that came from Qayrawan in Tunisia.
Fez as a lot to offer. You can experience different monuments
and Royal Palaces, narrow streets with local bazaars and shops,
you can visit the city’s ancient leather dye pits and
tanneries and get lost in is Old Medina.
Meknes
Another of the Moroccan
Imperial Cities almost 100km West of Fez. Meknesis the more
laid back of the Imperial cities and reflects its heritage as
once the centre of the Moroccan Sultanate still seen in the
several Palaces and castle walls around the old Medina. The
Berber tribe of the Meknassis first moved to the region around
the 10th century but was only around the 17th century that
Meknesstart gaining some more respect as an Imperial city when
the Alawite dynasty here established the country’s capital
under the power of Moulay Ismail. In 1755 Lisbon’s huge
earthquake gave Meknesa strong shake and many of its monuments
were for ever lost.
Volubilis Roman Ruins
UNESCO Volubilis is the most
well preserved Roman site in Morocco and stands for one of the
Roman Empire’s most remote outposts. Volubilis was initially
settled by Carthaginian traders around the 3rh century BC but
was with its annexation to the Roman Empire than quickly
gained its deserved fame for the 20,000 habitant’s commercial
outpost. The Romans abandoned Volubilis around 280AD but its
population of Greeks, Berbers, and Syrians continued to speak
Latin even after the arrival of Islam. Volubilis was inhabited
until the end of the 18th century when the catastrophic
earthquake of Lisbon (Portugal) destroyed the town and its
marble was taken for the building of Palaces in Meknes.
Ksar d'Aït
Ben Haddou
Ait Ben-Haddou is a fabulous
UNESCO site located on top of a hill and consists on an
amazing Kasbah village with mud construction occupying a whole
hillside on the bottom of the river and offers great
landscapes and one of the best views in Morocco.
Marrakesh
Marrakesh is the capital of the South. The wonder of many travelers
than even with lots of tourist activity still remains special and
unique. Marrakesh was in history for 2 times the capital of Morocco
and actually gave the nowadays western name of Morocco. Marrakesh
was founded in 1062 by Almoravid Sultan Youssef Ben Tachfinand, and
quickly became very prosperous and one of the most important Islamic
cultural and artistic centers as it was expanded after the conquest
of Spain by the Almoravid Sultan. Marrakesh offers a lot to
travelers and Arrahla Expeditions recommends at least 2 full days in
this thrilling town. Its famous square, Djeemaa Elfna is one of its
main attractions and is a mixture of restaurant stands along with
snake charmers, monkeys, acrobats, fire blowers, loud live music and
endless Souq gates. Indeed a must while in Morocco.
Essaouira
Essaouira named Mogador by
the Portuguese in the end of the 15th century, is one of the
most well known coastal cities in Morocco. It’s very famous
for its Gnawa music festival, ocean view castle ramparts and
grilled fish restaurants on the ocean side. A walk in
Essouaira is a mixture of exotic architecture styles and
smells always with music on the background. Most of the
architecture that exist today was part of a reconstruction
project ordered by the Sultan Sid Mohammed ben Abdallah to a
French architect names Théodore Cornut, and the present name
of Essaouira meaning “weel designed” comes back from that
time.
You can visit the Port where Orsan Welles filmed many of his
Othello heading North the wood-workers shops and further more
the towns sea bastion built all along the cliffs. Southwest
off the coast there’s Mogador Island and the bird sanctuary
for Eleanora’s falcon that comes all the way from Madagascar
to breed.
Note:
The order of the
visit changes and depends on your arrival point. If you arrive in
Marrakesh, the circuit will start differently than if you
arrive in Casablanca or in the northern border with Ceuta.
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