MOROCCAN IMPERIAL CITIES
First Class Program

Available Year Round For Groups Only
   
11 day Tour

Day One:  Depart USA for Casablanca

Day Two:  Arrive in Casablanca 

Upon our arrival in Casablanca we will be met by our Pilgrim Tours escort who will take us on a short sightseeing tour of Casablanca to include the Habous Quarters, the Justice Palace, the Town Center and the Sea side including the Hassan II Mosque.  We will continue on to our hotel in Casablanca where we will enjoy a welcome dinner as a group this evening.  OPTIONAL:  Dinner at Rick’s Café, Casablanca. Night in Casablanca

Day Three:   Rabat 

We depart Casablanca early this morning and travel to Rabat for an orientation tour to include a visit to Oudaia Kasbah.  The most recent of the imperial capitals, Rabat has less in the way of historic madrassas and mosques than Fez, Meknes or Marrakech nonetheless an appealing city, with an attractive medina and Kasbah, a good choice of restaurants, and a lovely setting on the Oued Bou Regreg.  It also has on of the great monuments of Islam in North Africa, the Tour Hassan, one of a trio of minarets built by the Almohads (the other two are the Giralda in Seville and the Koutoubia in Marrakech), as well as a merinid necropolis outside the city walls.  Night in Rabat. 

Day Four: Meknes 

We travel on to Meknes, one of Morocco’s Imperial Cities.  Meknes was founded in the 11^th century and is a city that offers unity of style which lends its undeniable charm.  Meknes is further enhanced by the beauty of the surrounding countryside.  Meknes offers fine variety of mosaics and sculptures as well as a wonderful souk (market) and the old town is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site..  While in Meknes we will visit the Imperial city of Moulay Ismail with it Gates and Mednia, the Jewish Quarter, Royal Stables and a visit to the Musee dar Jamai.   Night in Meknes.

Day Five: Volubilis and Moulay Idriss 

We continue on to visit the Roman Ruins of Volubilis.  The Roman ruins of Volubilis, stretched out over 40 hectares, are the most well preserved ruins in Morocco.  We conclude our day with a drive to Fez where we will enjoy our dinner and overnight. Night in Fez.

Day Six:  Fez Touring
Fez  was founded in 790 AD and is the religious center of Morocco.  The beautiful city of Fez will dazzle as we view its visual details, haunting sounds and rich aromas.  Among the sites we will visit today are the Medieval Medina, the elaborate Karaouiyne Mosque, the colorful Nejjarine Fountain, a walking tour of the Al-Bali historic quarter, the Bou Inania Medersa and a local residential college/university.   Night in Fez.

Day Seven: Fez – Sefrou – Ifrane – Azrou 

Leave Fez and travel to Sefrou.  Sefrou, rarely disturbed by tourists, was once a major center for Morocco’s Jews and its walled white pedestrian medina is still characterized by their houses with wooden balconies.  Theo who medina is dissected by the River Aggai, that enters the town via a small waterfall above the separate walled ksar.  Beside the Bab Makame, the Cooperative Artisanale offers good quality handicrafts at very reasonable prices. 

Travel on to Ifrane.  Ifrane, a short drive northeast from Azrou on the P24, is something of a shock.  Cool and tranquil with manicured lawns and the outward appearance of a Swiss alpine resort, it seems out of place, particularly as it is overlooked by the grey hulk of the royal château.  Scratch the surface of the town, however, and you soon realize that few of the hotels or services quite live up to Swiss standards.  The population appears to be very young and very chic.  The celebrated Al Akhawayn University (where courses are taught in English) is on the edge of town.  Azrou, the impressively clean French-era Place Mohammed V, is bordered one side by the Hotel Restaurant des Cedres and the Relais Forestier restaurant.  The other side of the square gives onto a small souk.   Night in Azrou. 

Day Eight: Beni-Mellal – Cascades d’Ouzoud 

Beni-Mellal, on the P24 to Marrakech, is a large market town, offering several place to stay.  The town also marks the frontier proper between the Gigh and Middle Atlas mountains.  Going north towards Khenifra, the Middle Atlas branch out on their own, an everpincreasing distance separating the two ranges as the Middle Atlas reaches north.  Beni Mellal is a good stop-over for motorists wishing to visit the Cascades d’Ouzoud, an impressive waterfall as high as Niagara Falls in North America off S501, a detour off the main P24.  The good road twists up to the vast Bin el Ouidine reservoir and then on to Azilal, a market town with a basic hotel, bank and modest restaurants.

The Cascades d’Ouzoud are signposted off to the right about 10km (6 miles) beyond Azilal.  From the road’s end, an easy path snakes through threes to the base of the falls, passing low-key cafes on the way.  There are no restrictions on swimming; people simply strip off to their bathing costumes and plunge in.  Rock climbing is also popular.  There will always be a few visitors around, but the falls only get busy on weekends and holidays, when locals head here from Beni Mellal and Marrakech.   Night in Beni-Mellal.

Day Nine: Beni-Mellal – Marrakech
Today visit the great souk and can shop till you drop.  Marrakech is probably the most exotic city in Morocco, for it is the meeting place of cultures and continents.  It was the first capital of a united Morocco in the 11^th century and it is where tribesmen from the so-called Bled El Siba (land of Lawlessness) meet those from the Bled El Makhzen (land of government).  Situated at the geographical center of the country, it is the first great city north of the Sahara.  Visit the Koutoubia Mosque, the original of which was destroyed by the Almorvides’ successors, the Almohads, who descended from Tin Mal in the High Atlas and captured the city in 1147.  The Almohads soon built their own Koutoubia Mosque, but evidence suggests that this may have been wrongly aligned to Mecca, for a second mosque was completed in 1158 as an extension of the first.  The Kasbah Mosque and the Saadian Tombs are due south of the Koutoubia, and most easily approached from Bab Agnaou.  The mosque is from the 12^th century and is the second Almohad monument in Marrakech, although practically nothing of what you see today belongs to the original construction.  Rebuilt for the firs time about 30 years after the Koutoubia, but before Rabat’s Tour Hassan, it is built from brick rather than stone and is decorated with tiles that have benefited from much restoration.  Next door to the mosque are the Saadian Tombs, built by Ahmed el Mansour, the second Saadian sultan, on the siate of an older cemetery which was reserved for descendants of the Prophet.  The Saadians emerged from Tamegroute in the Draa Valley during the 16^th century, when Morocco was in turmoil after the collapse of the Merinids.  On a wave of religious fervor and nationalist sentiment, they swept through the country, capturing Marrakech in 1524.  When the religious leaders of Fez rebuffed their claims of Sheriffian descent (from the Prophet), they made Marrakech their capital instead of Fez. 
Night in Marrakech.

Day Ten: Marrakech – Casablanca
Spend the morning in Marrakech and in the afternoon we will drive to Casablanca where you will spend the night.
Night in Casablanca.

Nov 11: Departure from Casablanca
Departure from Casablanca’s Mohamed V International Airport

Price Per Person: call Pilgrim Tours 800.322.0788

Price Includes:
10 day Program from arrival in Casablanca to departure from Casablanca,  all transportation in air conditioned tour coach; all 4*** hotel accommodations, dinner and breakfast with room accommodations, airport transfers, services of one English speaking guide for the ENTIRE tour.
 
Not Included:
Tips and portage, lunches during tour, airfare, optional travel insurance.

Group Leader: Customize this tour for your group. Additional nights, stopover in Europe, other sights; the choice is yours.

Ask about the Optional Extension to the Canary Islands or Spain.

Call the professional tour planners at 800 322 0788.