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From the Saharan dunes and the peaks of the High Atlas,totheancientImperialcitiesandthecoastlines, Morocco is the gateway to Africa and a country of immense diversity that offers simple, breathtaking beautyandwarmhospitality.Onlowerground,there areruggedcoastlines,waterfallsandcavesinforested hills, and the mighty desert. Morocco's cities, many under UNESCO World Heritage list, are some of the most exciting on the continent. In the rocky deserts medinas are protected by Kasbahs, on the coast by thickseawalls. PLACESVISITED MARRAKESH Marrakesh, which gave its name to the Moroccan empire,isanexampleofamajorIslamiccapitalofthe westernMediterranean.Foundedin1070-1072bythe Almoravids (1056-1147), capital of the Almohads (1147-1269), Marrakesh was, a major political, economic and cultural center of the western Muslim world, reigning in North Africa and Andalusia. Vast monuments dating back to that period: Koutoubia Mosque, with the matchless minaret of 77m, an essentialmonumentofMuslimarchitecture,isoneof theimportantlandmarksoftheurbanlandscapeand thesymboloftheCity,theKasbah,monumentalgates andgardens.Later,thetownwelcomedothermarvels, suchastheBadiâPalace,theBenYoussefmedersa,les Saâdians tombs, Bahia Palace and large residences. Jamaâ El Fna Square is a true open-air theatre that alwaysamazesvisitors. Known for its leather goods, Marrakech is home to a few tanneries where local families have been employed for generations. In fact, the tanneries have existed since the medina was founded over a thousandyearsago. ESSAOUIRA Essaouirahaslongbeenconsideredasoneofthebest anchorages of the Moroccan coast. The Carthaginian navigatorvisitedinthe5 th centuryBCandestablished thetradingpostofArambys. Around the end of the 1 st century BCE or early 1 st century CE, the Berber king Juba II established a Tyrian purple factory, processing the murex and purpura shells found in the intertidal rocks at Essaouira and the Iles Purpuraires. This dye colored thepurplestripeinthetogaswornbytheSenatorsof Imperial Rome. The bay at Essaouira is partially sheltered by the island of Mogador, making it a peaceful harbor protected against strong marine winds. FEZ The Medina of Fez is considered as one of the most extensive and best conserved historic towns of the Arab-Muslim world. It not only represents an outstanding architectural, archaeological and urban heritage, but also transmits a life style, skills and a culture that persist and are renewed despite the diverse effects of the evolving modern societies. Founded in the 9 th century and home to the oldest university in the world, Fez reached its height in the 13 th century under the Marinids, when it replaced Marrakeshasthecapitalofthekingdom.Aroundthat time time, those of Jewish decent were given protection under the new sultan Abu Yacoub. Being able to sell their wares and goods to those travelers passing by, they thrived under the sultan’s protection andmanyfamiliescontinuedtomoveintothemellah, or Jewish quarter. And, while Marrakesh still thrived as one of the south’s greatest cities, Fez remained equallyimportantinthenorth.Theurbanfabricand the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas, fondouks,palaces,residences,mosquesandfountains -datefromthisperiod.Althoughthepoliticalcapital ofMoroccowastransferredtoRabatin1912,Fezhas retained its status as the country's cultural and spiritualcenter. The Medina of Fez preserves, in an ancient part comprising numerous monumental buildings, the memoryofthecapitalfoundedbytheIdrisiddynasty between789and808A.D.UndertheMerinids(13 th to 15 th c.),anewtown(FezJedid)wasfounded(in1276) tothewestoftheancientone(FezEl-Bali).Itcontains theroyalpalace,thearmyheadquarters,fortifications andresidentialareas.Atthattime,thetwoentitiesof theMedinaofFezevolveinsymbiosisformingoneof the largest Islamic metropolis representing a great variety of architectural forms and urban landscapes. Theyincludeaconsiderablenumberofreligious,civil andmilitarymonumentsthatbroughtaboutamulticultural society. This architecture is characterized by construction techniques and decoration developed over a period of more than ten centuries, and where local knowledge and skills are interwoven with diverseoutsideinspiration,Andalusian,Orientaland African. OUARZAZATEANDTHESAHARADESERT Morocco's own special home of film, Ouarzazate lies inavalleyatthefootoftheAtlasMountains.Mostof its visitors are tourists who are making their way to the Sahara Desert. They stop here to stock up on provisions before making their way out to one of the greatestdessertsintheworld. KSAROFAIT-BEN-HADDOU Theksar,agroupofearthenbuildingssurroundedby high walls, is a traditional pre-Saharan habitat - an ighrem-fortifiedvillageinEnglish-alongtheformer caravanroutebetweentheSaharaandMarrakech.Itis a striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco. Located in the foothills on the southern slopes of the High Atlas in the Province of Ouarzazate, it is the most famous ksar in the Ounila valley. Inside the defensive walls which are reinforced by angle towers andpiercedwithabafflegate,housescrowdtogether, buttherearealsobuildingsandcommunityareas.The site was also one of the many trading posts on the commercialroutelinkingancientSudantoMarrakesh by the Dra Valley and the Tizi-n'Telouet Pass. Architecturally, the living quarters form a compact grouping, closed and suspended. The community areas of the ksar include a mosque, a public square, grain threshing areas outside the ramparts, a fortification and a loft at the top of the village, an caravanserai,twocemeteries(MuslimandJewish)and theSanctuaryoftheSaintSidiAliorAmer. CHEFCHAOUEN Chefchaouen Morocco’s blue city, is a beautiful town with blue walls and majestic mountains overlooking the town that is as rich in history as it is in beauty.
Establishedin1471whenMoorishandJewishpeople fled here to escape the Reconquista of Spain, it is locatedinNorthernMoroccoandthecity’ssignature colorisavarietyofcalmingshadesofblue. Inthe1930s,asizeablepopulationofJewishrefugees arrivedinChefchaouen,fleeingNazipersecutionand the growing threat of war. The blue is meant to represent peace, safety and the power of heaven. In this version of the story, blue walls rapidly spread outward from the city’s Jewish quarter, until the entire city was aglow. They’ll say the tradition of painting walls blue is Jewish, certainly, but goes back to the time of the city’s founding, in the 15 th c., when it was built around a fortress used to defend inhabitantsagainstPortugueseinvaders.Atthistime, local Moroccans lived alongside Jews and Moriscos (former Muslims who had converted to Christianity) foracenturyormore. The narrow streets of Chefchaouen (or Chaouen, as thelocalscallit)makenoattempttosoftentheimpact of the hillside the city is built on. The mountains abovethecitygivetheappearanceoftwohorns–and it’sbelievedthatthisiswherethenameChefchaouen comesfrom(literallymeaning“watchthehorns”ina localdialect). MEKNES Meknesisrenownedforitsvasthistoricalsignificance andisoneoftheImperialcitiesinMorocco.Itisbest knownforitscloselinkstoSultanMoulayIsmail,son of the founder of the Alaouite dynasty who turned Meknes into an impressive city in Spanish-Moorish style, surrounded by high walls with great doors, where the harmonious blending of the Islamic and European styles of the 17 th c. One of the grandest features of Meknes is the gate of El-Mansour, beautifully decorated with Almohad patterns and zellijmosaics. TANGIER TangierislocatedontheMaghrebcoastatthewestern entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Spartel. The town is the capital of the Tangier- Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier- AssilahprefectureofMorocco.Manycivilizationsand cultures have influenced the history of Tangier, starting from before the 10 th century BCE. Between the period of being a strategic Berber town and then a Phoenician trading center to the independence era around the 1950s, Tangier was a nexus for many cultures. In 1923, it was considered as having internationalstatusbyforeigncolonialpowers. ASILAH Believed to have initially been constructed by the Phoenicians as a trade post around 1500 B.C., and serving as home to a procession of conquerors thereafter,evenbeingahaventopiratesatonetimein its history, the seaside resort of Assilah boasts well preserved gates and ramparts as a reminder of its colorfulpast.Alldevelopmentatthispopulartourist destination has been carried out in such a way as to blend-inwith,andcomplement,itsancientstructures and visitors are assured of a warm welcome by the friendlylocals. VOLUBILIS Volubilis is a partly excavated Berber city situated nearthecityofMeknesandcommonlyconsideredas the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Mauretania. Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3 rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto- Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under Roman rule from the 1 st century AD onward and expanded to cover about 42 hectares with a 2.6km circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major public buildings in the 2nd century, including a basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity, which was derived principally from olive growing, promptedtheconstructionofmanyfinetown-houses with large mosaic floors. The city fell to local tribes around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the southwesternborderoftheRomanEmpire.Itcontinuedto be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinized Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. By the 11 th century Volubilis had beenabandonedaftertheseatofpowerwasrelocated toFes. The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18 th century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers seeking stone for building Meknes. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large RomancolonialtownonthefringesoftheEmpire" CASABLANCA Casablanca almost universally referred to as 'Casa', is the cosmopolitan, industrial and economic heart of Moroccoanditslargestcity,aswellasperhapsoneof thelessobviouslyendearingcitiesinthecountry,with asmall,unassumingmedinaandabusyvillenouvelle. Casablanca was established as a town in 1906 with a population of 20,000. Later, in 1907 when the French landed here, Fez was its commercial center, whilst Tangier was set up as the city’s main harbor. The French were soon ousted, however, and had to seek a newportaltogetherandTangierremainedMoroccan. Things have changed much since then. With a population of over 3 million, Casablanca resembles a SouthernEuropeancity. RABAT–THECAPITAL Located on the Atlantic coast in the north-west of Morocco, the site is the product of a fertile exchange between the Arab-Muslim past and Western modernism. The inscribed city encompasses the new town conceived and built under the French Protectorate from 1912 to the 1930s, including royal and administrative areas, residential and commercial developments and the Jardins d’Essais botanical and pleasure gardens. It also encompasses older parts of the city dating back to the 12 th century. The new town is one of the largest and most ambitious modern urbanprojectsbuiltinAfricainthe20thcenturyand probably the most complete. The older parts include Hassan Mosque (begun in 1184) and the Almohad ramparts and gates, the only surviving parts of the project for a great capital city of the Almohad caliphate as well as remains from the Moorish, or Andalusian,principalityofthe17 th century.
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MOROCCO February,2018
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MOROCCO

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