In the morning we were met by a nice lady guide for a tour of Marrakesh. Koutoubia Mosque, or Mosque of the Booksellers, was begun under the Berber dynasty of the Almoravids in 1120, but was substantially rebuilt from 1162 Almohad caliph under Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, and became one of the most characteristic…
Category: Morocco
Marrakesh
It is the fourth largest city in the country, after Casablanca, Fez and Tangier. But is possibly the most important of Morocco’s four former imperial cities (cities that were built by Moroccan Berber empires). Marrakesh has some similarities to Fez in its age and sites, but there is one big difference: Motorcycles. Whereas, in Fez, the…
Morrocan Coast: Essaouira
In Morocco in July, it is possible to escape the heat by heading to the coast, and so we went to Essaouira for one of our more laid-back days to explore an exotic walled town that, relative to our other stops, had fewer must-see sights. This gave Eitan something of a break from his relentless…
African Hollywood
Back on the road again, with Sarah and Eitan providing scintillating company. We made a stop at the particularly photogenic Kasbah Taourirt. The el Glaoui clan controlled one of the major southern caravan routes to West Africa and were given extensive power by the French during colonial rule in exchange for keeping the southern tribes subdued….
Desert Fox
Dan was awake at 5:45 and had the pleasure of waking up Eitan at 6:15. Eitan is not a morning person, but he couldn’t resist taking a quick look at the sunrise. Captain Fomo was very close to almost being alive as they trudged up the dunes to experience sunrise in the Sahara. Dan was…
The Sahara
Morocco is full of surprises. From Fez, we drove up into the mountains and through a town that looked as if it could be in the Alps, and then on to a forest filled with monkeys in the Ifrane National Park. Barbary Macaques are endangered monkeys found in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Due to deforestation of their…
FEZtival of Colors
Fez’s medina is an overwhelming assault on the senses. Around every corner, there is something new to intrigue the visitor … except that the “something new” is usually something very old, in that it’s being done as it’s been done for centuries. So, join us for a pictorial reenactment of our Fez exploration. This guy…
The Jews Of Fez
We finally arrived in Fez in the early evening. There are no motorized vehicles in Fez’s enormous old city, aka Medina, so our luggage was taken in a push-cart to our hotel, aka Riad. In Morocco, a Riad is usually a centuries-old large home converted to an intimate hotel. Like all such old homes, it…
On The Road To Fez!
After touring the Hassan II Mosque, we boarded our van for the true Morocco Adventure. The fact is that, regardless of the famous movie of the same name, Casablanca is one of the less interesting places to see in this country, so we quickly headed out to explore a country that Sarah and Eitan soon…
The Moroccan White House
Sarah and Eitan arrived to Casablanca a day earlier. The hotel for the night was by far the best hotel of the whole trip, very luxurious like nothing we stayed before. Perfect for a change in pace, especially after the terrible night sleep we had in Italy the night before. Casablanca does not offer…
WHERE IS NOODLE 