Morocco 2023

Three days before we were due to leave for Morocco we woke to the news of an earthquake in the High Atlas Mountains near Marakesh. This left us with a bit of a dilemma, do we go or not, following communications from our travel agent and Intrepid, our tour company, we eventually decided to go ahead.

Monday 11th September saw us heading to Glasgow airport for the first of our flights. Unfortunately, this flight to London’s Heathrow was delayed, which had a knock-on effect on the flight to Casablanca. We arrived much later than expected, but our luggage didn’t arrive with us. Fortunately, after searching for it and submitting a claim, we found that our driver had waited for us and got us into the city to the Oum Palace Hotel, the meeting point for the tour and our accommodation whilst in the city.

Tuesday 12 September Casablanca

After a great breakfast, we headed out to find a pharmacy for Jim to obtain emergency supplies if our luggage was delayed further. Near the hotel, we found an excellent pharmacy staffed by an old couple, who could not have been more helpful, and we placed an order to be collected later that day.

We then went in our usual way to explore this exciting city, starting off in the medina (the Arabic word for old town), this rabbit warren of small lanes, with its typical French-styled architecture and elaborate carved doors, was indeed a labyrinth. Somehow, we managed to pop out near the harbourside where we were able to get our bearings, which allowed us to head back into the city for lunch.

Following on from our trip to San Francisco, where we encountered our first Dive Bar, we always try to find one in a new city to experience a flavour of how the locals live, being a muslin country, we never expected to find such a place in Morocco, but find one we did and it certainly was an experience. Coming back from the pharmacy, we stumbled upon the Bar Regent, not much to look at from the outside, but inside we met with some nice people, one old guy had us sitting with him and he provided us with all sorts of nibbles, he even offered us a free lunch just as we were leaving. It was a great place to visit, good beer, a nice ambience and great people.

On the plane to Casablanca, we chatted with a guy who had lived and worked in Morocco for some time, and he made some recommendations regarding bars and restaurants, by pure coincidence, we happened upon Casa Jose, which he stated was one of his favourites. After a really good lunch and an afternoon siesta, we returned to the pharmacy to collect Jim’s order. Near the pharmacy we found a phone shop where we bought sim cards, and found the Casa Tram, a tram line which looked interesting, so after buying a ticket we took a ride from Terminus to Terminus which was a great way to see more of the city. When it came to dinner time our choice was easy, we returned to Casa Jose where we had yet another great meal.

Our luggage still hadn’t arrived by the end of the day..

Wednesday 13th September Casablanca

Great news, we woke this morning to the news that our luggage had arrived in Casablanca and we were invited to the airport to collect it, so after breakfast, we made a deal with a local taxi driver to take us out and to wait for us to return. Back at the hotel an hour or so later we were able to eventually get a change of clothes and a freshen-up before going into town to see if we could complete ‘Dan’s Challenge’ to no avail, we did find a Starbucks, but unfortunately, they had stopped selling Moroccan and Casablanca mugs some time ago and there were none available. The second part was also a failure as there were no Lego Stores too. As it was nearing lunchtime, we returned to the harbourside, intending to visit Ricks Cafe, made famous by the Humprey Bogart movie “Casablanca”, when we got there we found it jammed with coach loads of tourists, plus we weren’t allowed in due to us wearing shorts, we weren’t too bothered about this as it looked like a bit of a rip-off and very expensive into the bargain, we later discovered that it is a replica. Across the road, we came across the Marina Mall with a nice terrace and a selection of good food outlets where we enjoyed some traditional Moroccan food whilst watching the ships in the bay. Once fed, we braved the medina again to get back to our hotel for a short siesta before going to the welcome meeting for our Intrepid Morocco Uncovered tour.

Due to the earthquake, our numbers decreased, leaving only 6 of us in the group, Peter and Alison, a couple from New Zealand, Lisa, from San Francisco, Cheryl from Northern Ireland and Jim & I. We met Hassan, who was to be our guide for the tour, who explained the do’s and don’ts of the trip and the precautions taken by Intrepid to ensure our safety whilst in Morocco, especially in the areas affected by the earthquake. Following the meeting we all visited Restaurant Les Fleurs, a restaurant recommended by Hassan for dinner, this gave us a chance to get to know each other. After dinner, Jim and I revisited the night market in the medina to pick up some souvenirs, then off to bed as we had an early start to head out on tour.

Thursday 14th September Casablanca to Meknes

After a good breakfast before checking out of the hotel, we boarded our bus to meet Omar, our driver, who took us to our first stop at the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, this stately mosque, which is a fine example of pure Moroccan architecture, is the only one in the city that non-Muslims may visit. We were overwhelmed by the sheer size of it, admiring everything from minute to large details. I reckon that this is a must-see when in Casablanca. We had a guided tour and we were amazed at how beautiful this mosque is.

We then took the coast road north to the capital Rabat where we visited the Hassan Tower, which is the minaret of an incomplete mosque commissioned near the end of the 12th century. The tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world, and the mosque, if completed, would have been the largest in the Western Muslim world, we then visited the nearby mausoleums of Mohammed V and Hassan II, which we followed by a tour of the Kasbah des Oudaias, before stopping for lunch. Rabat is a beautiful city with glorious gardens and many modern features which blend perfectly with ancient architecture. Our local guide, Abdul, was very knowledgeable and brought the city to life for us.

Leaving Rabat behind, we then travelled north to Meknes where we met Rashid, who was our local expert guide there. Rashid, a guide with many years of experience took us on an animated walking tour of this ancient city, taking in the old medina. Hidden away behind the gate in the city walls we were led to the Shrine of Moulay Ismail, named after the sultan, which was worth visiting, a calm and well-tended place with glorious decoration s and tile-work. On the way back to the bus, we passed through what he called ‘Demolition Square’ (El Hedim Square) with its henna painters, colourful characters and snake charmers. On our way to the Swani Hotel, we stopped off at a local supermarket to stock up with some wine for our evening meal. The hotel, while not as fancy as our previous ones, was perfectly adequate for our needs.

Friday 15th September Meknes to Chefchouen

After another nice breakfast, our next stop was at the Roman ruins at Volublis, where our local guide, Mustapha, took us around the ancient city highlighting the intricate mosaics and bathhouses. A nice refreshment break there set us up for the drive to Chefchouen.

After a nice chicken couscous lunch on the way up the winding road into the Rif mountains to Chefchaouen, or Chaouen, a city in the northwest of Morocco. It’s known for the striking, blue-washed buildings of its old town. Leather and weaving workshops line its steep cobbled lanes. In the shady main square of Place Outa el Hammam is the red-walled Kasbah, a 15th-century fortress and dungeon, and the Chefchouen Ethnographic Museum. The octagonal minaret of the Great Mosque rises nearby.

Our accommodation for the night was pretty special, Dar Echaoun, a Riad with rooms and chambres set on multiple levels around a lovely swimming pool. Once registered and checked in, we met with Hassan for a stroll down the cobbled lanes to the main square where we found a group of local dancers performing for the diners in the restaurants lining the square, after this tour, some of us purchased some local wares, we returned back up the steep lanes to the hotel, where the pool was a welcome relief to cool off after a hot day of sightseeing. We had a lovely dinner with great food in a nice location, before settling in for the night, We loved this place. We enjoyed the outdoor dining with soft music. The breakfast had a good spread of everything we wished for.

Saturday 16th September Chefchaouen to Fes

We had a bit of free time in Chefchaouen this morning, so a few hours lazing around the pool was quite a tonic, it was so nice to have a dip and to get our feet up. For lunch, Jim and I headed back into town for a snack and another wander around, I really enjoyed watching the local artists’ paintings, one lad’s work was pretty special and I would have loved to buy one of his pieces.

Once we had returned back up the hill, we loaded up the bus and Omar, our driver, started our journey to Fes, this 4-hour journey was uneventful, we stopped off for a comfort break, and an ice cream, plus a stop at a panoramic view over Barrage Sidi Chahed, a reservoir depleted by the extended drought experienced in Morocco. Our hotel the L’Escale was again of a high standard. For our evening meal, we drove to the home of a local family, where we shared some really good home-cooked food, especially the Chicken and Almond Bastilla, it was really good to get an insight into family life in Morocco, our hostess made us very welcome and took great delight in sharing her home and was proud of how her sons behaved.

Sunday 17th September Fes

This morning we had a tour of Fes, led by Hakima, a local woman, who was very knowledgeable about her city. We visited the Royal Palace followed by a run up to a hilltop fort for a panoramic view of the city before heading to the medina, the oldest in Morocco. Before we left for Morocco, Jim declared that he wanted to buy a Fes, a hat made famous by the Magician/Comedian Tommy Cooper, so where else could he get one, other than in the city of Fes, he managed to get one at the fort and we all joined in for a photoshoot.

Whilst in Fes then we paid a visit to the pottery where they maintain traditional Moroccan methods, training apprentices in the old art. We also visited the various sections of the medina where they practised metalwork, wood carving and weaving before hitting the highlight, the Chouara Tannery, although the smell was enough to put you off, both Jim and Cheryl felt the effects quite badly, despite the large nosegay of mint we were all provided with.

For lunch, we dropped into Le Patio Bleu, an old Riad for a wonderful meal, before continuing our walking tour of the medina. We popped into a supermarket for some supplies before returning to the hotel for the obligatory siesta. After such a good lunch we all decided to forgo dinner, opting instead for a shared pizza and a couple of beers in the hotel rooftop restaurant where we watched the thunder and lightning inside, out of the heavy rain.

Monday 18th September Midelt

Our journey onto the Atlas Mountains continued today, taking us through one of Morocco’s agricultural areas with its apple orchards, and barley fields, towards the small town of Midelt to our accommodation in the Ksar Timney hotel, our suite was very spacious with a large fully equipped sitting room combined with a large family bedroom suited us perfectly. A swim in the large pool finished off a nice day. It was good fun to stop on the way to see and feed a shrewdness of Barbery Apes, they were very skilled in taking peanuts and dates from your hand, the leader of the band had first choice though with the younger ones deferring to him.

After choosing our evening meal from the menu, we were all provided with local straw hats for a trek through the apple plantation, having fun crossing the river a couple of times before finishing off in the old village with its well in the centre. The village was full of excited laughing children who took great delight in running alongside us posing for pictures. We then visited the home of our local guide for tea (another good example of tea pouring) and Msemen pancakes with olives, he was a very generous host. We then returned to the hotel for our pre-booked meal and a discussion regarding our next few day’s events.

Tuesday 19th September Merzouga – Sahara Camp

On leaving the hotel, we drove southeast into the Ziz Valley, with its dramatic landscape, high cliffs and mountains with an oasis running through the low valley. We saw nomadic tribes with their camels and herds of goats in the lush areas full of fields and date palms. We stopped a couple of times on our journey, at a few photogenic areas, for a coffee and lunch on our way south into the desert, with the landscape becoming more desolate and barren as we went.

It was quite exciting to arrive at our next destination in the desert, going off-road took us eventually to Botj Melrzouga, a Bedouin camp with large tents set around a large fire pit, we were both highly impressed with our tent and its facilities. After a short rest and a coffee break, it was time to get togged up like Bedouin tribesmen and meet our camels for a trip across the dunes. This was an enjoyable experience and loads of fun, we stayed out until sunset to take some photographs before heading back for dinner and a couple of cold beers with the rest of the group. As it was Lisa’s birthday, we were all treated to a lovely birthday cake, it certainly was a day to remember for her.

Wednesday 20th September Todra Gorge & M’Goun Valley

Up with the lark this morning to go up into the dunes to see the sunrise, unfortunately, there was a bit of cloud, which diminished the effect but it was a good experience nonetheless. After breakfast we started the next stage of our journey, heading west towards the Atlas Mountains. We stopped off on the way to go underground to see how the 16th-century irrigation system worked in keeping the oasis supplied with water. A quick coffee break at the Touroug Cafe set us up for our next stage. At one of our stops at the gorge, Jim decided he needed a new tee shirt, and started a bit of haggling, we all joined in so the poor vendor never knew what hit him, we’re sure Jim got a good price though.

We had an interesting stop for lunch in the Touroug Cafe, in Errachidia, an old walled village, the menu choices were very varied, we all made our selection, and a few of us decided to share a camel and date tajine, which we found a bit fatty but enjoyable. We then continued on to the Todra Gorge, a spectacular place with sheer cliffs and a dramatic landscape. Onwards and upwards through the Atlas Mountains to the M’Goun Valley, where were dropped off at Gite D’Etapes Tamalout, a traditional Berber Gite. This building, made from mud bricks and adobe really set our tongues wagging, each of our rooms was delightful, as this was to be our home for the next 2 nights, so we spent a bit of time exploring our surroundings.

Thursday 21st September Skoura – Ait Benhaddou

As mud huts go our Gite is pretty special, with very good rooms with good showers and air conditioning, many levels and floors with large terraces looking towards the village. Our dinner last night was very good, the table was laden with Moroccan delicacies, we had soup as a starter followed by a large chicken tajine to share, and all of us agreed that the food was very good and extremely tasty.

After a rather special breakfast in an underground grotto, we went for a trek with Mohammed, one of the locals around the village of Bou Ttaghrar and its fertile surroundings. The area is known as the Valley of the Roses, and Mohammed showed us pictures of the area in bloom, it would be great to visit in May or June when the area is awash with the pink flowers that complement the red and pink rocks of the mountains.

In the evening we gathered in the kitchen of the gite to learn how to make our dinner, a lamb tagine, during the hour and a half of cooking time we were taken to the gite’s home farm where they keep sheep, and goats, chickens, and mules, there even was some peacocks running around. As expected our dinner was very good. A couple of beers were shared with the group on one of the terraces chatting with the members of the Intrepid tour following one day behind ours, hearing tales of their trip.

Friday 21st September Ait Benhaddou

Before breakfast this morning we went down to the bakehouse to see the women making the day’s bread, unfortunately, we didn’t get to see them preparing the fabulous doughnuts we had each day at breakfast. After saying farewell to the friendly staff, we set off for the Skoura oasis on the ‘Road of a 1000 Kasbahs’.

Our first stop was at the Kasbah Amridil, an extravagant mud-built, highly decorated fortification, which has been used in many movies. Our local guide there, Reda, took us on a tour which explained the concepts behind the architectural style of the Kasbah, his tour, delivered with great humour took us back in time to the days of the 14th century and demonstrated how the people lived.

We then continued our journey to Ait Benhaddou, a village perched on a hilltop and almost unchanged since the 11th century, Ait Benhaddou is again one of Morocco’s most recognisable places, having been used for movies and TV shows such as Lawrence of Arabia, Game of Thrones and Gladiator.

After checking into our hotel, the Ksar Janoug, we had a picnic lunch beside the inviting pool. Fully relaxed we then went for a walk through the winding streets of the old town, and made our way to the top of the hill, from where we could enjoy the panoramic views across the surrounding plains and oasis. On our way down the hill and back to the village, we stopped off for some tea and some delicious biscuits in the Tawesna teahouse, a project run by the local women to provide them with much-needed income. This was followed by a visit to another women-run community project weaving carpets for sale, one of the women, Sara, described, in perfect English, how the project helps the local women gain some independence and an income, it was interesting to see the many styles of carpets and rugs and to have the symbolism on them explained.

We then returned to the hotel for dinner and what had become our regular group chat around a fully laden table.

What we all found fascinating along the road to the hotel was the sighting of the large reflecting mirror of the Guelmim Oued Noun solar power station, which is the largest concentrated solar power station in the world, and will soon be connected to Devon in the UK to provide much needed energy.

Saturday 23rd September Marrakesh

Today we set off on our Marakesh Express, a drive through the high Atlas mountains, heading to Marakesh. The scenery through the High Atlas Mountain passes was stunning, and Hassan made sure that we had plenty of photo opportunities along the way to see the wonderful vistas.

After dropping off our luggage and checking into the Red Hotel, we went to the medina for lunch. At this point, we said farewell to Omar, our driver of the past 12 days, before heading into the souks with Mustapha as a local guide.

The souk here is very similar to those we saw in Casablanca and Fes, but this time we paid a visit to Kourtouba Herbal, a herb and spice market, where the staff were more than happy to demonstrate their products, along with some nice mint tea, we all made a purchase of some kind before leaving, no doubt we could have got the products on the souks, but here we were assured of the quality.

Once we had finished our tour, we returned to the great square of Djemaa el-Fnaa, one of the largest public spaces in the world and unique to Marrakech for a refreshing pomegranate juice, served expertly by Hassan, to help cool us down. Since we all had had a long and tiring day, Hassan got us all a taxi for an exciting ride back to the hotel to let us clean up before dinner in a nice seafood restaurant called Winoo. On our return, Jim and I sat on the balcony of our room and watched the world go by, even at 11:00 the streets were full of traffic and in typical Moroccan style, the horn button is one of the most frequently used parts of the car. This was yet another great day full of things to see and do.

Sunday 24th September Marrakesh

This morning after breakfast we paid a visit to the Jardin Majorelle, a garden created by the French artist Jacques Majorelle in 1933. Majorelle is credited for creating a special shade of blue, inspired by the coloured tiles he found in Marakesh and the Berber homes he visited. It was such a relaxing way to spend a morning in tranquil surroundings, we were fortunate to be there early in the morning, managing to be there before the hoards of Instagram and TikTok influencers arrived. We finished off our visit with a snack in the garden tea room.

Following a suggestion by Alison, we decided to visit the House of Photography of Marakesh, this again was a great choice, set in an old villa within the souk, this museum displayed photographs of Marakesh and the Berbers taken between 1879 and 1960. We were all enthralled with the images and enjoyed watching films made in the 1950s showing how many of the photographs were taken, many in the areas we had recently visited. Again a lovely snack of Maroccan Pastries, on the terrace finished off a nice visit.

All of these trips were made super easy, by us being transported to our destinations by one of Hassan’s taxi-driving friends, also called Hassan, who was there for us when needed, the way he negotiated the traffic was a wonder to watch, especially when we ventured into the small streets and lanes of the souk.

Back at the hotel we then took advantage of the pool to relax and recharge our batteries to prepare for an evening in the medina and the Jemaa el-Fnaa square.

We all gathered tonight in the Sky Mabrouka rooftop restaurant where we had a wonderful last group meal with some drinks, it was all the more special by watching a fabby sunset over the medina. We then all made our way to the Jemaa el-Fna square to witness the nightly activities, Henna painters, performers, and storytellers shared the square with a street food bazaar, packed with stalls loaded with Moroccan delicacies and souvenirs. We retired to the hotel at the end of another exciting but tiring day.

Monday 25th September Marrakesh

Packing time again this morning to prepare for our final stop, the Riad Arabkesh in the heart of the medina. After breakfast, we said our farewells to Lisa and Cheryl, before another exciting taxi ride with Peter and Alison, through the tightly packed streets to the Riad with Hassan at the wheel, we left Peter and Alison at their Riad before heading off to ours. Due to construction works, Hassan couldn’t get too close, which meant a 15-minute walk through the streets dragging our cases. Our room on the ground floor was delightful full of traditional Moroccan painted and carved wood and a stained glass window facing into the central courtyard, we then discovered the benefit of the Riad and the enclosed courtyard keeping the heat out. Once there though we settled on the rooftop terrace for a refreshing beer before heading for a last stroll through the medina and the souks.

We had great fun shopping for knickknacks in the souks, haggling for the best price, and having a laugh with the girls in the Patisserie des Princes as we tried to order some of their spectacular ice cream. We amazingly bumped into Peter and Alison and we arranged to meet later at another Alison recommended restaurant called Nomad for dinner, we then returned for our siesta before venturing out again to find the restaurant. The meal we all had lived up to its reputation, before retiring for the night we stopped off at Le Salama Sky-bar, a quirky bar at the main square for a final drink together. Without sounding like a broken record, this was yet another brilliant day.

Tuesday 26th September Return to Glasgow

On our final day in Morocco, breakfast in the Riad was very good followed by a chance to relax on the terrace before being collected for our transfer to the airport. Once through the usual security and border controls, we had a snack lunch before boarding our flight to London’s Heathrow. A quick pizza and a beer set us up ready for our flight back to chilly Glasgow and a taxi home.

We both enjoyed our time in Morocco immensely, it is a country full of contrasts in all aspects, traditional yet modern, Muslim but extremely tolerant, mountainous with low valley oases full of lush vegetation alongside arid deserts. the people we came into contact with were very friendly and appeared to be happy and full of life.

We were on an Intrepid Tour and we were highly impressed by this company, all aspects of the tour were covered and organised to the nth degree, our principle guide Hassan Errami, could not do enough for us during the tour, he approached everything with great humour and a high level of professionalism and made the trip so special for us, everywhere we went he was greeted by friends, we eventually thought that he is the most popular guy in Morroco. I would highly recommend Morocco to anyone looking for an exciting holiday, and would point them towards Intrepid’s tour offerings in the country. Thanks should also go to Michelle Gemmell of Kenneth Macleod Travel who assisted us in arranging this trip.