Magic of the Orient

Meknes was a lively Jewish center until its Jewish inhabitants made aliyah with the founding of the State of Israel. We’ll tour the many sites that adorned the city in the times of Sultan Ismail, including the famous Mansur Gate. After our visit, we will continue to Fes for overnight.

Its narrow lanes with its workshops remain as they have been for hundreds of years. We’ll visit the square of the Royal Palace, which is alongside the Jewish quarter – the oldest Melah in Morocco, as well as the Jewish cemetery and the Abu Danan Synagogue in the Melah. We’ll view the Dynastic Tombs and city as a whole from the green roofs and walls of Fez. From the rooftops we’ll see the tannery quarter where hides are treated, and we’ll visit a ceramics factory where we’ll learn about this unique local craft. The city’s ramparts surround a maze of winding alleys and a bustling market divided according the guilds of its artisans.

Follow the old caravan trail south. Stop for lunch in Midelt, a market town set in the high plains between the Middle and High Atlas mountain ranges. Continue along the palm-fringed Ziz Valley, famous for date cultivation, to the Tafilalt oasis on the edge of the Sahara Desert. Your day ends in Erfoud, where beautiful views across the shimmering Sahara have made this a popular location with filmmakers.

After breakfast, we travel to the Todra Gorge at the southern edge of the High Atlas Mountains. We’ll see some magnificent scenery, dotted with orchards and Berber villages. We‘ll examine how the locals store water for the long dry season. We will continue to Tinghir, one of the most beautiful oases in southern Morocco. Toward evening we‘ll arrive to the French-built regional city Ouarzazate. We’ll see the traditional villages and picturesque Kasbahs which are often used as backgrounds in the production of Hollywood movies.

Marrakesh is home to Morocco’s largest traditional market (‘souk’) where you might like to do some shopping…well arrive to our hotel and start preparing for Shabbat.

We’ll pass through the Melah, and stop by the Koutoubia Mosque, visit a Berber pharmacy and the Bahia Palace. We’ll visit a Melah where Jews no longer live, but where there is an ancient synagogue that is more than 500 years old. We’ll tour the “medina” – the market quarter of the city. The market is a mass of colors, voices and smells, a polyglot of all the treasures that exist in this country. The “medina” is divided according to the type of product: an area for silver houses silversmiths and silver dealers, while gold is dealt in a different area, and rows upon rows of stalls sell leather, copper and jewelry. We‘ll end the day with a visit to the Ourika valley also known as ‘Valley of the Jews’ where enjoy the view of the red wild scenery and the picturesque villages among the mountains. We‘ll return to Marrakech for dinner and overnight.

Essaouira’s mellah covers over 10 percent of the town, but Jews constituted almost 40 percent of the population in the late 1880’s. Jewish stars on the doors to the mellah show the degree to which Jews were accepted in Essaouira, to the point that some of the richer Jews did not even live in the mellah. Commemorative plaques indicate the buildings in which synagogues were located. Former inhabitants of Essaouira, most of them Jewish, formed a committee to rehabilitate the town. The Jewish cemetery, just outside the city gates, is extremely well-kept. Two historical synagogues should be renovated soon “Slat Rabbi Haןm Pinto and Slat Attias”. Continue to Safi and visit the Mellah in the Northern part of the medina, the sanctuary of Oulad Ben Zmirou and the Portuguese fortress.

Upon arrival, we’ll take a panoramic tour of the city during which we’ll see the newer part of this North African metropolis, including the United Nations Square, renowned for the Neo Moorish buildings that surround it, and for the fountain, which sprays water all around. From there we’ll head to the Great Mosque built half on land and half on water. Many of Morocco’s finest artists and artisans worked for many years to create this magnificent edifice. In fact, every Moroccan citizen donated funds for the project in one way or another to ensure that the project’s costs, which soared to over $800 million, would be covered. The mosque’s minaret rises to a height of 200 meters, and its central prayer hall can contain thousands of worshippers. This is a true architectural wonder. We’ll visit the new and old cities, the colorful bazaars and the promenade along the ocean.