An excellent 10 day break in which we covered 5 towns and cities covering most of the varied contrasting landscapes imaginable on earth. Travelling from the hustle and bustle of the Djema al fna square through to passing through the tiers of the Atlas mountain ranges and into the beautiful historic town of Fez.
Words cannot describe the beauties and the experience we had. ShukrAllah for providing us with this great opportunity to enravel for ourselves the colour and vibrance of Morocco. We were so filled with richness from most people especially the Fez berbers in the souks we made a solemn pact we shall visit this beautiful town once again InshaAllah.
As usual with so many towns and only having a limited time to marvel at them, it required much planning. We originally booked to go in March 2012 but due to illness in the family we were unable to. Having cancelled Allah the best of planners provided us with another path. So 8 weeks or so later we were on our flights having planned the excursions and routes with some flexibility.
We arrived in Marakech after a few hours fllight from London and stayed for a few days staying at the Riyad Amiran. This Riyad was premier class in every bit of its make up and the hospitality of the management and staff was second to none with a special note and appreciation of Mohammed. We almost had a tear jerking moment on departure! Mohammed even put up the Champions league final all for me in my own lounge with Muhammad playing light refreshing bollywood melodies from the 80's (did I recall the tune from Muhabbattain).
We went for a day trip to Essouirra. Essouirra had the beauties of sharing the same coast as Agadir but without the onset of the large European crowds. It was a peaceful coastal town very much to be enjoyed by and for the family. There were lots of Morroccan families with children and elderly parents sharing a walk on the beach or a fish tagine at the souks.
We embarked on travelling north of Morroco by train. And it was a great experience I would definitely recommend. The booking service was excellent and 1st class carriages were only a few pounds more. I planned to go to Casablanca on route to Fez.
Having heard much about this cosmopolitan archipelago of a city it didn't fail to leave a footprint on our travels. Taxi driver madness is one way of putting it, though the great spectacle of Hasan II Mosque was a great sight. The only sad thing was seeing a very empty congregation for Asr and Maghrib prayers. A one night stay at this city was more than enough and upwards literally to better things ahead.
Next stop was the historic town of blue Fez again on train and warmly even with curiosity welcomed by a Bengali Saudi national tradesman. Fez definitely slbrought the coolness to our eyes. We made our way to our pre booked riyad, Riyad Al Akhwaine (Riyad of the two brothers). The riyad was in a great location right on the doorstep of the souk and Masjid al Karaweeh (if my memory serves me right).
During our 4 day stay at Fez we went on a day trip hiring a chauffeur driven Mercedes to Meknes. At 500 riyals it was the top haggle made on this Moroccan adventure. We were shown the very green lush landscape and assorted fruits on the way by the driver.
It was Jummah day and we prayed at the large central mosque in Meknes where we met some Pakistani Americans who were adopting a Meknes born baby. We visited a few more sights whilst we were in town. The markets in Fez were a maze and without much trying you would end up getting lost.
A trip to Morocco could not be done without a visit to a Hammam. And not any one but one that gets you up and close with the locals. And with women and men having alternate hours it was all very much strictly halal. Alhamdulillah. Though my back took a good workout from the local masseuse and stiff all the way back to London.
****
4.5/5 overall.
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