Morocco: imperial cities, kasbahs and the sea

Milan, Turin, Trieste, Bologna, Rome – Casablanca (Plane)

With my travelling companions from Trieste and Rome I land in Casablanca at 10:30 pm, local time, an hour late. After the arrival formalities (fairly quick) we find waiting for us the rest of the group who arrived directly from Milan and Bologna. We each change 100 euros, then collect from the Europcar desk the 5 Fiat Uno cars booked from Italy. Given the late hour we decide not to waste time looking for the hotel but contact a taxi to guide us to the Hotel Guynemer booked from Italy.

Casablanca – Rabat – Meknes (Car 280 Km 9 hours total)

After breakfast, at 8:30 we set off again for Rabat which is reached in about an hour and a half via a motorway. Visit to the Kasbah of the Udayas with its characteristic white and blue streets, the Hassan Tower and the Medina. Arriving in Meknes we find waiting for us Abdel, our guide and owner of the Ryad Bahia. With Abdel we make a first visit to the walls and the ancient gates of Meknes. Having reached the beautiful and comfortable Ryad Bahia, located inside the medina where we later had dinner and spent the night, we get to know Bouchra, Abdel's wife. The fact that both speak Italian very well and are exquisitely kind made all the participants appreciate the pleasure of their company. The evening stroll through the little streets of the medina immediately made us appreciate the cool climate of the evenings in Morocco.

Everyone thought they would find scorching heat, instead the temperatures during the day are more than acceptable and in the evening it's even a bit chilly.

Meknes – Volubilis – Meknes (Car 70 Km 4 hours total)

We spend the morning visiting Meknes with Abdel as our guide. We start with the medina, visiting the quarters of the carpenters and the blacksmiths. We continue with the mosque, one of the few in Morocco where non-Muslims are allowed to enter. In the mosque there is also the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, an ancestor of Mohammed VI, the current sovereign. We finish with the visit to the old granary and the great stables, destroyed by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 but which in ancient times housed hundreds of horses. In the afternoon we visit the Roman site of Volubilis, a site of extreme beauty 30 km from Meknes. In the place there are wonderful mosaics that recall the splendours of ancient Rome. With a small detour we make a quick visit to the holy city of Moulay Idriss, located near Volubilis. Here is buried Moulay Idriss, founder of Fes but above all great-grandson of Mohammed.

Meknes – Fes – Meknes (Car 200 Km 1+1 hours)

Day dedicated to visiting Fes with return to Meknes for the overnight stay. While refuelling a car, the hose that goes from the filler cap to the tank comes off. Fortunately it still has enough petrol to reach Fes and the Europcar where they replace it. In Fes we find the guide Youssef contacted from Meknes through Bouchra. With her we visit the tanneries, the old city, the Jewish quarter and above all many craft shops, even though after the first 2 or 3 we had asked not to see any more. The visit to the tanneries can prove to be a unique experience as it allows you to observe up close working conditions that would already have been judged inhuman in the Middle Ages. To the workers immersed up to their knees in the vats for dyeing the hides is added the smell of putrefying meat and of pigeon guano, an ingredient used in the tanning of hides because it is very rich in ammonia.

To visitors, to alleviate the stench that reigns everywhere, a sprig of mint is given to keep constantly under the nose. All this while walking on narrow uphill alleys along whose bottom runs a trickle of some undefined liquid.

Meknes – Azrou – Gorge du Ziz (Car 390 Km 9 hours)

At 9 we say goodbye to Abdel and his wife Bouchra and set off for the south. Having reached Azrou, with a small detour of about 10 km on the road leading to Ifrane, we visit a famous cedar forest inhabited by numerous monkeys accustomed to tourists, therefore easily approachable. After the many photos and the stop for lunch we set off again. We cross the Atlas, going over a pass that exceeds 2000 metres. Finally at 18 we reach the hotel Palmaziz, located in the gorges of the Ziz in the middle of a beautiful oasis rich in palms and cultivated vegetable gardens. Visit of the oasis with a ford of the Ziz river, fortunately with little water, then on returning to the hotel we finally meet our guide Ben.

Ziz Gorges – Merzouga – Obera Oasis (Car + Dromedary 150 Km 9 hours car + 2 hours dromedary)

Before leaving for Merzouga Ben leads us to a panoramic point where we admire from above the gorges formed by the Ziz river that winds tortuously between walls of steep rock. A stop at Errachidia to buy provisions for lunch, which will be eaten in a Berber house. In the early afternoon we arrive at Merzouga. The departure with the dromedaries for the oasis is scheduled for 17:00, so we have time for a refreshing dip in the pool of the hotel where we leave our luggage. The journey of about 2 hours in the saddle on the dromedaries involves no difficulty, only some complaining about side effects on the family jewels. Having arrived at the beautiful oasis we decide to climb the great dune that overlooks it. To tell the truth, not everyone attempts the feat; some rest by the Berber tent, others stop halfway up. Five of us manage to reach the top.

Walking on the uphill crest of the dune is very tiring, the feet sink into the sand with every step. The effort of the climb is however repaid by the panorama that is admired from the top and by the colours with which the dunes are tinged at sunset. Excellent the dinner prepared by the Berber companions. The evening continues with songs that involve the entire camp; no one withdraws into the tent to sleep, the mild night and the starry sky invite you to lie down in the open air.

Obera Oasis – Merzouga – Todra Gorges (Dromedary + Car 230 Km 2 hours dromedary + 8 hours car)

Wake-up at half past five and departure at 6 with the dromedaries to return to Merzouga where we arrive at 8. A quick shower and off we go again with the cars. A stop at the village of Khamlia inhabited by a community of black Berbers originally from Mali who delight us with their songs and their traditional dances. In the early afternoon we reach the Todra Gorges. After settling in at the hotel Les Roches, with Ben as our guide, we drive back up the gorges. It doesn't feel like being in Morocco, if it weren't for the numerous casbahs that we encounter one could think of being in our own mountains.

Todra Gorges – Dades Gorges - Ouarzazate (Car 220 Km 5 hours)

Ben leaves us. We leave him at the village of Timerhir from where, with a scheduled bus, he returns home. We continue towards the Dades Gorges, similar to the Todra gorges. We visit them by driving back up them for about 30 km. Having retraced our steps we pass Ouarzazate to reach our hotel, the Tourist complex La Casbah, located about 30 km beyond Ouarzazate in the locality of Ait Benhaddou. The complex has a swimming pool so we don't let the chance for a refreshing dip slip away. Beautiful the view of the casbah from the terrace of the hotel where we have dinner.

Ouarzazate – Marrakech (Car 220 Km 6 hours)

In the morning, visit to the casbah, another dip in the pool and departure at 11 for Marrakech. The casbah is exceptional, certainly the most beautiful of those visited. Still partially inhabited, we explore all its alleys, reaching its summit from where you can admire the whole valley. To reach Marrakech we cross the Atlas again, we encounter very picturesque little villages and we climb up to the Tizin-Tichka pass of 2260 metres. On the pass there are many little shops and stalls displaying for sale the beautiful minerals with which those mountains are rich. Beware of the sellers, if they see you interested they give you no peace and try to sell you the minerals at exorbitant prices. You can haggle and arrive at a price even 10 times lower than the one asked.

Having arrived in Marrakech we asked for the help of a local who, in exchange for payment of 100 Dh, led us to the hotel De Foucauld located in the central area, a stone's throw from the Jemaa el-Fna square or "Square of the Hanged", so called in memory of the time when death sentences were carried out in the square. Dinner on the hotel terrace and a walk in the square.

Marrakech

Free day for visiting Marrakech. We visit the Saadian Tombs, the Madrasa of Ben Youssef, an ancient Koranic school and certainly one of the most interesting monuments of the city, the palace of the Bahia or of the "favourite" and the souk always full of life with its characteristic little shops. The greatest attraction of Marrakech, however, is the central square, Place Jemaa el-Fna, which comes alive in the late afternoon. It is the liveliest quarter of the city, an immense open-air theatre with continuous entertainment. Numerous stalls offer delicious orange juices or typical Moroccan dishes. The whole group decides to have dinner at these stalls.

Marrakech – Essaouira (Car 200 Km 4 hours)

Today we reach the sea. We decide to leave early to arrive in the morning at Essaouira. Immediately a mishap: as soon as we set off, one of our cars is rear-ended by a taxi. The damage is minimal, only the rear hatch struggles to close. The taxi driver proves very helpful, assumes the blame and accompanies us to the Europcar office where they replace the car for us. This delays our departure, we nevertheless arrive in Essaouira around 13:00. Having been notified by telephone, the correspondent Alberto Leone comes to pick us up to accompany us to the hotel. After taking possession of the rooms, straight to the beach. Here the euphoria for the sea shown by many companions is immediately dampened. The sun is hot but the trade winds that blow and the freezing water of the Atlantic discourage many from swimming. Only 5 of us take a quick dip in the sea.

A few minutes and straight back to the beach to dry off. Much better to visit the medina, touristy and full of restaurants but very interesting and enclosed by fortified walls. The day ends with dinner in a small restaurant inside the medina.

Essaouira

Today was supposed to be the day dedicated to the sea but only a few went to the beach. About ten of us go to visit a small village a few kilometres away, a village famous because it was frequented in the '60s by Jimi Hendrix and a hippy community. The place is very beautiful, we push on as far as the beach formed by high dunes that reach the sea. We return for lunch and four of us want to try to taste the fish cooked at the port. We choose the fresh fish just caught, which will be paid for by weight and cooked on the grill. The price, considering we are in Morocco, is certainly not among the cheapest but it is worth it. Personally I chose a four-hundred-gram sea bass with a side of small salad and a Coca-Cola; price 100 Dh. It's less than 10 euros but eating meat you spend half. Afternoon spent wandering between the medina and the port, one of the liveliest places in the city.

Essaouira – Casablanca (Car 410 Km 8 hours)

We head back towards Casablanca. We decide to take the coastal road, a little longer but much more scenic. Many stops on top of the headlands to photograph the beautiful and deserted Atlantic coast. For lunch we stop at Oualidia, a small village on the coast famous for its oysters with a pretty beach protected from the ocean by a barrier of islets. Here the winds that blow continuously in Essaouira don't blow, even the sea water is less cold. We decide to spend a few hours on the beach and to set off again around 17:00. Casablanca is still far away, we arrive near its airport at 21:00. Tomorrow we have to be at the airport at half past five to hand back the cars before boarding. So, since the airport area has no hotels, we conclude that it is useless to go into the city to sleep for a few hours.

We have dinner in a small restaurant attached to a petrol station where we fill up the cars, then, around midnight, we head to the airport. Some manage to sleep (so to speak) a few hours, others walk around waiting for dawn.

Casablanca – Italy (plane)

We part. Some board directly for Milan or Bologna, the others will say goodbye in Rome with the promise of keeping in touch by email.