Visiting Morocco

MOROCCO (in arabic , Al-Mamlaka al-Maghribiyya)

Visiting Morocco is a fascinating experience for a European; after 2 hours of flight you are immersed in Muslim culture. I was very lucky to visit the country with a person of the place and to be guest of a Moroccan family.
My journey begins in Casablanca (in Arabic: , gives ad-Daru-l-Bayda, which means precisely "the white house") where I visited the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest in the world (after Shah Faisal Mosque close to Islamabad). The mosque is located near the Atlantic Ocean with his high minaret (210 mt) and inside the Coranic School that contains one of the supplied libraries. 100 km in direction South there is El jadida (new) or Mazagan in Portuguese; An old harbour of Morocco in the past, today one of the tourist destinations for Moroccan families.

Continuing our trip we can reach Essaouira’town (in Arabic and MOGADOR in Portuguese), facing the Atlantic with his lovely medina inscribed in the list of UNESCO world heritage site.

The fortifications of the Khasba are a mixture of Portuguese, French and Berber military architecture, and their massiveness lends a powerful mystique town

Essaouira is very small. The walled town split into the mellah, medina and Kasbah, where most hotels, restaurants, cafés, banks and shop are concentrated.

Don’t forget to visit the magnificent beach that curves for kilometres to the south, Essaouira is also Morocco 's best-known windsurfing centre, and increasingly promotes itself as 'Windy City Africa'.

Continuing in direction south you can reach Agadir, a touristic place in Morocco, thanks to its white beaches and lively souk, full of moroccain products.

In this part of Morocco the ARGAN TREE (Argania Spinosa) grows up; it’s a oil used from berber woman for the beauty of the skin and hair a part from, daily, for cooking.

From Agadir you can continue to south coast (near Sahara) until TIZNITZ (City of silver) and continue to Mauritania, crossing several cities (including Laayoune). Alternatively from Agadir you can go to the wonderful ancient OUERZAZATE, in the heart of the desert, or to get sumptuous MARRAKESH (one of seven imperial cities) .

Marrakech has the largest traditional market , souk, in Morocco and also has the busiest square with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers and musicians by day; and food stalls by night.

Don’t forget to visit the city of Fes or Fez (in Arabic ), holy city of Morocco, 350 m s.l.m., in the bottom of a fertile valley full of the leather fabrics, ceramics shops and for his acient Arab universities.

The old town is for its buildings, its markets and its mosques, one of the most attractive of the whole Islamic world. From Fes we continued towards the town of AL HOCEIMA (Mediterranean coast) known for its white beaches; Interesting is cross many villages throught the wild and unsafe roads.