Discovering the Blue City of Morocco

The sight of Morocco’s ‘blue city’ is something to behold, and while you are here you simply have to experience it for yourself while on a private tour with Magnificent Morocco!

Hidden away in the Rif Mountains, the city was founded in 1471 by Moulay Ali Ben Moussa Ben Rachid El Alami. Its roots can be […]

By |May 28th, 2015|Sights|0 Comments

Sampling the sights and smells of the ancient tanning pits in Fès

Leather is big business in Morocco. In fact, it is one of the country’s largest exports shipping up to 100 million slippers annually to countries including Spain, France and India.

Although most of the production is now carried out in factories as well as countless workshops in souks around the country, the ancient tanneries of Fès […]

By |May 21st, 2015|Sights|0 Comments

The Monkeys of Morocco

What images spring to mind when you think of Morocco? Deserts, camel rides, souks, blankets and carpets? How about monkeys?

It is a little known fact that there is actually a population of around 15,000 Barbary macaque (Barbary Apes) living in Morocco. These monkeys are the only primates aside from humans living north of the Sahara […]

By |May 6th, 2015|Wildlife|0 Comments

Balek! Balek! 9,000 alleyways in Fès!

With no mechanized transportation allowed inside the 9,000 narrow alleyways of the Fès el-Bali walled medina, you may wonder how the all the fresh produce and the raw materials to manufacture the millions of souvenirs are delivered to the artisans and traders everyday. Enter – to the cries of “Balek-Balek” (Arabic for “Get out of […]

By |May 4th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Laser-guided prayers

With glass floors to view the ocean beneath, a sliding roof so that prayers can be offered in sunlight or under the stars and doors crafted from titanium, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca combines ancient tradition with modern technology. Not only is it the largest mosque in Morocco and Africa, but at 210m also […]

By |May 4th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

And the winner is…

 

Apart from the amazing scenery to be found as you travel around Morocco, there is no shortage of unusual sights as well. One of our clients captured this rather precariously loaded vehicle while travelling from Fès to Merzouga. We had no hesitation in awarding First Prize to her in our April 2014 feature of “Unusual […]

By |May 4th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Behind closed doors

 

There’s an old saying in Morocco that you cannot tell a house by its door. It’s a characteristic with deep-rooted religious origins based on the principle of not outwardly displaying one’s wealth. As you wander round an old Berber village, you’ll see many a simple façade and entrance. Inside it is homely, intimate and welcome. […]

By |May 4th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Grooving with the Gnaoua

 

Essaouria’s amiable convergence of Arabian, African and European cultures has long been a popular platform for this Atlantic town’s annual Gnaoua and World Music Festival – a showcase for the traditional music of Morocco and a source of musical inspiration for a global audience. The event attracts established and breakthrough artist from Morocco and beyond […]

By |May 4th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Chilling news from Ifrane

 

Temperatures hit a new low in 1935. On February 11 that year – less than 60kms south of the Imperial City of Fès – the resort town of Ifrane in the Middle Atlas Mountains recorded -24ºC (-11ºF), the lowest temperature ever recorded in Africa.

By |May 4th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Mysterious times in Fès

 

When you are walking through the Old Medina in Fès, make sure you ask your guide to explain how the medieval water clock works. He loves a challenge! Constructed in 1357, the Dar al-Magana served to regulate prayer times. But the complex – and quite ingenious – combination of water reservoirs, metal balls, gongs, keyhole […]

By |May 4th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments