Travel

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Travel by Nivine Maktabi

El JadidaMy first stop was in El Jadida which is 50 minutes from Casa-blanca airport. El Jadida used to be an important port on Mo-rocco’s Atlantic coast. It is previously known as Mazagan. Itssheltered beach makes it one of the most attractive tourist centresin the kingdom. Back in the 16th century, the Portuguese settlesthere and hence its name the Portuguese city or «La cité portu-gaise» for its important Portuguese trading port on the Atlanticcoast. The Portuguese Fortified City of Mazagan was registeredas a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2004, on the basis of its sta-tus as an «outstanding example of the interchange of influencesbetween European and Moroccan cultures». The cisterns and thechurch were an outstanding site to visit. A snapshot with the wa-ter shadow inside the cisterns is impressive to keep as a souvenir.The best place to stay and enjoy a relaxing few days is the Ma-zagan Beach Resort, owned by Sol Kerzner, also owner of theAtlantis in Dubai and the Bahamas. Of course, the Spa was a mustdo and specially the Moroccan «Hammam», its skin rebirth ce-lebration after the intense scrubbing with the black eucalyptussoap, the best experience in the biggest spa in the kingdom. Ca-sino, golf, horse riding and quad runners were among the manyactivities we enjoyed at the hotel. However, my favorite part of thestay in this luxury resort is the view of its endless beaches and thesweet-scented gardens that fill your eyes with beauty and energy.

FesNext, we drove to Fes. It is one of the oldest Morocco’s imperialcities and an important trading centre mediaeval islamic city. Iloved the Riad we stayed at, called Riad Al Bartal. Owned by aFrench retired couple, the high ceiling house was a paradisewith its breathtaking old architecture like Venetian lace andabundant greenery in the courtyard with sunshine added moremagic while having the traditional breakfast. Fes continues to bean impressive city for its splendid, enchanting and pure evo-cation of mediaeval times. There is an extraordinary wealth ofmonuments in this great imperial city. One of the most famedgates of Morocco, the Bab Boueloud marks the completion ofFes el Bali and Fes el Jedid. Inside the gate is a market fullof tiny shops of all kinds of «Babouches» (traditional slippers),leather bags, tanning factory, carpets, threads, «Djelabas» (tra-ditional tunics)… Souk El Najjarine is a nice museum to visit inthe middle of the souk as well as the tanning and leather factory.

Salam Sidi,Salam Lala

First cities that come to one’s mind are Casa, Fes,Marrakesh... Many find Morocco an exotic, colourfuland lively place to visit… And being fascinated aboutexotic places, Morocco was definitely on my «to dolist». Once my best friend moved to El Jadida withher husband, the plan was to visit her as soon as pos-sible. My one week in the kingdom was loaded withdiscoveries, new sceneries and new taste buds.

How to Mo-rock it inMorocco?

Tanning factory in Fes. Leather factory in Fes.

«Babouches», «djelabas» and dentist inside Fes market.

The Portuguese Fortified City.

Having ginger drink before the morrocan hammam at the Mazagan hotel.

Another «maison d’hôtes» in El Jadida.

Amazing view inside the cisterns in the Portuguese Fortified City.

«Bab Boueloud» in Fes.

«Riad Al Bartal» in Fes.

Souk El Najjarine museum.

Travel

CasablancaCasablanca is the commercial and industrial capital of Morocco.It is the most highly populated city in the kingdom, knownsimply as Casa. I was fascinated by its modern side with its tallwhite buildings. Avenue de l’Armée Royale, Place MohammedV et Place des Nations Unies are the important centres to exploreand walk through. The Hassan II Mosque is a must see site, a re-latively recent mosque. It’s the largest in Morocco and the thirdlargest in the world, with its tallest minaret in the world. The templeappears to rise out of the depths of the Atlantic ocean. In fact,2/3 of it was constructed over water. It is worth visiting to seethe beautiful interior complete with water features, a roof thatopens to the sky, a huge «hammam» in the basement and outs-tanding tile work over a surface area of nine hectares. Anotherinteresting place to visit is Habous Quarter, part of the newCasablanca. This part was established by the French in 1920.Al-Hobous is located next to the Royal Palace. In the samearea, you’ll find all the things a tourist is looking for, rugs,silver and fossils. This area is more relaxed and less crowdedthan Bab Marrakesh but you still need to bargain before you buy.

Inside Hassan II Mosque.

View of Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.

Inside Al-Hobous in Casablanca.

IfranAnd on our way back, we decided to drive up to the Middle AtlasMountains where I discovered another small heaven on earth:Ifran, an extremely fertile land with water and pastures whichmakes it often described as «the little Switzerland» of Morocco.Once there, you should stop in Hotel Michlifen Ifran Suites andSpa. It is a refined, noble and majestic mountain hotel located inthe middle Atlas. The «My Spa» is a heaven of peace dedicatedto the body and mind’s wellness. I pampered myself with Marocmasks and scrubs which are a range of luxury beauty care products.It reinterprets ancestral beauty traditions through complementa-ry treatments. The highlight of this journey was the breathtakinghorseback ride in the nature and inside the Vittell waterfall. TheVittel spring and its waterfalls are an ideal walking destinationto detox your mind and soul. Follow the river a few hundredmeters and come to the forest of maples and poplars throughwhich the spring flows. It is out of this world. Worth visiting.

Travel by Nivine Maktabi

In the Atlas Mountain.

Having breakfast facing the high Atlas Mountain.The Vittell waterfall.

Traditional morroccan door inside Al-Hobous in Casablanca.

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«Les JardinsMajorelle» d’Yves

Saint Laurent.

Travel

MarrakeshIt is the great city of the Berbers. With its colourful, dynamicmarkets and wealth of handicrafts, it is one the most attractivecities in the whole of Morocco. The highest point of picturesquesplendor is the daily folklore celebration centered on Jemaa elFna, the veritable heart of the city. Jemaa el Fna is near the Ba-hia Palace, the Royal Palace and the toms of the Sultans of theSaadi dynasty. The city has successfully preserved the pure me-diaeval structure of the period everything is in terracotta colorand kept its heritage of folklore in all its fascinatingly originalrichness. We stayed in a «maison d’hôtes» called Al Riadnou,surrounded with a park facing the Atlas Mountain. The boutiquehotel is composed of 8 suites with a combination of unique orien-tal decoration and an up-to-date comfort. For dinner, we wereserved a traditional home cooked dish called «Madfouneh». Itlooked like a big pie of chicken covered with vermicelli and pow-der sugar with nuts on top. Among the main hotels to visit orstay in are Mamounia, Amanjena and Royal Mansour where wehad a special tour in and tasted their gastronomic restaurants. Clo-se to our Riad was the Nectarome, an organic-aromatic garden,«Le Jardin Bio-aromatic de l’Ourika», in a valley near Marra-kesh and the high Atlas mountains. It was founded by a team com-prising a doctor specialized in the study of essential oils, a doctorin pharmacy and a cosmetic formulator, trained in the field of aro-matherapy. Nectarome combines the wisdom of ancient Moroccantraditions with the knowledge of modern aromatherapy and phyto-therapy. I got the chance to meet the founder of this company DrJalil Belkamel who gave us an explanatory tour of all the plants andthe oil they extract from as well as the purpose and use of each pro-duct. The tour ended with a relaxing warm water and salt bath in anextraordinary foot basin dug into the soil while serving us green tea.Fascinated about carpets and all hand-knitted products, I couldn’tleave the country without checking, feeling and touching its colourfulBerber and natural Atlas rugs from the origin, up on the high AtlasMountain. The mountain view, the landscape, the ride was an ex-perience in itself and highlight of it was seeing all these colourfulcarpets lying on the rocks sun tanning against the strong sun. Ano-ther fascinating place to visit in Marrakesh, my favorite, was «LesJardins Majorelle», the ex-house of Yves Saint Laurent with its ri-ch gardens of different shapes and length cactus. A picture moment.

Tattoo in Jemaa el Fna at Marrakesh.

Salt bath for feet.

La Mamounia car.

With the snake in Jemaa el Fna.

Shopping in MarrakeshOf course, one cannot leave any city without doing the ritualwhich is shopping. For me, Marrakesh and especially the industrialzone where all designers’kitsch boutiques are located was an idealplace. In brief, it is the remote version of Saifi Village in Beirut,where all designers meet where you can pick up a designer dress,top, bag, art craft, painting, table and even antiques. 33 RueMajorelle just facing «Les Jardins Majorelle» was one of the ni-cest boutique I enjoyed to shop for the trendiest new designers.

Eating out in MarrakeshInteresting restaurants to eat in Marrakesh: Palmerai Gold Palace,an afternoon tea at «La Mamounia» garden, El Fassia for tradi-tional Moroccan food in Gueliz, drinks at Renaissance Roof Bar.

GastronomyThe Moroccan cuisine is considered one of the refined in the worldwith its wise use of ingredients. The principal ingredients in thecuisine are provided by the rich fruits of the land and by lamb,beef or veal and chicken as well as fish. Pastilla or B’stilla pie ismy favorite, which is a sophisticated dish with cinnamon, dryraisins and powder sugar. Of course couscous, «tagine au pou-let», «tagine au pruneaux» are also another delicacy that takesits name from the recipient in which it is made «the tagine»,the terracotta dish… I simply love this sweet and sour combinationand I can go on eating it every day. Mint tea is practically thenational drink which is taken throughout the day. Served insmall glasses and its aroma is best appreciated if it is slowlysipped. How to get there? via air Morocco, a direct 6 hoursflight to Casablanca, five times a week. So I leave you plan-ning your visit to Morocco to Mo-rock it «Bel Sahha wel Rahha»

In Marrakesh market.

Traditional moroccan food tagine and couscous.

Moroccan mint tea.

Traditional Moroccan tea.

Travel by Nivine Maktabi

From El Jadida, Fes, Ifran, Casablancato Marrakesh, all cities in Morocco are

exotic, colorful and lively places to visit.

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