Morocco

Day 1: Arrival

My trip started with a flight together with my parents from California to Casablanca, Morocco. We had a short layover at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Québec. Thanks to my Amex card benefits, I was able to get my parents into the airport lounge (which they were quite excited about).

After arriving at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport, we waited for an hour or so for our entire tour group to arrive and pick up their bags. Then, we all hopped on a bus and made our way from Casablanca to our first stop, the city of Rabat.

Day 2: Rabat

We spent our first (real) day in the capital of Morocco, Rabat. The city lies along the Atlantic Ocean and has a lot of beautiful streets and alleyways.

While wandering the streets of Rabat with our group, I noticed that there were a lot of stray cats roaming the city (which is a constant theme throughout all of Morocco).

*One of the many cats we encountered on the streets of Morocco*

Our first stop of the day was to visit the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. Similar to Buckingham Palace, there were a bunch of unmoving guards outside of the mausoleum. The insides of each building were laced with intricate artwork and designs, from the ceilings to the floors.

Right outside of the mausoleum is Hassan Tower, which is a famous minaret (i.e., the part of a mosque where the muezzin calls Muslims to prayer).

Hopping back onto the bus, we drove a few minutes away to the Royal Palace, where the king of Morocco and his family live. There were some local drummer sand dancers to

Right outside of the royal palace is Chellah, an ancient necropolis (now in ruins), which is also a UNESO site. We were welcomed by a group of traditional Moroccan dancers at the entrance.

*Traditional Moroccan dancers playing drums/wearing a shashiya*

The heritage site was quite peaceful and we had some time to stroll around / take in the sights. Interestingly, there are a bunch of storks which nest on top of a tower there.

We also spotted another cat lounging by the pool!

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick bite of dinner at Marina Palms, a local seafood restaurant, before turning in for the night.

Day 3: Fez

On day three we stopped by Volubilis, which is an old Berber-Roman city (and also a UNESCO site). The buildings were mostly in ruins, but the surrounding area was stunningly beautiful, and the mosaic floor tiles were surprisingly well maintained.

Afterwards we hopped back on the tour bus and headed towards Fez, known as the cultural capital of Morocco!

Once we arrived in the city, we checked into our hotel and had some time to unwind before dinnertime. The lobby had a nice tea set which we used to try some traditional Moroccan mint tea (which is quite sweet and definitely became a theme throughout the trip).

For dinner, a local family was kind enough to invite our entire tour group over to experience a home-cooked Moroccan meal! This was our first time trying a tajine, which is an African dish named after the cone-shaped earthenware pot it’s cooked in. I actually quite liked the dried fruit and curried spices that were used in the food.

Day 4: Fez

We woke up early in the morning and had continental breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast we walked around the medina (or “city”) of Fez. The streets are super narrow and the city itself is bustling with shopkeepers and locals. It was really interesting because I’ve never experienced a city quite like it before; in some ways it reminded me of scenes from cartoons I watched growing up like Aladdin.

While strolling through the medina, we stopped by Palais Quaraouiyine, which is a local shop selling Moroccan / Berber rugs. The store itself is in a riad or a traditional Moroccan house that typically has intricate tile-work and gardens. We didn’t end up purchasing anything, but the place had a cozy ambiance that I quite enjoyed.

Next, we visited the Qaraouiyine Mosque / University. Now that I’d seen a couple of buildings, I was starting to notice the amount of handcrafted detail and intricate designs prevalent throughout Moroccan architecture which was really amazing to see. Funnily enough, the dorms used by scholars of the university in the past were more akin to modern day prison cells (which felt metaphorically similar to the poor lifestyle of PhD students like myself).

After the mosque, we briefly stopped by Musée Najjarine which is a private museum that houses various wooden arts and crafts.

Our tour guide took us down a narrow alley, leading us to a lunch spot. To be honest, I have no idea how people are supposed to find anything with how narrow and complex the alleys are.

With our stomachs full, we went over to the Chouara tannery (one of three tanneries in Fez and the largest / oldest). To give some perspective on the size of this place, the dye pools in each photos below are around the size of a hot tub! The smell emitted from the tanning / dyeing process is pretty pungent (it smells something akin to ammonia or urine) so they gave us mint leaves to cover our noses with.

We also took a peek at the golden gates which serve as the entrance to the Royal Palace where the king of Morocco resides.

To wrap up our day in Fez, we took a final stroll through the medina and perused the local shops for trinkets and souvenirs.

Day 5: Road trip

We spent most of the day in the tour bus on the road to Erfoud. The terrain changed quite a bit since we went over the Middle Atlas mountains, so some regions were powered with snow while others were covered in dry desert.

For lunch, we stopped by for some more tajines and Moroccan mint tea!

Eventually we made it to the our accommodation, Hotel Xaluca located in the city of Erfoud, an oasis town in the Sahara desert.

Day 6: Erfoud

We woke up bright and early the next morning since we had a busy day planned (can you see my excitement?)

Since it’s a guided tour and (I’m guessing) the guides are paid commission by local businesses, we stopped by Macro Fossiles Kasbah to shop for trilobytes and other fossils excavated from the Sahara.

After shopping we visited Ksar Ouled Abdelhalim (a local Berber village) to see how people live in more rural areas of Morocco.

We all rode the tour bus back to the hotel around noon. My mom and I (along with a few other people in our tour group) took a day trip out to the Sahara desert, while other stayed behind at the hotel. We had lunch (which didn’t taste that great) in tents by the desert. Then, we were driven out into the desert in SUVs.

At one point, one of the SUVs got stuck in the sand, so the guides all had to get out and push the car out of a ditch. Once we made it out, we rode camels and walked around the Sahara. I’ve never been in such a large desert before, and it was truly breathtaking to be in the middle of the Sahara where the sand stretches as far as the eye can see. This part of the trip was a blast and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone planning to visit Morocco!

Once we got back to the hotel, we were all pretty tired and ended up passing out quickly after dinner.

Day 7: Ouarzazate

There happened to be a beautiful sunrise in the morning, so my mom and I decided to walk around and take some photos before checking out of the hotel.