History lovers who visit Morocco must make Ait-Ben-Haddou a key part of their itinerary. Ait-Ben-Haddou is a fortified village, or ksar, located on a hill overlooking the Ouarzazate River. It is made up of several small fortresses (Kasbahs) which are approximately ten meters in height. The village was once a stop along the ancient Sahara Trade Route where traders carrying cargos of slaves, spices and other goods would pause to rest on their way to Timbuktu or the Western Sahara.

The site has been a backdrop for many classic movies, beginning with Lawrence of Arabia in 1962 to more recent films like Gladiator in 2000 and Alexander in 2004. The many outstanding examples of Southern Morocco still led UNESCO to declare Ait-Ben-Haddou a World Heritage Site in 1987.

A trip to Ait-Ben-Haddou is like a visit back in time to an era when the pace of life was slower and more placid. Only a few families continue to live in the ksar as the majority of inhabitants have moved across the river to more modern homes. The ones remaining will gladly open their homes to visitors for a fee; some of the residents also offer traditional Moroccan art and jewelry for sale, which tourists can take back home as souvenirs of their trip.

Tourists visiting Ait-Ben-Haddou can get there by crossing the river on camels from their hotel, with a man in traditional Berber dress serving as a tourist guide. They can wander the narrow streets or climb to the top of the granary above the ksar to get a magnificent view of the entire village. This point also provides views of Jebel Toubkal and other High Atlas mountains, which are paradoxically capped with snow despite the country’s extreme temperatures. And if you can stay until sunset, you will be rewarded with the magnificent sight of the setting sun setting off the red of the Kasbahs’ mud-brick walls.

Asilah is one of the most beautiful and well-preserved old cities in Morocco. The fortified town’s ramparts and gateworks are still fully intact hundreds of years after they were first built. Its beginnings can be traced back to 1500 BC, when a Phoenician port called Zili was established on the site. The town was occupied by the Portuguese in the 15th century, and was lost to the Spanish in 1578. In 1598, the Spanish ceded the town to the Moroccans, who gave it its present Arabic name.

In order to draw tourism, Asilah stages a number of cultural festivals, the most prominent of which is the International Cultural Festival, which is held in August. During this festival, residents paint colorful murals on the walls of their houses. Visitors should enjoy these murals, as they will painted over by the time of the next festival. But even outside of the festivals, there is still much to see and do in Asilah.

Popular attractions for tourists include the ramparts, built by the Portuguese in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, from the top of which you can see the Atlantic Ocean; the El-Kamra tower, another Portuguese structure that is the tallest building in the town as it was once part of the ancient defense structure and the Palais de Raisouli, the home of a prominent Riffian bandit that harks back to the time in the 19th and 20th centuries when Asilah served as a base for pirates. Catholics might want to stop by the San Bartholome, a church built by Franciscan priests from Northwest Spain and located outside the town.

Asilah also boasts of two beaches, the long beach located a kilometer north of the town, and Paradise Beach, some three kilometers south. Both are accessible from many of Asilah’s motels, although Paradise Beach requires a trip by horse-drawn carriage.

Mention Casablanca to most people and they’ll undoubtedly think of it as it was portrayed in the classic film named after it, a hotbed of intrigue and romance. In real life, however, Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, as well as the country’s economic capital. Casablanca is home to the headquarters and main factories of leading local and international corporations, as well as being Morocco’s main industrial zone. Visitors walking Casablanca’s streets, however, may still be able to find traces of the romance and mystique the film evoked in viewers.

One of the must-see attractions for visitors is the Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Morocco and the third largest in the world. The mosque was built on reclaimed land and almost half the mosque lies over the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, part of the mosque boasts a glass floor, which allows the faithful to worship directly over the sea. From the outside, you can see a 210 meter minaret (tower), from which spotlights shine at night in the direction of Mecca. However, non-Muslims are only allowed to enter the mosque during the one English tour per day, so make sure to check the schedule.

Other places in the city worth visiting are the city square, Place Mohammed V, the town market Marche Central, the ancient quarter and the Jewish Quarter in the Lusitania which is home to Benarroch, the city’s main synagogue. You can end your day by enjoying the nightlife at the Boulevard de la Corniche, a boardwalk fronting the Atlantic where many of the city’s finest beaches, cafes and restaurants can be found.

Finally, what would a trip to Casablanca be without a visit to Rick’s Café, a restaurant-piano bar that recreates the one owned by Humphrey Bogart in the movie? Rick’s is housed in a traditional 1930s Moroccan mansion with a central courtyard. The menu offers a wide selection of seafood dishes, and at night, the pianist plays standards from the ‘40s and the ‘50s, along with the inevitable As Time Goes By.

Fes is a heady, intoxicating mix of the old and the new, a medieval city side by side with a Westernized area lined with modern shops and hotels. It is Morocco’s cultural and religious center, with three distinct areas – the old walled city of Fes el-Bali (declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1981), Fes-Jdid, which is home to the old Jewish quarter, and the modernized Ville Nouvelle, which was built by the French and is a bustling commercial center.

The first stop for tourists should, of course, be the old city. You enter it through the Bab Boujeloud gate, one of Morocco’s most famous attractions. It is interesting to note how the color of the mosaics change once inside the gate – from the outside it is blue, the color of the city, but inside the tiles are green – the color of Islam. Make sure to dine at one of the main rooftop restaurants located at the city square where you can while away the time with a great overhead view of life in the city while you nurse your mint tea.

To get an overview of traditional Moroccan culture, you can visit the old city’s three museums – the Nejarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts, the Dar Batha Museum and the Belghazi Museum. The last one also sells the blue pottery the city is famous for. The old city’s Islamic schools or medersas offer glimpses of the craftsmanship of the Merenid Dynasty, which made Fes their capital from 1269 to 1420. The Medersa Bou Inania has some excellent examples of Merenid woodwork and plasterwork while the Medersa el-Attarine has an incredible view of the city from its rooftop. Also a popular attraction is the tanner’s quarter, which harks back to a time when Fes was a major center of leather goods manufacturing, where from a platform tourists can look down at the tanneries and see how they do their work.

Meknes was once touted as the Versailles of Morocco, when Sultan Moulay Ismail (1672-1727) was pursuing his plans for a grand royal city. His plans never came to fruition, but the edifices he did succeed in erecting continue to attract hordes of annual tourists. Moulay Ismail’s royal city consists of more than 50 palaces, 20 gates and a city wall 45 kilometers in length. One of the most impressive of the gates is the Bab el-Mansour, named after its architect, a Christian who converted to Islam. At present, it is used as an arts gallery and entry to it is only through a side gate.

Of the surviving palaces, the best preserved one is the Dar el-Makhzen, which is still used today by Morocco’s king as the royal palace. Dar el-Makhzen is closed to visitors, but glimpses of the palace can be seen through the crumbling walls. Visitors may also be interested in visiting Moulay Ismail’s mausoleum, although non-Muslims are restricted from entering many parts of it. Other attractions where large areas are forbidden to non-Muslims include the Muslim school Medersa Bou Inania and the mausoleum of holy man Sidi ben Aissa.

Those interested in a glimpse of traditional Moroccan arts and crafts should drop by the Dar Jamai, whose exhibits focus on items such as ceramics, textiles and jewelry.

Souvenir hunters will find plenty of them at the medina, large areas of which are devoted to qissariya, or covered markets. The quality of the items you can buy here are reportedly among the best in Morocco, and the prices more affordable. It is definitely a good place for visitors to hone their haggling skills. Since Meknes is a center of olive production in Morocco, the city is also a good place to pick up fresh olives, although prices can be steep so make sure to compare prices from different stalls.

Tangiers is definitely not a city for the unwary – children constantly pester tourists for alms and unofficial “guides” harass visitors at nearly every corner. And when night falls, the city can be unsafe. So why visit at all? Well, the city does have an off-beat charm as well as the reputation of being a celebrity magnet. And, of course, Tangiers served as the real-life inspiration for the setting of the classic movie Casablanca.

As in most Moroccan cities, the main attraction is the medina, or old quarter, which you enter from the gate near the Great Mosque. The most interesting destinations in the medina include the American Legation, where the US established a diplomatic mission in 1821 and today is a museum with works by Yves St. Laurent and James McBeay on display; the Grand Socco, a transportation hub where the new city’s streets give way to the narrower roads of the old city; and the Kasbah, which is located on a hill overlooking the city, and whose walls house the Dar el-Makhzen (a palace built by sultan Moulay Ismail in the 17th century). Today the palace is a museum that exhibits Moroccan art. There are also an abundance of mansions where visitors can sightsee, some of which are open to the public, like the one that used to belong to American multimillionaire Malcolm Forbes, which currently houses his collection of military miniatures.

In the Ville Nouvelle, or the new town, the most popular attraction is the Place de France, a meeting point for middle class residents and tourists. One of its most popular landmarks is the Gran Café de Paris, which like its fictional counterpart Rick’s Café, once served as a place where foreign spies, expatriates and Moroccan nationalists would gather.

Tourists can also swim in Tangiers’s beaches; the town beach, however, is filthy and poorly maintained. Go instead to the Atlantic beaches, located west of Tangiers, which are not only clean, but also located in one of the area’s most beautiful locations, ringed by mountains on all sides.

Among the tourist destinations of Morocco, Tetouan has not been as popular as Casablanca and Tangiers, due largely to its reputation for being unfriendly to visitors. The city has worked hard to correct this and Tetouan has now become one of the more pleasant places to visit. As with so many other Moroccan vacation spots, Tetouan is set in a beautiful natural location, with mountains arising from the Mediterranean on its south and west, just across from the valley where it is situated.

Tetouan’s main attraction is its medina, which remains in full use. The place is quite large so tourists might want to allot some time for just sightseeing down its streets and looking at the houses, many of which are quite well-preserved and still in their original condition. Eight of the city’s original gates are still standing and are well-worth checking out, the nicest is the Bab el-Okla, the oldest standing city gate. But the focal point of the city is the Place Hassan II, the city square that bridges ancient Tetouan and the more modern areas of the city. Rebuilt in 1988 after the demolition of the original Spanish Andalucían Gardens, the square today boasts of a new royal palace, as well as several mosques and free-standing minarets.

Museums are good places to learn about the history of a place and the Archaeological Museum in Tetouan is one of the more fascinating ones in Morocco. Its exhibits are mainly from sites in northern Morocco, many dating back to the first century. Don’t miss the Three Graces, a Roman mosaic, as well as its collection of prehistoric artifacts. The Ethnographic Museum also warrants a visit, in order to gain some insight into the details of Moroccan customs and traditions, many fine examples of folk art are on display.

To cap off your trip to Tetouan, you can sample local food at the El Fouki Bread Market, where you can buy the traditional flat round loaves, and the El Hot Market, where you can get beautiful ceramic porcelain and fine gold and silver jewelry.

Nature lovers will surely have their breath taken away by a visit to the Todra Gorge. Todra Gorge is composed of a pair of sheer cliffs 950ft high, bisected by a corridor, less than 2000ft long, that in some places narrows to just 33ft wide. Partway through the widest part of the path, tourists can find a handful of restaurants and even a hotel where they can pass the night. At the end of the corridor, they will be rewarded by a clearing with a river running through it and red mountains on either side. Hiking along the path is quite easy, as the dirt road is well-maintained. Strolling along the road you can pass local nomadic tribesmen herding their camels or walking with their small donkeys. Worth a visit are the spring of the Sacred Fish and the village of Tamtattouchte, which is slightly off the beaten path.

Rock climbers can also indulge their hobby on Todra Gorge, as a number of pre-anchored routes have been prepared for climbers of all skill levels, from the Plage Mansour section for easy climbs to the more hardcore Sector de Meuk.

After they’ve walked the Todra, tourists can see more of Morocco’s natural attractions at the nearby Valley of the Draa, where they can watch the sand dunes constantly shift from the winds of Merzouga. It is worth rising early just to see the magnificent sight of the sun rising over the desert. They can then proceed to the Dades Gorge, some 65 miles from Ouarzazate. Many tourists feel this older gorge is even more beautiful than its sister to the south, with some of the most magnificent views the country has to offer. Aside from trekking along the path, adventurous visitors can also rock climb and white-water raft the Dades River. The Dades also has a number of small restaurants and inns where tourists can eat or stay the night.

The Sahara Desert is the greatest and the hottest desert in the world. It is spread over 9,000,000 Square Km. It covers the entire North Africa and thus, makes it as big as the United States. The desert starts from the red sea, over to the Mediterranean, cross to some parts of the Atlantic Ocean. As far as the history of the Sahara Desert goes, it takes us back 3 million years. The sand dunes of the dessert are very big, so huge that they can go up to a height of 600 feet.

Life in the Sahara Desert is very difficult due to its climate. It receives a total rain of less than 3 inches every year. It is likely that it rains twice in one week and not in the next three years. There are a lot of Oases in the dessert, but because of its mere size, it’s not easy to trace it.

The Sahara Dessert is the hottest place in the world with the temperature touching up to 57.7 degree Celsius (135.8 degree F). Scientists has stated that the desert expands and shrinks every now and then. Currently, it is recorded that it’s growing towards the south by 48 km every year. The typical fauna that can be seen in the desert are domestic camels and goats. As far as the wild fauna is concerned, it is a common sight to see a scorpion, monitor lizard, sand vipers, wild dogs, sstrich cheetah etc. the only kinds of birds that can be visible are African Silverbill and black throated fire finch.

Marrakech (or Marrakesh) is also known as the red city. It is a significant and a vital city located in Morocco. The city is situated in the foot hills of the Atlas Mountain which are covered with snow all year round. The word Marrakesh is an Arabic word and it means the land of God and idols. Marrakesh is the capital city of Marrakech Tensift Al Haouz region. The Europeans, Arabs and the Persians long ago used to call this place the Kingdom of Marrakesh.

The city has one of the largest traditional markets and it stays busy the entire year. Tourists come from all over the world to buy stuff from Marrakech. Not only does the place have a very active day life, but as the night descends, it turns to be even more interesting and active. The place is a city of entertainment and one can find great artists like the drummers, dancers, musicians, comedians and storytellers’ all over the city.

One can make a choice of their own to decide where to eat and what to eat. It has a whole lot of expensive to non expensive and traditional ranges of food. All you have to do is make your pick. The city is the second largest in the entire Morocco. It does not have many historical monuments and its beauty lies in the location and weather. One can see the beautiful extended and erected peaks of the Atlas Mountain just behind the city. The city becomes very humid during the summers and snowy during winters.

Pictures & Photos

Marrakech Public Square Up Close
Photo by: Jean & Nathalie

Marrakech Square at Night
Photo by: procsilas

Selling Paintings at Marrakech Public Square
Photo by: Shahram Sharif

Souk Scene - Check out The Roofs! It is Outdoor or Indoor?
Photo by: kafeole

Panorama View of Marrakech Square Djemma el Fna
Photo by: wikipedia

Dealing With Customers at the Marketplace
Photo by: Zingaro

Narrow Street View at Marrakech
Photo by: Vincepal

Koutoubia Mosque and a Bunch of Tourists
Photo by: Zingaro

Nice Colorful Carpets at Marrakech, Morocco
Photo by: Mar10os

Koutoubia Mosque Under Dark Blue Sky
Photo by: joaomaximo

City View of Marrakesh
Photo by: wikipedia

Street Musician at Marrakesh
Photo by: Ahron de Leeuw

Man With Bicycle Against a Wall at Marrakech
Photo by: Shahram Sharif

Another View of Marrakech
Photo by: Jean & Nathalie

Fruits and Vegetables at Marrakech
Photo by: Rui Ornelas

Hotel Room at Ksar Char Bagh Marrakech, Morocco
Photo by: evhead

Ben Youssef Madrasa - Use to be an Islamic College in Marrakech
Photo by: seier+seier+seier

Great Designs of a Madrasa (Islamic College)
Photo by: procsilas