Best of Morocco

We visited Chefchaouen, Fes, Marrakesh, the Sahara Desert from M’hamid, Rabat, and Casablanca. Everywhere we went, locals admired Sal’s beard and nicknamed him “Ali Baba.” Moroccan immigration officers thought he was Arab and fingerprinted him to make sure his U.S. passport was real. On our bus ride to Chefchaouen we were surprised with the view of spectacular snow peaks in the distance contrasting with arid landscape. Chefchaouen is a beautiful town of twisted alleys with white and light blue houses. This old city of Arabic architecture is surrounded by mountains and bordered by a river of clean water. In Fez, we enjoyed the thin and colorful alleys of the ancient medina available only to pedestrians and a few donkeys. Each section of the medina in Fez specializes in manufacturing and selling different products that varied from leather, ceramics, lamps, clothes, shoes, and more. The cities of Marrakesh, Rabat, and Casablanca impressed us with its mixture of modernity and tradition. These are cities where western influence and eastern culture coexist. Seeing a high percentage of young women without covering their heads in these cities made us think about the generational changes in Muslim societies. At night, the main plaza in the medina of Marrakesh is full of action and a place you could spend hours staring at different activity: the serpent chanters, story tellers, music, monkeys, games, food stands, drinks, and desserts are like a magnet hard to avoid. We experienced the nightlife in Casablanca, going to different bars to enjoy traditional and western live music while drinking a beer or two. Without a doubt, the Sahara Desert with its sand dunes, peaceful silence, and spectacular starry nights was the highlight of our Moroccan visit.