Day 1:Casablanca: Transfer arrival (35 km/22 mi)
Arrival to Casablanca, where you will be greeted by your guide and transferred to your hotel in the center of the dynamic economic capital of Morocco. Casablanca is home to the largest Jewish community in Morocco and has numerous congregations, active communal institutions, and many highly recommended kosher restaurants. Check-in, dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
Day 2:Casablanca – Marrakech (210 km/131 mi)
After breakfast; we will visit the famous Hassan II Mosque. Recently built, it is the largest in the world outside Mecca (the only Mosque can be visited by non Muslims), the Jewish community contributed to the construction of this mosque, which was inaugurated in 1994. Then we will visit the Mellah (Jewish Quarter) with its temples and synagogues such as Beth-El, the largest synagogue and an important community center, seating 500 persons. The Jewish cemetery in the mellah is open and quiet, with well-kept white stone markers in French, Hebrew and Spanish. After lunch at a local Casher Restaurant (or in a seafood restaurant), we will visit the Museum of Moroccan Judaism of Casablanca. It presents religious, ethnographic and artistic objects that demonstrate the history, religion, traditions and daily life of Jews in the context of Moroccan civilization. Departure to Marrakech Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
Day 3: Marrakech: sightseeing city
Breakfast. This morning, enjoy a peck into the world of Jewish Marrakech. We will visit the Mellah with its synagogues, The Negidim synagogue built at the end of the 19th century, the other synagogue of the mellah is the Salat el Alzama, built at the turn of the century, there is a local legend that the synagogue was built during the Second Temple period by Jews who had never lived in Eretz-Israel and had not witnessed the destruction of the Temple… Then the cemetery where Rabbi Hanania Ha-Cohen, the Lion of Marrakech and Rabbi Pinhas Cohen are buried. We then proceed to the Palais el Bahia where our guided tour takes us to several grand halls, gardens and the harem quarter… After lunch at a local Casher Restaurant in the mellah, our tour takes us to visit the eleventh century Almoravide Koubba el Baroudiyn. It is one of the few architectural reminders of the dynasty that presided over the “Golden Age” of the Jews in Spanish Andalusia and Morocco. The Medersa Ben Yusuf, El Badi Palace and Saadian tombs are beautiful demonstrations of the art and architecture of the 16th century Saadians, a dynasty that relied heavily on Jewish traders with Sub-Saharan Africa, including Moroccan-controlled Timbuktu, to finance its wars against Portugal and the Turkish Empire.
After ample time exploring the Djemâa’s sights and sounds, we depart to the the remarkable Chez Ali Fantasia : As an excellent finale to any stay in Marrakech, dinner/show Chez Ali is truly a 1001 Nights’ experience. Overnight stay at the hotel.
Day 4: Excursion to Ourika / High Atlas Mountains (2 X 46Km/28mi)
After breakfast, departure for the High Atlas Mountains to visit the Berber village of Ourika and to have a taste of the Berber life style by having a cup of tea within a Berber family… Half way on the road through Vallée d’Ourika In Aghbalou is an old Berber Jewish sanctuary and synagogue: the tomb of tzaddik Rabbi Shlomo bel Hansh. This tomb is the site of one of the biggest pilgrimages in Morocco… Optional: you can hike up to a waterfall for one or two hours… Return back to Marrakech, diner and overnight at the hotel
Day 5: Marrakesh– Essaouira (Mogador) (170 km/106 mi)
After breakfast, departure to Essaouira, ex Portuguese Mogador stronghold. The 60’s music legends Jimmy Hendrix and the Rolling Stones were drawn to Essaouira’s idyllic charm, which continues today to lure musicians and artists alike to the sparkling whitewashed fishing village trimmed with the brilliant azure of its skies… In the 18th century, the Alaouite Sultan Mohamed Ben Abdallah charged some prominent Jewish families to promote international trade from the port of Essaouira. Lunch at a local fish restaurant. Essaouira’s mellah covers over 10 percent of the town, but Jews constituted almost 40 percent of the population in the late 1880’s. Jewish stars on the doors to the mellah show the degree to which Jews were accepted in Essaouira, to the point that some of the richer Jews did not even live in the mellah. Commemorative plaques indicate the buildings in which synagogues were located. Former inhabitants of Essaouira, most of them Jewish, formed a committee to rehabilitate the town. The Jewish cemetery, just outside the city gates, is extremely well-kept. Two historical synagogues should be renovated soon “Slat Rabbi Haïm Pinto and Slat Attias”. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 6: Essaouira – Safi – El Jadida (Mazagan) – Casablanca (400 km/249 mi)
After breakfast, departure for Casablanca via the picturesque coastal road. There were Jewish communities in the ports of Safi and El Jadida, who were active in commerce and handicrafts. Stop in Safi to visit the Mellah in the Northern part of the medina, the sanctuary of Oulad Ben Zmirou and the Portuguese fortress. Then continuation to Oualidia for a fish lunch in a local restaurant with view over its superb bay. Continuation to El Jadida. In El Jadida, the 18th century Portuguese citadel later served as the Jewish quarter… Continuation to Casablanca. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 7: Departure to Casablanca airport (35 km/22 mi)
Assistance for check-in and boarding formalities.
End of our services.
These are sample itineraries, customizable for each client, prices are on request and depend on dates, accommodations level and activities Optional kosher meals can be arranged in Casablanca and Marrakech. Possibility to attend a religious service at a Synagogue if coinciding with Fridays