While the standard image of a busload of people piling out at some location, followed by a guide who gathers them up like ducklings and marches them off after a quick head count, umbrella in hand to help lead the way, is likely to be the type of tour you end up on if you ever decide to go with some sort of official tour group, they don’t always need to come in this variety. And even if it does, these tours also have a number of pros to them, …

We had the opportunity to write a guest post for Amanda – thanks for letting us blog for you – over at Maroc Mama about our trip to Ifrane, Morocco. Check it out at her site.

While the quick approach of November means we’ll soon be off for our cruise and a short stay in Morocco, we sadly will not be able to make it down to the south this time around – a shame as we so enjoy Marrakech and Nic still has designs on getting further south

The very same area that the Saadians came to power from.
Originally their rule from 1509 through to 1554 CE only extended over southern Morocco – around the region where the city of Zagora is now.
This all …

Drawing upon Morocco’s top artisans, Grand Vizier Si Mossa had them work on the palace for fourteen years.

Boasting floor to ceiling decorations, el Bahia palace was originally constructed in the 1860s, but was further embellished upon by the slave-turned-vizier, Abu ‘Bou’ Ahmed, between 1894 and 1900.

While only a portion of the 8 hectare palace is open to the public, the sections you can walk are pretty extensive, and gives you a great sense of the lifestyle enjoyed by the two viziers and their many wives and concubines.

Upon his death, …

During our stay in Marrakech we tried to wander the city as far as we could on foot from the Jemaa el-Fnaa. And while a bit of a hike from our riad – though I suspect that might have had more to do with us getting lost a couple of times navigating the warrens that make up large parts of the market district then it being that far away – we were able to make our way over to the el Bahia Palace.

At the time it cost us about a …

Given how much I’ve written about their ruins, I thought I’d pay a little attention to the Dynasty responsible for settling one of our favourite parts of Morocco.

Founded in the 12th century, the Almohad Dynasty established their Berber state in the Atlas Mountains before expanding their power over all northern Africa and sweeping over to Portugal and southern Spain, where they eventually transferred their capital to Seville in 1170 CE.
Because of which you’ll find evidence of their presence in the Giralda, commissioned in 1184 CE in imitation of the …

The Saadian Tombs date back to the time of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603 CE) but weren’t actually discovered until 1917. And as you walk the grounds you can see the effort Beaux-arts Service has put into their restoration of the tombs, and why this beautifully restored mausoleum is such an attraction to visitors of Marrakech.

And of course there’s the staff.

Approximately sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty – who originated in the Draa River valley – lay buried here. Among those interred in the mausoleum is Ahmad al-Mansur and his family.

Outside …

During our stay in Casablanca we decided to take advantage of a tour offered by our hotel to see all the must-see sites during our short stay in the city, and Hassan II Mosque surely hits the top of the list.

The largest mosque in Morocco, and the second largest in the world, this massive building can accommodate up to 25,000 worshippers, and a further 80,000 on the adjoining grounds.

Inspired by the Qur’an verse which states that “the throne of Allah was built on water,” the mosque was built to …

In a guest post we did for Maroc Mama Nic talked about our trip up to the city of Ifrane in the northern mountains of Morocco. While there we had the opportunity to tour Al-Akhawayn University and their mosque, a replica built of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech.

And a few days later while we were staying off the Jemaa el-Fnaa we had the opportunity to look around the original.

Completed between 1184 CE & 1199 CE under the reign of Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur, the Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque …

Despite its designation as a UNESCO Heritage site, Volubilis has seen little effort made in preserving the beautiful mosaics that lie scattered throughout the ruins. Roman household decorations that despite all these years exposed to the elements have managed to maintain such vibrant colours.

During our tour, the professor who was kind enough to act our guide, told us how these mosaics were in effect a paint by numbers set that the household would “mail-order” the kit from Rome and when delivered have the slaves assemble in further decoration of a …