Since 2010, change has swept across this rakish city on the Strait of Gibraltar at a dizzying rate. Heavy investment has moved the container port out of the city, the impenetrable Medina feels safer, the beaches are cleaner and the bay-front Corniche was regenerated in 2018. There has never been a better time to delve …
The bewitching Medieval city of Fez was founded on the banks of the Jawhar River in the 8th century by Idris I, a descendant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Soon after came the 9th-century University of al-Qarawiyyin, the oldest place of higher education in the world. In its UNESCO-listed Medina, Fez is a multisensory journey, …
Where the western ridge of the High Atlas Mountains drops to the Atlantic, Agadir is a port and beach resort with year-round sun. Even in January, temperatures peak above 20°C, bringing in Europeans in search of warmth and sunshine. Agadir is Morocco’s favourite getaway, and its long sandy bay is fringed by an endless promenade …
Protruding into the Atlantic at Cap de Mazagan, El Jadida is a port city with an unexpected European Renaissance accent. On the water are the ramparts of a Portuguese fortified city, built in the early 16th century and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can walk these walls and go underground to see …
The Erg Chebbi dunes on the Morocco-Algeria border chime with everyone’s most romantic notion of the Sahara. These ethereal dunes are shades of orange, gold and bronze, and a whole industry has sprouted on their western cusp, allowing you to live like a nomad for a day or two. On expeditions into the desert you’ll …
In the 19th century the walled coastal city of Essaouira was Morocco’s main seaport, connecting trade routes through its Saharan hinterland with the rest of the world. Essaouira had been revived the century before by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah (1710-1790). He set up a large Jewish quarter and commissioned the French engineer, Théodore Cornut to …
Civilisations and dynasties from the Phoenicians to the Merenids have all claimed this place on the estuary of the river Bou Regreg as their home. That complicated heritage is laid at your feet at the Chellah, at the ruins of the Roman city and an Almohad necropolis. The Kasbah of the Udayas is a citadel …
Against the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains, Marrakesh is a timeless city of red sandstone. Storytellers still regale the public on the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and an army of vendors sell their wares on haphazard interweaving alleys, packed tight to keep the sun at bay. Marrakesh went through two periods as an imperial capital, under the …
Morocco’s main port and the largest city in the Maghreb, Casablanca is a multicultural financial centre known more for its modern construction than its history. For one, the Hassan II Mosque is the largest mosque on the continent, and a technical achievement with a retractable roof on its prayer room and a high level of …
There aren’t many countries in the world that boast the same amount of amazing diversity of climates and cultures as Morocco. Though it lies in the north of the African Continent, in many ways, it’s more Middle Eastern than it is African. It’s best known for its amazingly vast, harsh deserts, the fascinating ethnic groups …