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 Itinerary for
MOROCCO TOUR
Page #3
For more information please read the tour hand book
Day 07 Sunday ,overnght @ Sahara Desert
Our
second day at the Sahara was strongly suggested by our previous
tour members. This will be an excellent relaxing day and it will
be great for those who are looking for more free time on their
own. We will start the day at 09:00 for a visit at a Touarag
family’s excellent collection of desert hand craft, we will
see the demonstration of hand woven carpets of Morocco, wood
carvings, j ewelry and hard to name many objects which made life
in the desert easy and aesthetic. . On the streets of Morocco
every where you can find excellent examples of tapestry, carpets
and kilims. But it seems like, this family and their shop looks
like the first one I have found where we can get good
ethnographic description on the hand crafts we see in Morocco. I
will recommend you not to get too excited about shopping here. The
souks has a lot of similar items but the advantage here they
accept credit card and we want to hear some information. Please
check the comments on this place from the tour members on the
previous tours.
Our
next stop will be a visit the Local Souque (Market)of Er
Rissani . The Local people come with their donkeys,
from all around Sahara. At the donkey parking lot there are
hundreds of donkeys happily parked, making new friends while
waiting for their owners. After 1 hour on your own for the
pleasure of your eyes and for the utmost cultural experience, we
will return to our Hotel in the desert. Lunch at the hotel. A
nice bath at the Turkish Bath or a refreshing swim at the
beautiful pool might be a good way of spending the afternoon. If
any body wants to get on a camel and go back to the sand dunes
the camel drivers will be more than happy to assist you in this
adventure. Dinner will be at the Hotel Timbacktou.
Day 08
Monday Merzouga, Er Risanni, Erfoud, Tinghir , overnight @ Ouarzazate
 After
breakfast we will leave the fascinating Sahara sand dunes behind.
We will
drive
towards Ouarzazate passing by beautiful
Tuareg and Barber villages, Gorges Tudra and old
Kasbahs De
Glowi which can
not be
lived in anymore, rose gardens and panoramic views of
the villages and smaller kasbahs. We will arrive at Quarzazete at around
07:00 PM
Overnight and dinner at Hotel Kenzi Azghor. The most difficult thing to
do in
Morocco is to take pictures of the women. Here on this
page you
can see the pictures of very few
women who had allowed
MELITOUR to take their
pictures
Day 09 Tuesday Overnght @ Touredent
We will leave at
09:30 this morning. In Quarzazette, our local guide will take us for a
visit an 18th Century
, air condition and telephone systemic, 110 room kasbah (the
administrative center) which once belonged to
a pasha (high officer in the
army). This Kasbah will be a great way to understand how rich man
"used" to live in Morocco. We will continue to Ait Benhaddou,
it is one of the oldest and well preserved Kasbahs in the whole Atlas
region. It hosted seen in more than 20 Movies such as
Indiana Jones, Asterix & Oburix, Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth
and The Gladiator. All the local people played a role in the
 Movie "The Gladiator" , the big arena which the fights took place in
the movie was set right in the middle of this Kasbah and all the shop
owners proudly uses the pictures from the gladiator to attract
customers in their shops. It takes bout 25 minutes hike to reach top
of the Kasbah for a magnificent view of the stone desert and
panoramic view. If you choose not to walk up - easy walk, there is a
quiet little coffee house and few shops to entertain you. We will take
our lunch at this village. After lunch we will pass, many small villages, primary
school and Natural saffron shops, during our 5 hour bus ride to Touredent.
Dinner and Overnight at Hotel Palais Salam.
www.groupesalam.com
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Washing day for the carpets |
The Air conditioning system of the Caspa |
Day 10 Wednesday Touredent, Agadir, Essaouira
 We do not need to rush out of the
hotel this morning. The garden is so beautiful. You might want to swim
in the pool which is surrounded with wonderful vegetation. You can sip
your coffee by the waterfall fountain leaning its back to the ancient
city wall. We will leave at 10:30 AM, for Agadir. After
the earthquake in 1960 where thousands of people had died, the city
was flattened completely and was re built leaving no remnant of the
old city. The tourist industry from Europe had used up almost all of
the shore line, making the miles of great sea shore look like "Costa
del Sole" of Spain. So we will quickly get out of this city and
immerse our selves once again to the real face of Morocco. The
lunch will be at a wonderful fish restaurant in town.. The afternoon
ride will be on a narrow, winding road which is surrounded
 with
trees where goats climb to the top ,to eat the last fruit on the
farthest branch.
We will arrive at
Essaouira
in the Late afternoon.
After we check in our wonderful hotel, we will have a walk in the
Medina of the city to orient you
to what is where so the next day you
can be on your own to explore this wonderful town on the Atlantic
ocean. Dinner will be on your own
Overnight at Hotel Des IlLLES.
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Day 11 Thursday Overnight @ Essaouira
 We
found Essaouira so beautiful that we wanted to spend 2 days at this
wonderful sea port town.
Essaouira
was established by the Portuguese as a harbor for slave trade in the
16th century, The fortified city is the only reminder of the grim
past of the city. Of all the Moroccan sites, this is the most
cheerful one. The wonderful beach that stretches along the city is a
haven for the sea gulls and camels, not to mention the para-gliders,
and the fishermen chasing crab. The fisherman's marina is lined with
blue painted boats . One wonder why they might have chosen the color
of the ocean to paint these boats. Could they be hiding in the ocean
once they
rowed their boats out of the harbor?? The square of the city is lined with many little fish
restaurants. We will have the tour members be on their own for
 their
lunch to day so they can choose what delicious food they might
want. Your choices can be shrimp, crab, various unusual fish
just caught in the ocean. The market has some very interesting
shops.
For those who have had of shopping, a walk on the beach,
walking through the narrow streets , or having a quiet time at
one of the lovely side walk cafés can be a wonderful place to
catch up with your journals or post cards. Lunch and dinner on
your own. Overnight at
Hotel Des Illes.
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Day 12 Friday ssaouira,
overnight @ Marakesh
We will leave the town in the afternoon for a 3 hour bus ride to Marakesh.
On the way to Marrakesh, a few piece of land which can be cultivated
is being plowed by camels and donkeys as they must have done for
thousands of years. Along the way, there is a cooperative established by women and
supported by UN Women programmes. We will see how Argan oil is being
processed and every thing that can be produced with argan oil -
creams, soaps etc.
At Marakesh we will stay at
Hotel El Andalous. Dinner is not included to night. You will
have free time at the legendary Marakesh Town Circle. Hundreds of food stands to choose from if you can find time from
taking pictures of the night life going around you. Snakes,
monkeys, color and sound every where. You can even get hand or face
tattoo, sneak into the souk or watch the crowd while sipping your
coffee or mint tea. |
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Day 13 Saturday overnight @ Marakesh
 We
will start the day at 09:00 with site seeing of the palaces of
Marrakesh. The city looks like it has been painted with the
color of the sun that was diluted with the color of the rose
water .The palaces were built to secure the tons of gold
that was brought to Marrakesh on the caravan roads .While the rulers enjoyed the wealth,
the common man could only enjoy the activity in the town square
brought by the men and woman on the caravans. Today at the town
center, we can still see the remnants of the medieval entertainment:
The musicians, the snake dancers, the monkeys, fortune tellers, the
tight rope walkers congregate in the middle of the town and
perform their best for
a pennies of bahshish in a hat. Before we go to the souk
which is a world of its own, we will visit 2 small museums. Then you
will be on your own. Lunch will be on your own. You can
spend the all afternoon wondering in the streets of Marrakesh souk.
You will probably want to do this on your own. But if you need the
assistance of the guide, he will be there for you.
Tonight, we will have dinner at Ca local restaurant with nice
authentic music.
Overnight at
Hotel El Andalous.
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Day 14 Sunday Marrakesh
After breakfast, transfer
to the air port. Tour is over.
You can take our 3 day cooking class : info below
You can fly out of Marakesh Casablanca ( not included in the tour)
Melitour can arrange your train transportaton and necessary transfers
/hotel stay in Casablanca ( not included in the tour)
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AFTER THE TOUR OPTION
MANY PEOPLE ENJOYED MOROCCAN FOOD SO MUCH
THAT THEY HAVE
REQUESTED TO HAVE MOROCCAN COOKING CLASSES.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE
CHECk
THE TOUR HAND
BOOOK |
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The price of the tour
Minimum people in the group will be 10 - Maximum number of people will
be 14
US$ 3,680.- Per person in a double room
min. 14 people in the group
US$ 3,900.-
Per person in a double room min 10 people in the group
US$ 670.-
Single room supplement
The
price includes
4-5 star Hotels for 13 Nights ( Choice of tent for
one-two night in Sahara)
34 meals (11 Lunchs, 10 Dinners,13 breakfasts
)
One big bottle of water a day on the bus
Transfers on arrival and on departure
even if you arrive early or depart late
Moroccan Guide through out the tour
Local guides where necessary
Land Rovers to go to the desert
Camel ride
Tips to
the local guides
Tip at the restaurants
Tips at the hotels
Tip to the camel- men
All the entrance fees to the sites mentioned in the
itinerary
All land transportation by bus
The price does
not include
-
International Flight
-
Transfer on arrival incase there is an un announced flight change
( please check the FAQ)
-
Drinks ( Melitour will get you one big bottle
of water every day but the drinks at the meals will not be
included)* suggested by tour members.
-
2 dinners and 1 Lunch in Essaouira
-
1 dinner and 1 lunch in Marrakesh
-
Tips for the driver and the guide (
please check FAQ)
For more information please read the tour hand book |
