SIGHTS OF MOROCCO


Idyll amid desert plants in the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech THE HASSAN TOWER OF RABAT


The Hassan Tower, a red sandstone minaret in Rabat, rises 144 feet over the city, but it was meant to be nearly twice that high (260 feet) – which in 1195 would have been quite a feat of engineering. Inside there are ramps instead of stairs, so that a muezzin could ride a horse to the top without getting winded. Beside the minaret was to be the largest mosque in the world, the vision of Sultan Yacub al-Mansur, but when the sultan died, the project was left unfinished, and an earthquake in 1755 left only the tower, looming above the foundation of a dream interrupted.


Europeans; his mausoleum is an elaborate shrine accessed through a series of courtyards, leading to a chamber of breathtaking ornamental design. You will also visit Moulay’s palace, Dar el-Ma, and his stables, large enough to house 12,000 horses and designed to water and feed them with an aqueduct and granary. Enjoy a hearty lunch at a local restaurant, then depart Meknes for Casablanca, viewing the classic Bogart-Bergman film on the way. Arrive at your seaside Four Seasons hotel, steeped in modern Moroccan elegance, in late afternoon; dine at the hotel this evening. Meals BLD


THE TANNERIES OF FES


Like an artist’s tray of paints, the huge vats of dyes that decorate the urban landscape around the redolent tanneries of Fes are awe-inspiring, no less than the processes the tanners use to dye and dry leather, virtually unchanged since medieval times, which you’ll see for yourself. The tanners’ tools include water, limestone, pigeon droppings, and their bare feet and hands to knead and dye the leather to its required consistency, which may eventually grace the souks of the medina as exquisite purses and slippers.


6. CASABLANCA & LUNCH AT RICK’S CAFE The majestic Hassan II Mosque is set on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic with a towering minaret, 689 feet high; built in 1993, it is the largest mosque in the country, designed to accommodate 25,000 worshippers inside and another 80,000 on the grounds. (Touring this site, women and men must dress appropriately.) Meet the elaborately red-costumed “watermen” who sell water on the streets of the city. Have lunch at Rick’s Cafe, a re-creation of Humphrey Bogart’s lair in Casablanca, complete with piano bar. Then drive to Marrakech, check into your Four Seasons hotel, and take a tour of the city aboard a horse-drawn carriage. Dine at your leisure at the hotel tonight. Meals BLD


7. MAGICAL MARRAKECH Marrakech is surrounded by imposing stone walls from its medieval days as the wealthy capital of an empire. Within those well-preserved fortifications are palaces of red-hued stone, gardens and palm groves, and a medina of narrow streets and arches packed with fascinating souks and stalls, which have long held a mystical attraction for visitors. Visit the Ben Youssef Madrasa, a theological college founded in the 14th century; and the Jardin Majorelle, the masterpiece of 20th-century French


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