Casablanca, Chefchaouen and Fez
Our first morning was spent seeing Casablanca, with the only real attraction being the Hassan II mosque, the third-largest mosque in the world. It was built in 1993 to commemorate the former king's 60th birthday, ad is one of the very few Islamic religious buildings open to non-Muslims. In the afternoon we had quite a long drive to Chefchaouen in the north.
Chefchaouen (meaning 'Look at the Peaks') is a delightful place, set in the Rif mountains. All the houses are painted pale blue, introduced in 1930 by Jewish immigrants, and give everywhere a clean, fresh look. Even the edges of paths are painted, and the main square in the medina is cobbled and surrounded by cafes, where everybody just sits out, watching the world go by, or smoking 'kif'! I love this place!
From Chefchaouen we drove south to Fez, stopping for lunch at Volubilis, the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in Morocco. The most amazing features are the stunning mosaics, which have been left in their original locations
Our stay in Fez was memorable for so many reasons. Finding our Riad (Mabrouka) was our first problem, but when we eventually did get there, wow, what a place! All the rooms had been restored in the traditional style with beautiful mosaic tiles, scupted plasterwork, cedar wood ceilings and various antiques. Being on the edge of the medina, we then decided to explore it before our official tour the following day. What an experience, it was bewildering, but fascinating, and we got totally lost! At no time though, did we ever feel threatened or concerned and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Getting lost and found is a delightful way to explore the old city. The escorted tour the next day took us again into the medina, a self contained city where life moves to centuries-old traditions, an incredible maze of twisting alleys, blind turns and hidden souqs.
