HAPPY NEW YEAR

I would like to wish everybody happy new year. I will be back soon with full coverage of new possible adventures in Morocco! Stay tuned and see you soon in Morocco!
Marhaba! Welcome!

NATURE ROCKS IN MOROCCO!

Morocco boasts more than 400 species of birds and birdwatching supporters can find here a fantastic place where to spot migrant bird species.

Our guides can support you if you are interested in birdwatching activities or discovering Moroccan nature.

Do not hesitate to contact us.

EID MUBARAK TO ALL OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES!

Dear friends,
we are approaching the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a very special time for everybody.
We are celebrating Eid Al Fitr in a few hours, spending time with our families and our friends.

In this occasion, we would like to share with everybody our best wishes of prosperity and health for the time being .

aid al fitr is celebrated all around the world.

ESSAOUIRA FESTIVAL GNAOUA AND WORLD MUSIC 14-17 MAY 2015

Travel To Morocco For the Gnaoua (Gnawa) Festival in Essaouira  

The mysterious music of the Gnaouas is celebrated each year  at the Gnaoua Festival in Essaouira.

Gnaoua Festival in Essaouira

Essaouira is an Atlantic seaside resort town and has long been considered as one of the best anchorages of the Moroccan coast.  The Medina of Essaouira (formerly "Mogador") is a UNESCO World Heritage listed city, as an example of a late 18th century fortified town.

The Gnaoua Festival attracts a cosmopolitan audience of 500,000 festival-goers annually and offers a rich program, reaffirming its goal to emphasize the Gnaoua heritage in all its variety and to invite the best world and jazz artists to come and perform in the unique and magical town of Essaouira.

This popular four day festival features art exhibitions and Gnaoua style music. International musicians and groups from Tangier, Marrakesh, and Essaouira perform their Gnaoua sounds at the Place Moulay Hassan and other spaces in the medina and outside its city walls such as Bab Doukkala, Bab Marrakech, Dar Souiri, Chez Kebin, Zaouia Gnaoua, Place Khayma and the Marche Aux Grain.

The festival recently honored the Gnaoua musicians with a new stage, which is dedicated to them at Bab Doukkala, allowing the ardent supporters of the Gnaoua rhythms to meet with the stars, from Hamid El Kasri to Abdelkébir Merchane. This stage was created for 100 % Gnaoua concerts, as well as the traditional lilas in the exceptional Gnaoua Zaouia (trance performances) every evening at midnight for the purists.

World and jazz musicians perform on the new stage Bab Sebaa and The Moulay Hassan stage is kept for the famous groups of very diverse styles. On the smaller stages in the medina, the new generation of maâlems performs, and fans of electronic fusion and contemporary Moroccan music now have two new dedicated areas: the Pepsi stage and the Méditel stage.

The Gnaoua Festival offers 10 concert sites from which everyone can choose according to their taste, 10 different but complementary programs forming the details of a unique puzzle, that of a pioneering and cosmopolitan festival. The quality is excellent as ever.

Each evening is usually broken down into a few parts. In the first part, the Gnaoua musicians perform between six and nine pm.  The favorite of many is when Maâlem (Master) Gnaoua and their bands begin to play, around the eleven pm. The Maâlems have venerable stringed-instrument traditions involving both bowed lutes like the gogo and plucked lutes like the gimbri, also called hajhuj a three-stringed bass instrument.

The hajhouj, a guitar like instrument made of camel's leather. Its strings come from the roots of trees combined with dried, twisted sheep or goat colons. The hajhouj gives Gnaoua music its distinctive bass sounds. Gnaoua hajhuj players use a technique which 19th century American minstrel banjo  instruction manuals identify as "brushless drop-thumb frailing". The "brushless" part means the fingers do not brush several strings at once to make chords. Instead, the thumb drops repeatedly in a hypnotically rhythmic pattern against the freely-vibrating bass string producing a throbbing drone, while the first two or three fingers of the same (right) hand pick out, often percussive patterns in a drum-like, almost telegraphic manner. The Gnawa hajhuj has strong historical and musical links to West African lutes like the Hausa halam, a direct ancestor of the banjo. The Gnawa also use large drums called the ganga or tbel and krakebs large iron castanets in their ritual music.

 The message is usually something spiritual or religious that has the power to heal. At one point in the songs, an instrument making “krakeb” sounds places the audience into a trance as both musicians and the audience begin to sway.

After the Maâlem, between 12am and 2am in the morning, there is a fusion of sounds between the spiritual Gnaoua music and the multi-cultural sounds of non-Gnaoua jazz musicians playing European, American, Rock, and African Blues. The late morning concerts are a fusion between these artists.

Gnaoua music combines music and acrobatic dancing. Gnaoua music is both a prayer and a celebration of life.

music and acrobatic dancing

In a Gnaoua song, similar to American pop music, one phrase or a few lines are repeated consistently regardless of how short or long the song may be; although most are quite long surpassing twenty minutes. In fact, a song may last up to several hours non-stop. To many who are unfamiliar with the Gnaoua, their performances may appear to be one long song when actually they are a series of spiritual chants. 

The Gnaoua Festival of Essaouira has changed the face of the original Gnaoua ritual music by fusing its core spiritual music with similar genres like jazz, blues, reggae and hip-hop. The famous musicians that participate each year exchange and mix their own music with Gnaoua music, creating one of the largest public festivals in Morocco as well as one of the best and most exciting jam sessions.

Do not hesitate to call us if you wish to enjoy music in Essaouira!

EXPO 2015 - MOROCCAN PAVILLION

Morocco will be showing its products and the unique architecture of its Kasbahs at the Expo 2015, which is currently held in Milan, Italy. It is such an interesting opportunity to taste Morocco outside our borders!
May the 23rd is the day for the big show! Stay tuned to read about it!

Obiosly, we are waiting for you here to discover the real Morocco!

Do not forget to drop us a line to discuss your ideas about what you intend to see in Morocco!

Important events in Marrakech: ENGINEERING SYMPOSIUM FOR AFRICA

Marrakech has always been an attractive place.
As I have recently highlighted in my blog, it has become one of the most important places for tourists...
Furthermore, Marrakech is attracting important meetings such as ESA. Our imperial city is a unique place and it has proved to be the ideal location to host such an important event. May the 2ast 2015 has been an important day for Marrakech!
Are you looking for a day trip to Marrakech to get to know the city?
Drop us a line!

SPORT ACTIVITIES IN MOROCCO

I am sure everybody knows the marathon, the fascinating olympic race!
Have you ever heard about a demanding and fascinating marathon held in the desert?

Why don't you think about joining it ? a real challenge...


Meanwhile, You can follow it here...

THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD IS MOROCCAN

Did you know that?
The University of Al-Karaouine is located in Fes.
It was originally a mosque, founded by a lady, Fatima al-Fihri. in 859.

t developed into one of the leading universities for natural sciences. It wasn’t until 1957 that the university added mathematics, physics, chemistry and foreign languages. This university is considered the oldest continuously-operating degree-granting university in the world.

Have a look at this interesting contibution.

and do not forget to call us if you feel like visiting FES!

ROSE FESTIVAL - KELAAT M'GOUNA

Legend has it that pilgrims returning from Mecca first brought the Persian rose to the Dadès Valley in the High Atlas range. Today, mile upon mile of rose hedges surround this small oasis, making the area the rose capital of Morocco. Rosewater is highly prized throughout the country for use in cooking and in perfume, but the distillation process is far from simple. Some 3,000 kilos of rose petals are needed to make a single litre of rosewater, and the total harvest only yields 1,400 litres, making the finished product very expensive. The town is the home of the M’Gouna tribe, and each year they celebrate their harvest with a joyous and fragrant Rose Festival. Dancing and singing continue throughout the night in the souk on the main streets. As rose petals rain down on the procession and dancers, a Rose Queen is elected to reign over the crop.

The town of Kalaat M’Gouna is located to the northeast of Ouarzazate within the province bearing the same name. Why don't you come and visit the area in May?

The festival will be held from May the 7th to May the 10th.

You will be enjoying such a subtle and fascinating scent in the area.

do not forget to contact us for the Rose festival!

Trekking the mountains of Morocco

Morocco boasts some of the world’s most beautiful mountains.
Morocco’s broad range of climates is also a blessing for trekkers. Whichever you choose, trekking is often the highlight of any visit to our beautiful country..

The High Atlas
It is a trekker’s paradise. The High Atlas runs diagonally across Morocco, from the Atlantic coast northeast of Agadir all the way to northern Algeria. Running for almost 1000km, the range includes several summits higher than 4000m. This makes a spectacular setting for walks.

Local inhabitants call the High Atlas 'Idraren Draren' (Mountains of Mountains). The area has long been inhabited by Berbers, whose flat-roofed, earthen villages seem to have grown out of the mountainsides, above terraced gardens and orchards of walnuts and fruit trees.

Western High Atlas
The lower ranges  are generally warmer and greener but can still offer great walking in a magical area where jagged mountains and deep gorges are mixed with considerable forests, fertile valleys of date, almond, olive and walnut trees, and typical and picturesque Berber villages. The terrain may make for gentler trekking, but it still offers some challenges and plenty of rewards.

The gem here is the Tichka plateau, a bewitching area of highland meadows that are particularly delightful in spring, when they are covered in wildflowers.

Central High Atlas
A growing number of trekkers are moving over to the central High Atlas and the M’Goun Massif. The M’Goun offers great scope for trekkers, as it is remote and relatively unexploited. These gorges are some of the highlights of the area and some can be walked and/or waded through.

One of the great pleasures of this walk is the chance to follow one river up to its source, cross the mountain and then follow another river down into its valley.

The landscape is incredibly varied, with lush valleys and bare rock walls. You will also see typical Berber architecture.

The Rif Mountains

The first and lowest of the mountain ranges that ripple south through Morocco, they make perfect trekking country, blessed as they are with magnificent ranges, gorges and valleys, clothed in forests of cedar, cork oak and fir. Being close to the Mediterranean, the Rif are also the greenest of Morocco’s mountains and springtime, with its riot of wildflowers, is one of the most delightful times to walk here. 

The Anti Atlas
The last significant mountains before the Sahara are the arid, pink-and-ochre-coloured chain of the Anti Atlas, and beneath the arid, jagged mass of its two major peaks lie lush irrigated valleys and a string of oases. 

Morocco has a wealth of trekking options and it will be a pleasure to welcome you in my beautiful country.

so... what are you waiting for? why don't you plan your trekking in Morocco with us?

drop us a line!

IMPERIAL CITIES

Summer holidays are on the way!
Sahara Atlas Tours will show you the imperial cities: Fes, Marrakech, Rabat and Meknes.
You may take advantage of our tours... or contact us for a tailor-made solution!
The imperial cities are steeped in history, tradition and architecture and it will be a delight to explore them!
and don't forget to check what our customers say about us!

MARRAKECH IS THE PLACE TO VISIT

According to the popular travel web site, Tripadvisor, Marrakech is the place tourists can't miss!

Have a look at its ranking! Travellers and tourists choose Marrakech as top 2015 destination.

and do not forget to contact us if you plan to fly to Morocco!

HOT TIP! GUIDED TOUR OF FES

HOT TIP! GUIDED TOUR OF FES

Fes was the first of Morocco’s imperial cities, and is one of the best-preserved cities of the medieval world, offering a wealth of cultural heritage and architectural beauty.  This sightseeing tour, led by an official guide, starts with the 14th century Royal Palace and the nearby Mellah, the ancient walled Jewish quarter – the Ibn Danan Synagogue is an international heritage monument.  Beautifully preserved streets lead you to the famous Blue Gate of Fes.  Further sights include the M’nebhi Palace, the 14th century Medersa Bou Inania (one of the holiest places in Morocco), the Rcife souk (market) in the medina, and the famous dye-works.

Tanneries in Fez © martinvarsavsky

You can also visit pottery, mosaic, silver, brassware and weaving workshops, and the picturesque leather tanneries.  Other magnificent heritage sites to visit include the ornate Tomb of Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani (a Sufi saint), the Kairouine University founded in 859 (the oldest university in the world), and the shrine of King Moulay Idriss II, the founder of FES.

MARRAKECH AND ITS HIDDEN JEWELS: NOTHING BETTER

This day-trip takes in some of the hidden jewels of Marrakech, and is perfect for those who love art and gardens.  In the morning, we visit the Musée de la Palmeraie, just outside the city.  This extraordinary foundation combines a series of exquisite gardens, each with their own character, with cool galleries displaying some of the finest contemporary Moroccan art.  The owner is particularly keen to encourage young artists and women artists.  The atmosphere is very peaceful, and you can enjoy tea or coffee in the gardens. We then head to the world-famous Jardin Marjorelle, owned by the French fashion designer, the late Yves St. Laurent, on the outskirts of the city centre.  You can have an excellent lunch or tea and pastries in its walled garden, which is sprayed with fine jets of cooling water when the weather is hot.

The garden contains an extensive collection of cacti and other exotic plants, as well as refreshing pools and waterways. There is also a fascinating museum of Berber heritage and a gallery of paintings by the founder of the garden, French artist Jacques Majorelle. From here, our final visit of the day is to the Saadian Tombs, a very beautiful set of  historic chapels decorated in Moorish style.  A day of calm  ‘oases’ in bustling Marrakech!

Your kids will love it! It is a fantastic break for everybody!
do not hesitate to contact us! You may use our web site or our Tripadvisor link!

TREKKING AROUND IMLIL IN SUMMERTIME!

Imlil is one of the main trekking centres near the Jebl Toubkal, Morocco’s highest mountain.  It’s a remote Berber village surrounded by apple orchards, which are in full blossom in May.  90 minutes from Marrakech, Imlil is cool and quiet, and offers many walking trails with spectacular views of the mountains.  There are many cafés and restaurants where you can have lunch or buy snacks (try local apples and walnuts) for your walk.  On Saturdays you can visit the Berber market at Asni. DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY! This is an excursion for warm, sunny weather – it can be very cold and snowy in winter!

Spiritual and archeological sites in Morocco: MEKNES AND VOLUBILIS

This is a day-long excursion taking you  to Meknes, the former capital city of Morocco, the pilgrimage centre of Moulay Idriss, and the Roman ruins at Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

From Fes, we drive through the vineyards of the plain for around an hour, to reach the Imperial City of Meknes.  You can explore this relaxing city for around three hours – some unmissable sights include Moulay Ismail’s shrine, his stables (for 12,000 horses!), the Place el-Hedim (a pedestrianised square) and the spacious souks (markets).

Moulay Idriss © Adam Jones, Ph.D. – Global Photo Archive

After lunch, we drive 30km to Moulay Idriss, set on a hillside.  This is one of the most important pilgrimage sites and spiritual centres of Morocco, as Moulay Idriss was a great-grandson of the prophet Mohammed who lived in the 8th century.  Although access to the shrine itself is limited, it is worth wending your way through the many little streets that give onto wonderful views of the surrounding valley and the Roman site of Volubilis. From here it is a very short drive to Volubilis, with excellent photo opportunities on the way.  This is the most extensive and well-preserved Roman site in Morocco, famous for its brilliant mosaic floors, and you will be given a guided tour.  It also has wonderful views of the Rif Mountains. We return to Fes in the late afternoon.
Our customers always enjoy this day tour!

LOOKING FOR A QUIET AND INSPIRING PLACE?

OUZOUD WATERFALLS IS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR!

This is the perfect day out to escape the heat and bustle of Marrakech in the foothills of the High Atlas, and enjoy nature at its most lush.  3 hours drive from the city, the beautiful waterfalls of Ouzoud are set amid cool greenery.  Below the falls, you can hike through the gorge below, passing many natural pools in the rocks, with wonderful ever-changing views along the valley and of traditional Berber villages. (The hike includes climbing steps and walking along cliff trails.)  Birdwatchers will find much to interest them here.  You can also see wild Barbary apes in this area, which is being developed as a future nature reserve.  There are many terraced restaurants where you can take lunch or have a cool drink with views of the falls.

DO YOU FANCY THE SEASIDE?

This is a place I love!

Essaouira is a charming white and blue town on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, offering a relaxing day-trip from Marrakech.  All my customers love it! Families, young couples and couples with a young heart want to come back after a stroll along the beach! and a camel ride on the beach is something you can't  miss!

The town is famous for its annual jazz and Gnaoua music festivals.  Its moderate climate all year round makes it a popular destination at any time of year, but especially in the summer.  You can walk around the city ramparts overlooking the sea, and stroll round the little streets of the medina, watching woodworkers, potters and silversmiths in their workshops.

Essaouira fishing boats

Essaouira is particularly famous for its wood products, mainly of them intricately inlaid with different coloured woods.  On the long beach with its golden sands, you can windsurf, or ride horses or camels.  The town has many chic restaurants with excellent cuisine, or you can choose your own fish and seafood at the harbour to be freshly grilled for you.  On the way to Essaouira, look out for goats climbing in the argan trees that grow abundantly in this area – yes, there really are goats up in the trees!

WHAT ABOUT EXPLORING THE HIGH ATLAS?

This is an ideal day out from Marrakech to experience the High Atlas.  

You do not have to plan anything: just drop us a line and you will be picked up from your hotel to head up into the mountains. You will have the chance to travel across the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass (2200m), amid dramatic peaks  capped with snow.

Snow on the High Atlas mountains

It is the right occasion  to drive along the ancient caravan route which used to bring goods from the south of Morocco to Marrakech and the cities of the north. 

Your Instagram Profile will be enriched with a fantastic shot of the Kasbah of Telouet, former stronghold of the famous Glaoui tribe who ruled Morocco in the 19th century.  This impressive fortress has a spectacular interior, decorated with ornate plasterwork, painted wooden panels and ceilings, and beautiful silks.

Dramatic Gorges

I will then show you  a fantastc landscape. mountains, gorges and traditional Berber villages with houses built from the local earth. The afternoon will be spent exploring at your leisure the village of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where many films have been made, from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator.  Set on a hillside, it is the largest and best preserved collection of kasbahs in Morocco. We return to your hotel in Marrakech over the High Atlas mountains, passing many more Berber villages on the way, in the beautiful early evening light.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM MOROCCO