- The new Mazagan

With its fortified walls facing the ocean, the old Portuguese city has today become a charming seaside resort. Old stone and beautiful beaches are on the agenda.

The old Portuguese city

Listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, the former Mazagan became El Jadida (the New City) in 1815. The Portuguese built the fortified city, which originally had five bastions. Today, only four remain. You can reach them by taking a perfectly preserved path around the battlements. The Bastion of the Angel provides a good view of the town, the port and the sea. The Saint-Sébastien bastion has a crude chapel from the Inquisition. A ramp allows you to go down to the Porte de la Mer. This slope going down to the water was used to escape by the Portuguese in 1769. By going back up on the main street you can access the Portuguese cistern. Forgotten in the past, it was rediscovered by chance in 1916. A shaft of light lights up the center of this underground chamber supported by five rows of columns. A beautiful setting where films such as Othello by Orson Welles and Harem by Arthur Joffé were shot. By continuing the walk you will come across the church of the Assumption opposite a mosque with a unique minaret. It is probably the only pentagonal one in the world.

The surrounding area

In addition to the attractive, pleasant and safe beaches on the coast to the south and north of El Jadida, 17km from Azemmour there is the former capital of the Doukkala region, located at the mouth of the Oum Errabia river, which is renowned for its succulent shad (cousin of the sardine). You can take a pleasant walk along the old streets of the medina.

- Dakhla!!

On the Atlantic coast, in the south, there is a magical bay. Between dunes and waves, live in harmony with a nature which is full of secrets.

An idyllic back-drop

Dakhla was founded in 1884 at the mouth of the Rio de Oro by the Spanish. At the time it was called Villa Cisneros. This small fishing port is on the edge of a magnificent lagoon with turquoise waters. As well as welcoming thousands of migratory birds including colonies of pink flamingoes, the bay is home to the largest population in the world of monk seals. Its waters are also frequently visited by skate and hump-backed dolphins. The impressive Punta Sarga, at the southern extremity of the peninsula, is the recommended site for watching them.

Interesting pastimes

Considered by surfing champions as one of the most beautiful spots in the world, this is the ideal place for all board sports on water… as well as on the sand dunes! To feel as though you are communing with nature, it is possible to sleep in khaïmats tents (traditional communal accommodation in the desert) as part of a surf camp. A shower in 38°C sulfurous water from the thermal spring at Asmaa must be tried: it is reputed to be excellent for the skin, breathing difficulties and the bones. The Rio de Oro lagoon is also one of the most fish-rich places in the world. The star of the lagoon is the meager (Argyrosomus regius). By surf casting, meaning fishing right at the water's edge, it is possible to catch fish up to 2m long and weighing up to 80kg.

- Essaouira the city of wind

Essaouira is a hidden Morocco. The ramparts, the port, the dance of the cawing seagulls, the immense beach, the perfume of the sea air…

Nautical atmosphere

Thanks to the ocean breeze, Essaouira benefits from cool air. At the end of the morning, don't miss the colourful and lively spectacle of the return of the boats to the port, with their baskets full of fish. Grant yourself a rare pleasure: try the grilled sardines or taste a small lobster in the port. Their freshness is incomparable and the atmosphere forever engraved in your memory… Then, return to town through the Bab El Marsa gate.

Bustling and well-protected medina

The Sqala of the Kasbash, the artillery platform on the ramparts, offers from its north bastion an incomparable view across the medina, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, over the port's Sqala and out over the ocean. Leave the old European canons and walk towards the casemates that lead to the street. Some of the Kingdom's most famous marquetry craftsmen and cabinet makers have founded their workshops there. They work on the wood of the sandarac tree and are deserving of your visit: their work is of a rare intricacy. You will easily find the object that will eternally symbolise Essaouira, once you return home. In the Moulay El Hassan square, you can enjoy the numerous and lively café terraces and restaurants.

Mystical fraternity and exotic experience

The Gnaoua, descendents of African slaves, practice trance and faith healing whilst playing a syncopated music accompanied by singing and dancing. Essaouira has been host for over ten years to a very popular festival, which takes place at the start of summer, and which promotes Gnaoua music whilst giving a wide opening to world music, jazz and blues.

Immense fine sand beach

Essaouira's beach is a long ribbon of around ten kilometres bathed in surf. Its sheer size is surprising and its tranquillity is reassuring. There is an invigorating sensation from the ocean breeze as soon as you set foot on the immaculate sand.

- Chefchaouen THE Beautiful blue

Blue lime-washed houses, busy squares, steep alleyways, the best way to discover this holy town is to wander around it taking in the atmosphere

The old town

Cut into the sides of two mountains, Chefchaouen is a city with blue and white lime-washed houses. A powerful charm that you really can feel in the Outa-el-Hammam square, in the cobblestone medina. Sat on the terrace of a cafe, you can enjoy the attractive view of the grand Tarik-Ben-Ziad mosque whose octagonal minaret is inspired by that of the Torre de Oro in Seville. This Andalousian architecture can be found in the kasbah and its gardens, at the center of the medina. Its walls and its 11 crenellated towers, of which one used to be a dungeon, house an interesting ethnographic museum.

A lively culture

In the small museum in the kasbah can be found collections of embroideries and colored and varied pieces of clothing like those worn by the region's women. The famous djellaba, this long and ample garment worn by the men and women of North Africa, was created here. The welcome and great hospitality provided by its inhabitants can be experienced during a visit to a traditional oil mill (there are more than 1500 of them) or a craftsman's workshop. Over and above its weaving, Chefchaouen is renowned for its basket-making and its pottery. Furthermore, you can take part in an introduction to pottery workshop in the pottery at Ghzaoua, and go away with your own berradas (water jugs) or a more simple goulla (jar). On the whole, the pottery of the Rif region is fairly plain. Black or red paint is applied directly onto the terracotta. The walk continues as far as Rif Sebbarim, the wash house district, to the square on which there is a mosque dating from the 15^th century. A visit to the agadirs or the region's fortified communal attics is also a must. Finally, leaving the town without having first tried its goat's milk cottage cheese from the mountains is out of the question. It is perhaps the best in Morocco..

( Inside the Chefchaouen museum)

- Casablanca

Origins

The Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah decided, in the middle of the 18^th century, to rebuild ancient Anfa (the hill), a small Berber 7^th century town, from its ruins. The ancient medina, still partially enclosed by ramparts, became the first district of Casablanca. You will find an atmosphere of traditions and a thousand small crafts and trades in the maze of alleys and workshops.

The thirties

The other facet of the town appeared during the first half of the 20^th century. Casablanca became the showcase of Art Deco architecture. The outlying districts are connected to and organized around the Place de France and the Place Administrative, now respectively United Nations Place and Mohammed V Place. The Habous area, situated 3km away from the city centre, is unique in Morocco: a new medina entirely designed according to the traditional model. Initially, it was intended for the rural population coming to work in Casablanca. It shows tradition's capacity to adapt perfectly to the constraints of the modern world.

- The beautiful Morocco

Morocco- the very name conjures up the romance of "Casablanca", the high Atlas Mountains and beyond to the empty skies of the Great Sahara Desert.
Whether you decide to enjoy its hot summer sunshine or it’s balmy winter days, Morocco will captivate you with a wealth of things to see and do. In Marrakesh, beautiful gardens and the famous souks, with the ceaseless activity of Djemaa El Fna Square; In Agadir, you will find miles of fine sandy beaches. Join one of our tours and you will discover a kingdom unmatched for historical splendour, legendary hospitality and a variety of beautiful landscape seldom seen in one country.


With hotels from the simple to the magnificent, turquoise pools, golden beaches, a Moroccan holiday is as full of value as it is sunshine.

And yet Morocco can be so much more than a fast tanning holiday bargain, It can be adventure, a journey of discovery, and above all, great fun.
Step into an ancient walled market, and surround yourself with the vibrance of a life-style virtually unchanged for the past 900 years.
Or venture off the beaten track into deep mountain gorges, carved from weathered rocks by babbling meltwater, and your every adjective fails to capture the majesty.
And when you see the iridescent colours of dawn burning dew from Saharan sand dunes, Morocco reveals itself as an enigmatic chameleon.
To the north, light Mediterranean sands look to Spain, whilst the seemingly endless Atlantic beaches are a glorious yellow. From rolling moorlands facing snow capped mountains, to tracts of sunburnt desert speckled by emerald oasis and ochre red villages, the landscape changes with everym mile.
Yet though the land alters shad, all is unmistakably Moroccan. From the ever smiling Berbers of the Atlas, to the power dressed members of Casablanca society, Morocco is a proud whole, and it’s a land they love to show off.

By all means come to Morocco for a quality beach holiday at an affordable price, but before you settle on a sun lounger, how about making this a holiday you’ll really remember?
Whether you fancy the Sahara by land Rover or camel, trekking in the Atlas mountains; or gently touring the magnificent Imperial cities-somewhere in this brochure, there’s your very own Moroccan adventure waiting to be discovered.
http://www.visit-morocco.org/