Morocco Jewish Heritage Tour

Welcome to Casablanca where you will be greeted by your driver and transferred to your hotel in the center of the dynamic economic capital of Morocco. Casablanca is home to the largest Jewish community in Morocco and has numerous congregations, active communal institutions, and many highly recommended kosher restaurants. Check-in at the hotel for the overnight with dinner.
Meals: Dinner included.

Today you begin your Jewish tour of Casablanca with a visit to the magnificent Hassan II Mosque, an architectural masterpiece, and a symbol of an Islam open to the world sitting pretty on an outcrop overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. During your guided tour inside the mosque, you will admire the intricate marble work, gilded cedar ceilings, stone and wood carving. We drive to visit the Temple Beth-El, the main Jewish Synagogue, famous for its uniquely beautiful stained-glass windows attracting tourists from around the world. Not just this, but experience the Jewish culture by paying a visit to witness the ethnography in its finest form at the Museum of Moroccan Judaism. Move to the Habous Quarter in the New Medina, a mix of European art deco and Moorish style, pre-dating the French protectorate. You can visit the Temple Em Habanim and the Neve Chalom. After lunch in a Kosher Restaurant, we leave Casablanca to Rabat to visit the unfinished Hassan tower Mosque. Adjoining the tower of Hassan is the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V. We will visit the walled city of Chellah ruins, where Jews are believed to have lived during the time of the Phoenicians. Then we end our visit to the Kasbah Oudaya, situated on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean you’ll find magnificent views. Check in at the hotel for the overnight with dinner.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

After breakfast, we leave Rabat towards the town of Tetouan deemed as a center for Jewish community originating from the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, was for many centuries the intellectual and religious center of the North of Morocco. The city has a well kept Mellah built in the traditional Andalusian style in 1808. The Mellah quarter enjoys the distinction of being the only one that still houses a majority of the resident community, who faithfully maintain their Judeo-Spanish language, traditions and customs. The city’s large and preserved cemetery comprises another historical landmark of great interest, most particularly the Castilian section, the burial ground for the earliest settlers from Spain. In the Mellah are three active Synagogues. Among these, the Synagogue Rabbi Isaac Ben Oualid, on the ground floor of the Rabbi’s home, is the most historic, and its interior the most picturesque, and many legends surround this building. Tetouan is the site of the first Alliance Israelite Universal School, established in 1862 after Morocco regained control of the city from the Spanish. We continue the Jewish heritage tour towards the blue washed town of Chefchaouen for the overnight with dinner at the hotel.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

Today you will explore Chefchaouen, Morocco's enchanting city beneath the striking peaks of the Rif Mountains. Whitewashed homes with red tile roofs line narrow, winding laneways, their walls painted in brilliant shades of blue. Then continue onto the holy city of Ouazzane to visit the sanctuary of a Jewish Saint venerated by both Muslims and Jews Rabbi Amram Ben Diwan. The Hiloulah takes place in Ouezzane and is considered the largest pilgrimage gathering for Moroccan Jews. The Jewish heritage tour continues to Meknes “the Moroccan Versailles” where the Jewish presence is evidenced by Hebraic epitaphs dating from the Christian era as well as Greek inscriptions that still appear in local Synagogues and a place of pilgrimage where the tomb of Rabbi’ David Benmidan, “The Patron of Meknes” is located. After lunch, you will tour Meknes starting from the ornamented gate of Bab Al Mansour to the old and new Mellah to see the past and new life conveyed through the historic Jewish names retained by many of the streets. We leave Meknes towards Fez with a stop at Volubilis, a well-preserved Roman city, where archaeologists found the first traces of Jewish settlement in Morocco. We arrive to the medieval city of Fez for the overnight with dinner at the hotel or Riad.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

Today is devoted to a guided tour of the ancient Fez Medina, a fascinating old religious Morocco’s capital surrounded by nine miles of ramparts, strategically positioned on the old caravan trading crossroads which once connected the Saharan empires with Europe. Start your guided tour from the impressive Royal Palace with its magnificent seven glorious bronze gates. From here you walk to the Mellah with its intense atmosphere and fine Mauro-Hispanic architecture, continue to the nearby Jewish cemetery and the Ibn Danan well-kept synagogue, which testifies the importance of the Jewish community Fez. You will head south to enjoy the panoramic view of the old Medina. The next visit is the ceramics quarter where you learn about the unique local pottery handicraft and see the old kilns. The amazing part is to start your walking tour of the bustling labyrinth of the ancient Fez Medina, visit the colorful tanneries and explore the narrow streets lined with fresh fruit, mounds of spices, intricately woven Berber carpets, beautiful brassware, and Jewish-originated silverware, traditional and modern Jewelry. Visit El-Attarine, El Bou Inania Medersas, and the marvelous Karaouine university-mosque. Stop for lunch at a traditional restaurant in the heart of the medina, nearby the delightful Nejjarine Square famous with its fountain and caravanserai. We end up the sightseeing tour in the blue gate “Bab Boujloud”. You will be back to your hotel for the overnight with breakfast.
Meals: Breakfast included.

Today we leave the imperial city of Fez heading to another part of Morocco crossing the Middle Atlas Mountains. We stop for a short break in Ifrane nicknamed the small Switzerland where is the first ski resort in Morocco. We will be surrounded by amazing sceneries and landscapes of Mountains and plains. A special species of native monkeys living in cedar forest called Maggot monkeys in Azrou. We will have a lunch break in Midelt celebrating the festival of apples every year. There is a big contrast of landscapes especially before we arrive to Errachidia main city named after the prince Moulay Rachid around 1971. Then we drive through Ziz Valley and the gate of the Sahara Arfoud. This town was the major Jewish population center of the Tafilalet, where Jews lived and financed the caravan trade with Sub-Saharan Africa from as early as the eighth century. Jews worked as merchants and artisans as late as the twentieth century. Highlights will include also the Jewish cemetery. We arrive to the Sahara Desert of Merzouga to ride camel or 4x4 Jeep to enjoy a superb sunset in the middle of Erg Chebbi dunes. Spend a celestial overnight with the gleaming stars in a desert camp with dinner.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

After breakfast, we leave the magical dune Erg Chebbi in Merzouga and head towards the old irrigation system that was used in the oasis of Ziz. We continue driving through the arid landscapes to the small town of Tinghir where the fabulous Todra Gorges to enjoy a leisurely walk in and around the canyons and venture up between the high limestone cliffs with their exotic shaped erosions and beautiful green vegetation, Kasbahs ranging in colors from greenish black to dark red and startling lime-white. After lunch, we arrive to Tineghir to visit the gateway and the ancient and colorful Jewish quarter Mellah. This town is believed to have one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Morocco. We leave Tinghir towards the Rose valley where thousands of small, pink Damascene roses are grown and the palm’s grove of Skoura to reach the Hollywood of Africa Ouarzazate for the overnight with dinner at the hotel.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

After breakfast, you will visit one of the world’s largest cinematographic studios of Atlas to learn how the nearby regions and breathtaking Desert landscapes have been portrayed in fiction and non-fiction movies. We drive to Ait Benhaddou village where you will go for a walk to visit this ancient village. An authentic site where a list of movies were filmed starting with the first movies “Lawrence of Arabia”, ”Jesus of Nazareth”, ”Gladiator” and the list is still going on. It is also listed in UNESCO as a site of the world and national culture in 1987. After lunch, we continue the Jewish heritage tour to Marrakech via the scenic landscapes of the Atlas Mountains with an optional excursion to the Rabbi David Oumouchy and to the Jewish saint, David Lachkar or Moulay Ighi. We reach the pink city of Marrakech. Check in at the hotel for the overnight with dinner.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

Day 9: Marrakech Sightseeing Tour
Today you will have a sightseeing tour of Marrakech, a home of a thriving strong community of native Jews, specialized in commerce and handicrafts, famed for their rabbinical schools and scholars. We will visit the Mellah with its synagogues, The Negidim synagogue built at the end of the 19th century, the other synagogue of the is the Salat el Alzama, built at the turn of the century. Then you will see the cemetery where Rabbi Hanania Ha-Cohen, the Lion of Marrakesh and Rabbi Pinhas Cohen are buried. Your guided tour continues on to the 19th Century Bahia Palace, and the 16th-century Ben Youssef Madrasa Islamic School to appreciate the exquisite Zellij, the carved cedar ceilings, and calligraphy. Wander around the labyrinth of narrow alleyways to indulge your senses and explore the colorful bustling souks of Marrakech. Then move next to the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque and the lavishly-decorated 500-year old Saadian Tombs. From here drive to explore the Majorelle Gardens - one of the must-see attractions in Marrakech, famous for its botanical growing plants and trees from around the world. We finish your guided tour in the Djemaâ El Fnaâ Square before heading to the hotel for the overnight with breakfast.
Meals: Breakfast included.

After breakfast, we will leave to the fresh and artistic coastal city of Essaouira as one of the loveliest cities in Morocco and also a multicultural artistic center, which has captivated people like Jimi Hendrix, Orson Welles and the Rolling Stones were drawn to Essaouira’s idyllic charm, which continues today to lure musicians and artists alike to the sparkling whitewashed fishing village trimmed with the brilliant azure of its skies. You will stroll around the Jewish quarter Mellah which covers 10 percent of the town. Jewish stars on the doors to the Mellah show the degree to which Jews were in Essaouira, to the point that some of the richer Jews did not even live in the Mellah. Essaouira’s Medina was built in the 18th century. Nowadays the city is a World Heritage Site protected by UNESCO and is the favorite place for most Moroccan artists and musicians. The city is also the stage of the famous music festival Gnawa, an old spiritual art form of North-African Islamism. Former inhabitants of Essaouira, most of them Jewish, formed a committee to rehabilitate the town. The Jewish cemetery, just outside the city gates, is extremely well-kept. Two historical synagogues should be renovated soon “Slat Rabbi Haïm Pinto and Slat Attias”. Spend the overnight with dinner at the hotel or Riad.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

We leave the coastal city of Essaouira to Casablanca via the picturesque coastal road. There were Jewish communities in the ports of Safi and El Jadida, who were active in commerce and handicrafts. Your journey will stop in Safi to visit the Mellah in the Northern part of the medina, the sanctuary of Oulad Ben Zmirou and the Portuguese fortress. We continue to Oualidia for a fish lunch in a local restaurant with a view over its superb bay. We reach the city of El Jadida to visit the 18th century Portuguese citadel later served as the Jewish quarter. We arrive to the economic capital Casablanca by the evening. Check in at the hotel for the overnight with dinner.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.

Transfer to the Airport to take your flight home with a good an amazing experience and best memories about Jewish Heritage Tour in Morocco.
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* These are sample Jewish Heritage itineraries, customizable for each customer, prices are on request and depend on dates, accommodations level and activities Optional kosher meals can be arranged in Casablanca and Marrakech.