2024 - Morocco trip and a cruise

Saturday, April 27, 2024

2024 Morocco Land Tour & Princess Cruise

We went to Morocco for a 10-day land tour with 8 friends from Houston. It was organized by P&D Travel (Europa Holiday). Morocco is the destination we have been checked into a few times. Finally, we made a decision to do this trip with our good friends from Houston, Thanks to Ben Ou’s coordination with P&D Travel. The itinerary is as the following:

2/26/2024 - Travel from Houston to Morocco

2/27/2024 - Arrive Casablanca

2/28/2024 - Visit Casablanca and then visit Rabat

2/29/2024 - Asilah, then Tangier

3/1/2024 - Tetouan then to the blue city Chefchaouen

3/2/2024 - Travel to Fez

3/3/2024 - Travel to Ifrane, then Erfoud, then Merzouga (Sahara Desert campsite)

3/4/2024 - Sahara Desert Sunrise, Todra Gorge and Ouarzazate

3/5/2024 - Altas Movie Studio, Ait Benhaddou, then travel to Marrakech

3/6/2024 - Jardin Majorelle, Bahia Palace, El Base Palace and back to Casablanca

3/7/2024 - Left Morocco and flew to Barcelona, Spain

Morocco Trip Map

After we arrived Barcelona, we did a 1 day self guided tour to see some of the attractions in Barcelona, and then got on Sun Princess for a 10 days Mediterranean and Greek Islands cruise.

3/9/2024 - Barcelona, Spain (Embarked Sun Princess)

3/10/2024 - Dock at Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Self walk touring Palma
3/11/2024 - At Sea

3/12/2024 - Dock at Messina, Sicily, Italy; Self walk touring Messina

3/13/2024 - At Sea

3/14/2024 - Dock at Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Self walk touring Athens

3/15/2024 - Dock at Kusadasi, Turkey; Self walk touring Kusadasi

3/16/2024 - Dock at Chania, Crete, Greece (original itinerary was Santorini, Greece); Joined Princess excursion to visit Rethymnon

3/17/2024 - At Sea

3/18/2024 - Dock at Naples / Capri (Sorrento), Italy; Joined Capri, Anacapri and Blue Grotto Day Trip (operated by Tours of Capri)

3/19/2024 - Dock at Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; De-embarked Sun Princess; Flew back to Houston

Sun Princess Itinerary

Princess changed the scheduled stop at Santorini on the day we embarked. This is the 2nd time in 2 years for us that Princess changed the most favorable port at the last minute (they skipped Lofoten, Norway port in 2023).

Highlight photos from these two trips are:

In the alley of Blue City - Chefchaouen

The Sahara Desert

Ready to ride the camels to see sunrise

On top of sand dune waiting for sunrise

View from Barcelona's Port Cable Car

In front of Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca

The Dome on Sun Princess

On the way to Kusadasi Castle

Ready for the Blue Grotto

Inside the Blue Grotto

Faraglioni in Capri, Italy

Feb 26,2024 - Travel from Houston to Casablanca, Morocco

We took American Airlines flight from Houston to Dallas, then to Madrid, Spain. Then, we changed to Iberia Airlines flight to Casablanca. The Iberia flight was a full flight with no services at all. You have to pay for even soft drinks. The air travel is less glamorous when you travel on some of these foreign airlines, sad….

Feb 27, 2024 - Arriving Casablanca

Casablanca airport was new to us and we witnessed pretty strange procedures for getting out of the terminal. After you go thru custom, got your luggages, they will X-ray your luggage again (right before you get out of the airport lobby). And some travelers just got thru without following the X-ray procedures, and we still don’t understand their process even after we got out. Then we had a hard time finding our tour leader due to crowds just outside the airport. Wendy Wu was our tour leader, and she was very nice and professional. Instead of asking us to wait for other traveling companions for several hours at the airport, she asked the driver to take us to the hotel first.

We had the 1st impression of Casablanca’s traffic, which was crowded and very disorganized. People walking across the street and other cars just squeezed in front of you from all directions. Luckily, we were not the one doing the driving.

Hours later, we met our travel companions (the other 4 couples) and had a very nice dinner in the hotel.

Feb 28, 2024 - Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca and then visit Rabat

Our first stop was visiting Hassan II Mosque in the morning. It is a fine example of pure Moroccan architecture, and it is the only one in the city that non-Muslims may visit. This mosque is famous for its exquisite and intricate Islamic architecture, which is a blend of traditional Moroccan and modern styles. The mosque can accommodate up to 25,000 worshippers at a time. It is the largest mosque in Morocco and the third largest mosque in the world, after Masjid Al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca and Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina.

Hassan II Mosque

Completed in 1993, Hassan II Mosque was designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau and built by Bouygues. The mosque is built on a promontory (a port of a plateau, overlooking lowland) looking out to the Atlantic Ocean. The floor is made from glass, so the ocean below can be viewed and worshippers can pray over the sea. Unfortunately, this wonderful feature is primarily intended for royal use and is not accessible to visitors. The walls are of hand-crafted marble. The roof of the Mosque is retractable so that it can be opened for worshippers to see the stars at night. With the exceptions of the imported white granite columns and glass chandeliers from Murano, near Venice, Nearly all the materials are from Morocco.

The idea to build the Hassan II Mosque was first conceived in 1984. They began building in 1989, and incredibly finished just 6 years later in 1993. Hassan II Mosque boasts electric heated floors for when it gets chilly in winter. As well as possibly the most impressive technical feature, a vast electric sliding roof. The roof opens in just 3 seconds and shuts in only 2 and was installed instead of air conditioning for hotter days when the mosque is full. 1/3 of the Hassan II mosque is actually over the Atlantic sea, a feature inspired by a verse in the Qur’an which says “the throne of God was upon the water”.

The tour guide shown us the Prayer Hall and the Ablution Hall. The Hassan Mosque claims to have the tallest minaret in any mosque in the world. The minaret is also topped with a light that faces east toward Mecca illuminating the path to the most holy of Islamic cities.

Prayer Hall, the Hassan II Bisque

Interior of the Hassan II Mosque

Ablution Hall, Hassan II Mosque

In front of the Mable Fountains Representing Lotus Flowers in the Ablution Hall

Then, we traveled to Rabat which is Morocco’s capital. On the way we stopped by a seafood restaurant near Plateforme du Sémaphore (Semaphore Platform) which is located in Kasbah des Oudaïas right at the end of Rue Jamaa. It is an open place above the river and there is an impressive view over it.

Seafood Restaurant by the Beach

Then, we visited nearby Kasbah od the Udayas located on a hill at the mouth of the Bou Regreg opposite Salé, and adjacent to the Medina quarter of Rabat. It is listed, along with other sites in Rabat, as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The walls of the kasbah and the main Almohad gate

We stopped at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. Mohammed V died in 1961. Construction of his mausoleum was commissioned by Hassan II. The mausoleum stands on an elevated platform at the southeastern corner of the esplanade.

Mausoleum of Mohammed V

Sultan Mohamed V ruled over Morocco for two terms. The first was from the year 1927 to 1953 and again from 1957 to the year 1961. He is remembered and noted for his efforts in the fight for Morocco’s independence. Both his sons, King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah, were buried alongside him. The Mausoleum of Mohamed V is located in the Yacoub Al Mansour Square and stands across from the Hassan Tower, another building that was commission by King Hassan II.

Hassan Tower is the minaret of an incomplete mosque, if completed, would have been the largest in the western Muslim world. The minaret was left standing at a height of 44 meters. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 348 columns being constructed. The tower, along with the remains of the mosque and the modern Mausoleum of Mohammed V, forms an important historical and tourist complex in Rabat. We had free time for photos in the Yacoub Al Mansour Square.

Hassan Tower and Part of It's Columns

After we checked into our hotel, we had a nice dinner at the hotel.

Feb 29, 2024 - Travel to Asilah, then Tangier

Asilah is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Asilah features deserted, quiet beaches and a relaxing atmosphere. The town has Mediterranean-influenced buildings, including whitewashed houses with blue accents on walls and doors. The array of houses decorated with paintings highlights the island's reputation as an artists' hangout place.

Asilah's beach, wall and blue accented houses

Decorated house in Asilah

We saw painted wall by artists and by local students. It was interesting.

Artists printed wall in Asilah

Students printed wall in Asilah

We had lunch at Casa Garcia in Asilah. After lunch we visited the nearby Hercules Caves. Our tour guide tried to take shadow photos for us, however, it did not turn out as expected due to lighting. But the cave is pretty interesting. We got some photos by the ocean.

Shadow photo at Hercules Caves

Hercules Caves

Ocean near the Hercules Caves

Then, we traveled to Cap Spartel near Tangier to view the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. It was a clear day and we did see the coast of Spain from there.

Cap Spartel, the meeting point of Atlantic and Mediterranean

We traveled to the center of Tangier. Afterwards, we checked into the hotel. We had time to kill, so some of us walked down to the nearby beach to enjoy the ocean and beach. On our way back, we stopped for shopping and purchased Argant Oil based on Wendy’s recommendation. Then, we had dinner at the hotel.

At Tangier beach

Mar 1, 2024 - Tetouan then to the blue city Chefchaouen

Tetouan is a city with Hispano-Moorish footmarks. Its Medina is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

At the Square in front of Tetouan's medina (Old Town)

First, we walked to the Michouar's Square and took some photos in front of The Tétouan Archaeological Museum.

Group photo in front of The Tétouan Archaeological Museum

Then, we got more photos outside the fence of the Royal Palace of Tétouan. The Palace is still active as King Mohammed VI has been known to visit during the summer. It is not open to visitors. Then, we walked around the palace to see some of the nearby areas.

In front of Royal Palace of Tétouan

Later, we drove to Chefchaouen which is a city in the Rif Mountains of northwest Morocco. It’s known for the striking, blue-washed buildings of its old town. The most popular theory of the blue city is that after WWII, when the Jewish community in the area grew as people fled Nazi persecution, blue was painted on the walls, floors and steps as a religiousthe practice, to represent the color of the sky and connect the city to heaven and God.

Due to the number of tourists in the Chefchaouen Old Medina, they restrict the number of cars driving up to the Old Medina, therefore, we had to get off the van and walked up the hill to our hotel. It was uphill but easy walk. The hotel did send a car to pick up our luggages. The Old Medina is restricted to foot traffic only.

After we checked into the Hôtel Parador, Wendy led us to wandering around in Old Medina. First we got to the Plaza Uta el-Hamman which is full of restaurants and they all have staff peddling customers with their menus. Most of them knew few Chinese sentences and kept trying to apply them to us. It felt like that we walked into a tourist trap. However, Wendy managed to guide us around without too much unpleasant experiences. We had many opportunities to take photos in front of the blue building and in the blue alley. It was very interesting.

Interesting shop with blue color decorations

Kodak moment in the blue alley

Blue color decorated fruit stand

Then, Wendy gave us free time to do shopping. Quite a few of us bought local Moroccan jackets.

Shopping Alley in Tétouan

Then, we had our dinner at Restaurant Morisco on the Plaza Uta el-Hamman.

Mar 2, 2024 - Travel to Fez

After we got up in the morning, we followed Wendy’s recommendation to wandering around the Old Medina by ourselves for more photos. Since it was in the early morning, we were able to take many nice photos with blue surrounding without other tourists.

Chefchaouen (from the window of Hôtel Parador)

Alley in Chefchaouen

Then, we have to walk downhill and out of the Old Medina to meet our driver at the parking lot. It was again a pleasant walk with fresh air in the morning and with blue color surroundings. Just nice!

Blue City with blue sky

On our way leaving Chefchaouen, we stoped just outside of the town at a high spot for photo opportunities.

Chefchaouen

Then, we were on our way to Fez which is primarily known for its Fez El Bali walled Medina, with medieval Marinid architecture, vibrant bazaar and old-world atmosphere. The Medina is home to religious schools such as the 14th-century Bou Inania and Al Attarine, both decorated with elaborate cedar carvings and ornate tile work.

After we arrived Fez, we went to Jinding Chinese Restaurant first. We were surprised by such good tasting Chinese food. After lunch, we visited Great Mosque of Fes el-Jdid for photos in the square in front of it.

Great Mosque of Fes el-Jdid

Then, we went to a hill top to view the whole Medina from the top.

View of the Fez El Bali walled Medina from nearby hilltop

Medina is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wendy told us that even she can not lead us and walk through this ancient maze-like quarters of the Medina. The local guide took us wondering through narrow alleys and did not give us much time to visit the stores along the way. Until he led us to the leather tanneries, he gave us brief descriptions of the tanneries, then he tried to help the shop to sell their leather goods. I believe he was focused on making sell for kickback from the merchant. He also mis-guided us by letting us stay longer for more sells; and it got Wendy extremely mad.

Shopping Alley in Fez El Bali walled Medina

Then, we briefly got out of the bazaar and checked into Hôtel Palais Medina & SPA Fès.

Our dinner was at Palais la Medina with traditional Moroccan food and dance. It was fun however, a little too tourist-like.

Dinner at Palais la Medina