We were scheduled for a late afternoon arrival yesterday in our first of three ports in Morocco, Agadir, but due to winds gusting at nearly 50 knots, we were unable to arrive as scheduled. We circled just outside the harbor entrance waiting for the wind to subside and finally were able to enter the port a little after midnight.
The city of Agadir dates back to the 14th century and has been destroyed several times by earthquakes, the most recent being 1960 when the city was completely leveled. Today Agadir is a thriving modern city filled with European-style cafes and broad boulevards resembling the atmosphere of a Mediterranean resort.
For us and three other couples Agadir is our starting point for what would have been a two- night overland tour, now reduced to one night focusing on Marrakesh and Casablanca. We were met at the pier by our guide Omar who escorted us to our tour van for the three-hour dive to Marrakesh. We were very surprised by the land scape and scenery during our drive from Agadir. After leaving the city we drove into the Atlas Mountains where within an hour we had reached 4,000 feet of elevation — not how I envisioned Morocco. Here are some scenes from our drive.
Upon our arrival in Marrakesh, just before noon, we checked in to the Le Meridien N’Fis Hotel, a Marriott resort hotel, located in the Menara District of the city. We dropped off our bags and headed straight to the old city area of Marrakesh to begin our tour.
Marrakesh is the fourth largest city in Morocco. It is one of four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh-Safi region. The city is a major economic center and home to the nation’s second largest mosque dating back to the 12th century and to palaces and gardens. The medina is a densely packed, walled medieval city dating to the Berber empire, with maze like alleys where thriving souks (marketplaces) sell traditional textiles, pottery and jewelry.
We drove to the gates of the old city and Omar introduced us to our local guide who took us to the Dar Touareg Restaurant for a traditional Moroccan lunch.
After lunch we took a tour of the Bahia Palace, a magnificent palace from the 19th century that features beautiful tilework and typical Moroccan Architecture. The palace was built to house a local sultan, his four wives and harem of official concubines. The palace is comprised of 150 rooms including reception areas, sleeping quarters and courtyards. The complex is sprawled across eight hectares of land. It is a masterpiece of architecture and art, with fine examples of carved stucco, painted zouak or wood ceilings and zellij mosaics.
After our tour of the palace we walked through the maze like Medina Souks (markets) of vibrant stalls lining the winding streets of Marrakech’s old town that sell everything from spices and linens to traditional crafts.
The main square of old town is filled with food stalls, bazaars, snake charmers and other colorful street entertainers.
Our final stop of the day was at the Koutoubia Masque with it’s towing minaret that can be seen from miles away.
Here are some other random pictures from Marrakesh.
Tomorrow, we continue on to Casablanca, Morocco.
“The world is a book and those that don’t travel only read one page.”
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)
Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune 
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