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Markets
There are many qissariat (covered markets). A couple of these are devoted to textiles and carpets, which are noisily auctioned off on Sunday mornings. Okchen Market specialises in fine embroidery. On Rue Najjarine, you’ll pass stalls of babouches (leather slippers) in multicoloured
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Qasr al
The impressive castle dominates the crashing waves of the Atlantic on the rocky waterfront. The fortress was built to enforce Portuguese authority, house the town governor and protect the port. The ramp in the courtyard leads to the southwest bastion with great views. Prisoners wer
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Tamlalt Valley
Eighteen kilometres from Boumalne brings you to extraordinary red rock formations that look like wax, melting right into the green carpet of the palmeraie below Aït Arbi . They’re known locally as Les Doigts de Singes (or ‘Monkey’s Fingers’) given their bizarre wind-worn shapes. A
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Town Beach
The wide town beach has been improved – it’s actually cleanest in the bustling summer. In any case, locals advise that it is still not clean enough for swimming, particularly the section closest to the port. It works well for a seaside stroll, however, and the corniche (beachfront
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Association Gorge du Dadès
Tufted carpets are made at this weaving cooperative, but soft kilim blankets made with undyed, extra-fluffy lambswool are signature pieces. The women are introducing non-chemical dyes made from local walnuts shells (brown), onion skins (yellow) and poppies (black). Items are sold a
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Mehdiya Plage
North along the coast, 50km from Rabat, is another strip of beach lined with holiday homes and beach bars, but here the currents are dangerous for swimmers. It gets busy with day trippers in summer but is deserted for the rest of the year. There are regular trains from Rabat to Ken
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Musée Sources Lalla Mimoun
This rambling private museum encompasses the fizzing, magnesium-rich springs of Lalla Mimouna and is the passion project of Tinejdad native Zaïd Abbou. Artefacts collected over 30 years – including agricultural implements, textiles, pottery, construction tools, calligraphy tablets
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Cooperative Al Ouaha
Seven kinds of date are grown in the Aufous oasis, and you can sample them all here. In the October-to-November season, the women of this cooperative in Aufous will walk you through a date tasting (Dh20), and in the off-season on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, they’ll offer you tast
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Skoura Cultural Centre
An enterprising NGO, showcases local ingenuity at its crafts the centre on the eastern edge of town. Here Skoura residents sell items made with palm fronds, sustainably harvested without harming the trees. For travellers who’ve admired Morocco’s majestic palm groves, these sun hats
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Henna Souk
One of the oldest market places this souk, off Talaa Kebira, has graceful plane trees shading the stalls selling ceramics and traditional cosmetics, including henna. The mohtassib (price-controller), now defunct, had his office here and you can still see his large scales. On one si
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Grande Mosquée
The minaret of the Grande Mosquée (closed to non-Muslims) is studded with jutting wooden sticks. Local legend suggests this is where the souls of the dead congregate. More likely, these were left in place by the masons who built the minaret to help them climb up and replaster. A si
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Moroccan Museum of Money
Housed in the historic Mauresque building of the Bank al-Maghrib, this quirky museum and art gallery is an unexpectedly interesting tour of Moroccan history through its coinage, from the Roman period to today – we especially liked the gloriously colourful notes that introduced the
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Jewish Museum
South of Maarif in the suburb of Oasis is this museum housed beautiful villa surrounded by lush gardens. Its the only Jewish museum in the Islamic world. It relates the history of the once-thriving Jewish community (two thirds of whom live in Casablanca) and its influence on modern
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Mellah
The mellah stretches from here northwest along the river. Although its Jewish population has gone, the district still retains a few distinctive wooden-galleried houses and lanes so narrow two people can only just pass. In its heyday, the mellah was so dark and crowded that street l
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Plaza de España
Several fine examples of the citys heritage are on the Plaza de España, including Nieto’s Casino Militar , whose facade still depicts a republican coat of arms, and the Banco de España .With its central fountain, the Plaza is a pleasant place to sit. At the centre is an art deco mi
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Amezrou
Zagora’s desert-crossroads culture can be glimpsed in the adjacent village (south of downtown Zagora, across the Oued Drâa), where artisans in the historic mellah work good-luck charms from African, Berber, Jewish and Muslim traditions into their designs. In the 1930s, Amezrou had
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Source Bleue de Meski
The origins of the Oued Ziz can be found in Meski, where warm, natural springs bubble to the surface beneath the picturesque ruins of the Ksar Meski . The French Foreign Legion extended the main pool and added steps forming a pleasant swimming pool much used by weekending locals. B
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Merenid Tombs
Further up, these tombs are dramatic in their advanced state of ruin, although little remains of their fine original decoration. The views over Fez are spectacular and well worth the climb. It’s best at dusk as the lights come on and the muezzins’ prayer calls echo around the valle
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Parque Marítimo del Mediterráneo
This creative maritime park is one of several versions developed by the brilliant artist and architect César Manrique of the Canary Islands. He borrowed the city-walls theme to construct a huge pool deck on the sea, including a grand lagoon and two other saltwater pools, surrounded
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Cité Portugaise
El-Jadida’s main sight, the Cité Portugaise (Portuguese city), is a compact maze of twisting streets, surrounded by ochre ramparts. The main entrance is just off Pl Mohammed ben Abdallah and leads into Rue Mohammed Ahchemi Bahbai. Immediately on the left is the Portuguese-built Chu
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