Chefchaouen, Morocco

Chefchaouen is a very small town located in the Rif mountainous region of north Morocco. It is right in midst of Jebel Bouhachem Nature Reserve and Talassemtane National Park. This is what I call a village in a natural environment. The air is fresh, the view is green and fertile, the streets are tranquil and quiet and there is plenty to explore for the trekking lover. Apart from that, Chefchaouen is a charming town with a Berber-Jewish-Spanish-Muslim mix, which you can appreciate in the architecture and coloring of the buildings. It is one of a kind in Morocco, no other village is similar. It will only take a couple of days in your itinerary and it is worth the time. The only down fall is that you have to get there by bus or car. It is not the most accessible place to visit but that comes along with a cleaner, more natural environment, a more authentic experience, and less tourists; you'll have to balance out the pros and cons. Do not connect from Tetouan, the hustling there gets too intense and it is quite uncomfortable; I would advise you to pick some other destination to connect instead (try Asilah or Souk el-Arba du Rhab, I haven't been there but maybe they turn out to be an amazing experience; what I know is that almost no tourists go there, let me know how it went!) Finally, I present to you the 9th and last article of the Moroccan series "Chefchouen, a Hispanic dot in Morocco", where you can read more about this unique little town.

Meknès & Volubilis, Morocco

Meknès is a city located north of Morocco in the junction point that binds the east with the north and south of the country. It is a city that remains much more Moroccan in ambiance than Rabat or Casablanca, which have turned into cosmopolitan cities. Meknès has as its highlight the ethereal beauty and exquisite interior design of Moroccan traditional architecture and Muslim costums, harmoniously brought together in the quiet building that houses Moulay Ismail's Mausoleum. This is such a unique place to visit that it even made the cover of Lonely Planet's guide to Morocco in the edition I travelled with (6th). Meknès has a relaxed city-like atmosphere that allows you to wander the streets freely and almost feel as an anonymous passer-by again -which is a difficult thing to attain in a Muslim developing country where tourists are regarded as a gold mine. It is a good place to accommodate in your schedule between places that are frantic in comparison (i.e. Marrakesh, Tetouan). As almost every Moroccan city, Meknès is divided into its old part or Medina, with its corresponding exotic souqs (markets), and the new part of town called Ville Nouvelle. The latter has one of Morocco's best museums "Dar Jamaï Museum". As usual in this detail oriented culture, the museum's building in itself is quite alluring but it also has interesting exhibits of jewelry, ceramics, rugs, textiles and wood artistry. In addition, the Ville Nouvelle has a big Mosque, which is closed to non-Muslims but fortunately supplemented with a theological college or medersa called Medersa Bou Inania, which does have access to the general public and exemplifies the elegant tile & wood work of Moroccan artists. To top it all up, Meknès has nice french influenced cafés to spend the afternoons in and delicious Moroccan eateries where you can explore the middle-eastern flavors of their rich gastronomy.

You shouldn't leave Meknès without visiting the Roman Ancient Ruins of Volubilis where some beautiful remains have been miraculously preserved. Here is where the unbeknown and undeservedly fame less Roman big coloured mosaics of Volubilis lay. The site is located in the midst of what appears to be very fertile isolated ground. The natural scenery is clean and green, besides exploring the archaeological treasure, you'll enjoy breathing the fresh air that comes from the mountains.

Here is my fifth article of the Moroccan series related to the imperial cit of Meknès and its neighbouring Archaeological Site Volubilis: http://hubpages.com/_1fclx5rkjd1r/hub/Highlights-in-Meknes-Morocco

Marrakesh, Morocco

Now we have come to the renowned exotic city of Marrakesh. This is where you'll experience the whole Moroccan adventure to the extreme: you will admire the traditional Moroccan architecture of the old city; you will be captivated by the sublime beauty of the immense catalogue of Moroccan arts & crafts; you will enjoy the street food culture in the famous square of Djemaa el-Fna; you will enjoy the mint tea specialty at its many cafés; and above all, you will have intense contact with Marrakesh's inhabitants. As a tourist, no matter your ideology or where you come from, you are likely to spend a big amount of time at Marrakesh's famous markets buying all kinds of alluring items, the degree of fun you'll have while doing so depends on your charming skills. We really made the effort to communicate with the locals in a nonchalant way, doing our best to articulate a few words in Moroccan Arabic, making fools of ourselves, just joking around and trying to charm up the people so that they could feel at ease with us; we learned the basic questions, statements and numbers and used them to enhance our bargaining skills. It turned out that this was the perfect attitude to acquire and resulted in very good laughs and enjoyable times. I am sure you have heard about the harassment some people suffer while dealing with traders in Morocco (and specially in Marrakesh), I do not say we didn't sometimes feel very uncomfortable, but everything changed when our attitude toward our different encounters changed, and this interested attitude as a visitor was a good addition to the antidote against negative stuff.

Here is the fourth article of the Moroccan series related to the sophisticated, intriguing, multi layered city of Marrakesh: http://hubpages.com/hub/Marrakesh-a-Most-in-Morocco

Ouarzazate, Morocco

Before heading to the Sahara Desert, our last stop was Ouarzazate, a very traditional Moroccan town located between the humid, red earthen mountainous regions of abundant green vegetation and the more arid palmaries -date palms primarily- which appear before the landscape turns more and more desert like up to the great Sahara. Upon arrival, our first impression of Ouarzazate was one of deserted streets, with one or two faceless masculine passers-by dressed in long black djellabas (flowing men's gown, ankle-long and with a hood); no warm acknowledgments, no women to be seen and a gloomy atmosphere. Luckily, we were wise enough to remain open minded and explore this bizarre town that presented us with some very exotic and interesting moments. We loved the old Moroccan Citadel, the folkloric gang of craftsmen (form Berber to Jewish, all men) and the luxurious yet cheap Hotel Riad Salam in which we rejoiced after staying in a couple of dark, filthy ones in a row (sometimes there is no other option money can buy and, lets face it, accommodation inadequacy is one of the main downfalls of travelling in a developing country).

We had some unforgettable heart-warming meals, both in sophisticated restaurants with elegant upholstery and soothing music (there is a very good one near the Ensemble Artisanal), as well as in humble tin-tabled plain little eateries (it was precisely in one of these that we tried for the

first time the kefta aux oeufs (lamb meatballs with eggs) and fell heels over head in love!

Our final impression: Ouarzazate was a memorable experience full of first-time moments and surprises. It might not be a beautiful town in itself, cause there is no urban aesthetic, but the inhabitants are very interesting, the food is superb and it offers a curious and beautiful array of crafts in addition to the Old Moroccan Citadel, which is practically still alive and a beautiful architectural piece of art.

In addition, getting to Ouarzazate by car allowed us to see the beautiful landscape transition of Morocco's natural richness. Since we were there in December, we even got to see the snowy mountain peaks from afar.

Here is the third article of the Moroccan series related to Ouarzazate: http://hubpages.com/hub/Ouarzazate-Old-Moroccan-Citadels-and-Delicious-Food

Sahara Desert, Morocco

I reckon that the natural wonder that impacted me the most while visiting Morocco is without question the Sahara Desert. It is beautiful, it is intriguing, it is inspiring. The vastness of its great dune sea delighted me on a sensory level and it sort of mystified my soul. Standing there, engulfed by the harmonious yet hostile ecosystem I once again found myself asking "How? How? How?!" It is just so perfect. As William Langewiesche (author of Sahara Unveiled, a Journey Across the Desert) says, today there are very few places as huge and as wild, the Sahara is a difficult place to know. It might make a journey in and of itself, but for those who are travelling through Morocco it is totally worth even that superficial glimpse of its outskirts. Just observing the deep blue sky and the golden brown incredibly fine sand is a pleasure.

Here is the second article of the Moroccan series dedicated to this natural wonder: http://hubpages.com/hub/Sahara-Desert-a-highlight-in-Morocco

Essaouira, Morocco

So the first article from the Moroccan series is Essaouira, a lovely coastal town south of Morocco that has a clear french influence in its architecture but which retains a truly Moroccan flavor, Berberish at its core. http://hubpages.com/hub/ESSAOUIRA-Top-Destination-in-Morocco