Tour Judaism History In Morocco Hilula

Guide

Services of English-speaking guides in major & tour leader throughout

Transport

Land transportation in chauffeured vehicles

Meals

Breakfast and Dinner Daily

Others

Entrance fees to monuments and museums Hotel tax and service charges

Not included:

Others

Other activities and services not mentioned

Insurance

Insurance is not included

Flights

International flights are not included

Optional

Other activities and services not mentioned

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Day 1 Day 1: Casablanca - Rabat
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Casablanca - Rabat

Upon your arrival at Casablanca airport, you will find your host waiting for you to greet you and then later take you to your hotel in Rabat. You will depart for Rabat, the capital of Morocco. This is a beautiful short drive of about 45 miles through the lash farms and nurseries of flowers and exotic plants. You will reach Rabat. Styled in a spaciously elegant European grid, yet slightly self-conscious of its modernity, Rabat and its twin city Sala Colonia separated by only a river but historically worlds apart, have an ancient legacy spanning hundreds of generations. Each civilization that has inhabited each town has left its mark, resulting in a wide variety of architectural styles, including those from the Phoenician and Roman eras. You will spend your day discovering the delights that Rabat has to offer. Just outside the city walls of Rabat is another walled city, the Chellah, where Jews are believed to have lived during the time of the Phoenicians. Rabat’s Archeological Museum strongly focuses on the Roman town of Volubilis and displays a Jewish lamp found at the site. The unfinished Tour Hassan Mosque is the counterpart of Marrakesh’s Koutoubia Mosque and the Giralda Cathedral in Seville, Spain, all of which were built by the Almohad Dynasty, the twelfth-century persecutors of the Jewish people. Adjoining the Tour Hassan is the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V, which has become a pilgrimage site for Jews, who cannot forget his efforts to defend themselves against the anti-Semitic policies of the French Vichy Government. The nearby mullah has a beautiful synagogue inside its gates, while the main temple is found a few blocks in New City. The Oudaias Kasbah was the home of the Sale pirates, some Portuguese Marranos. The Oudaias Museum displays traditional Moroccan clothing, including a Jewish wedding costume. Rabat’s Jewish cemetery has tombstones with Hebrew, French, and Spanish inscriptions. Important saints include Eliezer de Avila and Chalom Zaoui. A few kilometers North of Rabat, a new Jewish museum has opened near the Plage des Nations.
Day 2 Day 2: Rabat - Volubilis - Meknes - Fez
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Rabat - Volubilis - Meknes - Fez

You will travel to Meknes on an excursion that embodies much of Morocco’s early history. First, you will travel through the Zaer confederation, where fertile and large-scale farms and vineyards are abundant. Then, of course, the Zemmour Berber tribes started at Tifelt of colorful Moroccan hats, a sign of wealth among farming communities. East in the niter land, we will reach the hills of Zemmour, starting at Khemisset, a city now known for its exquisite Kilims. You will proceed to Meknes, a town created in the first place to rival Fez but not quite. It is what Moroccans call the Versailles of Morocco. Meknes is one of the only cities in Morocco where the Mellah does not adjoin the royal palace. It is also the only city where Jews decided to create a new Mellah after the French Protectorate was installed. The European town houses several synagogues as well as a community center. The new Mellah is still the home for some of Meknes’s 200 Jews, and one can visit a beautiful temple, the El Krief, nearby the new cemetery. On the other side of the new Mellah is the old Jewish cemetery. Several saints are found in the two cemeteries, including Haim Messas, David Boussidan, and Raphael Berdugo

North of Meknes is Volubilis, a well-preserved Roman city, where archaeologists found the first traces of Jewish settlement in Morocco. The nearby town of Moulay Idriss contains a mausoleum commemorating the founder of the first Muslim state in Morocco, Idriss I, who oppressed the Jews, forcing many of them to convert. Further North is Ouezzane, a town controlled by a crucial Muslim fraternity that encouraged Jewish traders and agriculturists to live nearby. East of Ouezzane is the village of Azjen, where the tomb of the essential Jewish saint, Amram Ben Diwane, is found. The Lag B’Omer pilgrimages to his grave attract hundreds of Jews from and beyond Morocco. Later in the afternoon, we will cross the hills of Zgotta and continue to Fez, where you will be provided with dinner and accommodations at your hotel.
Day 3 Day 3: Fez
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Fez

Visiting Fez is like traveling back in time. Undeniably fascinating, Fez stimulates the senses with its haunting yet beautiful sounds, visual splendor, and evocative smells. The most ancient of imperial capitals and the complete medieval city of the Islamic world, Fez is reminiscent of a city suspended in time, unfazed by the constantly evolving world outsides its walls, owing nothing to the Western world save electricity. Time spent in Fez will reveal much about the sophistication of the Moroccan artisan, providing an unparalleled learning experience to those who cross its path. Your morning will be spent visiting the Medina.

In contrast with Casablanca’s young Mellah, Fez’s Allah is over 650 years old. This picturesque neighborhood adjoins the royal palace, noted for its recently constructed bright brass doors. Jews took shelter in this palace during the 1912 pogrom. The nearby cemetery contains the tombs of more Jewish saints than any other cemetery in Morocco. One of the more important saints is Lalla Solica, who was killed for refusing to convert to Islam. This woman was born in Tangier in 1817. At 16, she was courted by a Muslim man but refused to marry him. To force her hand, the man went to the caid, the local government official. The man told the caid that Solica could not refuse his offer of marriage because she was no longer Jewish, having converted to Islam of her own free will. When called before the caid, she refused to acknowledge having altered. The Sultan called her to Fez, where she again denied her conversion. As a result, she was condemned to death for apostasy and killed in 1834.

The old city of Fez contains traces of ancient Jewish life, including the home of Maimonides, who lived there from 1159-1165. In the face of a declining population, the Jewish community of Fez is working hard to maintain its community spirit and preserve its heritage and traditions. The Center was created in the early 1980s in a building housing a Talmud Torah synagogue and school. Nearby the community center is Roben Ben Sadoun Synagogue. Built-in the 1920s, it is decorated with exquisite plaster carvings reminiscent of the decoration of traditional mosques and madrasas. It is large by the standards of Morocco, where every wealthy Jewish family desired its synagogue.
Day 4 Day 4: Fez - B’Halil - Sefrou - Fez
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: Fez - B’Halil - Sefrou - Fez

Sefrou, south of Fez, was known as Little Jerusalem due to its high percentage of Jews and well-developed religious life. Upon Morocco’s independence, a rabbi from Sefrou was elected to Parliament. Sefrou’s mellah makes up half of the old city. Jews made up almost half the population. While there were no more than 5000 Jews in Sefrou in 1948, they lived only in the mellah. Most buildings have three stories to cope with the high population density, with balconies facing the street. Sefrou’s main Jewish cemetery is being restored using funds from those who have emigrated. Historic headstones have been mounted within cement monuments. Several monuments commemorate many merchants who died in a truck accident on the road south of the Tafilalet region. Others honor the 21 victims of the flood of 1950. Sefrou has several saints, including Moshe Elbaz, the Masters of the Cave, Eliaho
Day 5 Day 5: Fez - Beni Mellal - Marrakech
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Fez - Beni Mellal - Marrakech

You will spend most of your day en route to Marrakesh, exploring Berber villages and natural sites in the Atlas Mountains. You will arrive in Marrakech, a city of pleasure for visitors and locals, where southern tribespeople and Berber villagers bring their goods to market and find a variety of entertainment. To tourists, the city is a feast for the imagination, full of incomparable beauty, situated before the towering mountains that provide a thrilling backdrop. Dinner and accommodation will be at the hotel
Day 6 Day 6: Marrakech
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Marrakech

Your day will be devoted to discovering the historical sites of Marrakech with your excellent guide—the Marrakesh mellah dates from 1550, as noted on the door to the Jewish cemetery. Unlike the old Muslim city or medina, the mullah has many three-story buildings towering over narrow streets, reflecting the crowded conditions of the many Jews who lived there until the 1960s. Synagogues were once found on every street, but only a few remain in operation. In the middle of the mellah is a building that housed, until recently, a synagogue and a home for the elderly. Another temple is across from the jeweler’s market, where several Jewish goldsmiths still produce pendants of Fatima’s hand, symbolizing good luck to Jews and Muslims. The Marrakesh cemetery is the site of the Jewish saint Hanania Cohen.

In the 1950s, Jewish economic activity spilled from the mullah into the medina, heading toward the Jemaa El Fnaa Square. The Square is Marrakesh’s center of traditional entertainment in the evening, with acrobats, storytellers, and snake charmers performing for thousands of people. Nearby is the Koutoubia mosque, one of the significant architectural triumphs of the Almohads. The eleventh-century Almoravide Koubba el Baroudiyn is one of the few architectural reminders of the dynasty that presided over the Golden Age of the Jews in Spain and Morocco. The Medersa Ben Yusuf, El Badi Palace, and Saadian tombs are beautiful demonstrations of the art and architecture of the 16th-century Saadians, a dynasty that relied heavily on Jewish traders with Sub-Saharan Africa, including Moroccan-controlled Timbuktu, to finance its wars against Portugal and the Turkish empire.

The rural areas surrounding Marrakesh have the heaviest concentration of Jewish saints anywhere in Morocco. Demnate, northeast of Marrakesh, is one of the few rural towns with a well-developed mellah, as well as a cemetery with the saint David Draa Halevy. Nearby, Sidi Rahal has the mausoleum of Jacob Mahmias, called Moul Almay.
Day 7 Day 7: Marrakech - Eurika Valley
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: Marrakech - Eurika Valley

You will begin your day with an excursion to the Ourika Valley, where you will visit the traditional Berber Souks and the Jewish shrines. After lunch, you will discover the workshops of the local artisans, enjoying their sophisticated, hand-made products. Aghbalou in the Ourika Valley, the tomb of Saloman Ben Elhans, is cared for by one of the few remaining Berber Jews in Morocco. Finally, return To Marrakech for a Jewish dinner in a kosher restaurant with local entertainment.
Day 8 Day 8: Marrakech - Essaouira
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Marrakech - Essaouira

You will begin your day by traveling to Essaouira (Mogador), a picturesque city with a rich history. With fascinating antiquity, Essaouira was occupied by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, supplied essential purple dyes to the Romans, absorbed the sophisticated Jewish arts of silversmiths, and spent centuries as a Portuguese enclave. Despite the apparent influence of these civilizations, Essaouira has managed to remain a small, authentic Berber town. Alive with the breath of fresh air provided by the Atlantic, Essaouira is a jewel nestled in the ragged coast, with a vast expanse of empty sands trailing back along the peninsula towards the South. Essaouira Mellah covers over 10 percent of the town, but Jews constituted almost 40 percent of the population in the late 1880s. Jewish stars on the doors to the mellah show how Jews were accepted in Essaouira, to the point that some more affluent Jews did not even live in the mellah. Commemorative plaques indicate the buildings in which synagogues were located. Most of Essaouira’s former inhabitants, most Jewish, formed a committee to rehabilitate the town. King Hassan II’s Economic Advisor, Andre Azoulay, is an essential committee member. The Jewish cemetery, just outside the city gates, is extremely well-kept. After an introductory tour, you will return to your hotel for dinner.
Day 9 Day 9: Essaouira - Safi - Mazagan - Casablanca
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 9: Essaouira - Safi - Mazagan - Casablanca

You will travel to Casablanca, stopping at El Oualidia for a seafood lunch. You will continue to El Jadida, where you will visit the citadel, evidence of the 11th-century Portuguese occupation. Finally, you will arrive in Casablanca, having completed a journey that has led you through immeasurable antiquity. In El Jadida, south of Casablanca, the 18th-century Portuguese citadel later served as the Jewish quarter. It is possible to climb the Bastions, where a star of David can be seen on an abandoned synagogue converted from a Portuguese courthouse. Next to the Portuguese city is a large Jewish cemetery. The tombstones of Jewish translators and employees of foreign consuls demonstrate the Jewish role in 19th-century trade with Europe. The saint Yahia Assouline is buried in this cemetery. You will conclude your day with dinner and spend the night at the Hotel.
Day 10 Day 10: Casablanca
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 10: Casablanca

The Mellah of Casablanca is young by Moroccan standards, not over a century old. It assaults the senses in the evening, with a sea of women in brightly colored djellabahs carrying and selling fruit and vegetables throughout the cramped, narrow streets. While Jews no longer live in the mellah, kosher butchers are found in the old market, next to other butchers selling horse meat. The Jewish cemetery in the mellah is open and quiet, with well-kept white stone markers in French, Hebrew, and Spanish. Once a year, Casablanca Jews celebrate a hill, or prayer festival, at the tomb of the Jewish saint, Eliahou.

The 4500 Casablanca Jews live outside the mellah in the European city, where they worship in over 30 synagogues, eat in kosher restaurants, entertain themselves in community centers, and attend Jewish schools and social service centers. Beth El is the largest synagogue and an important community center, seating 500 persons. Do not miss to visit the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest in the world. The Jewish community contributed to the construction of this mosque, which was inaugurated in 1994. Some Jews annually visit the Muslim shrine of Sidi Belyout, Casablanca’s patron saint. Many Jews of Casablanca celebrate the hill of the saint Yahia Lakhdar in Ben Ahmed, about an hour south of Casablanca near Settat. Some of you can have dinner with a Moroccan Jewish family at home.
Day 11 Day 11: Casablanca - Home
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 11: Casablanca - Home

You will depart for Casablanca Airport in the morning, where you will board your flight back home with a lifetime’s worth of memories packed neatly into your suitcase.

11 days tour

Judaism History In Morocco Hilula

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Itinerary of your trip Judaism History In Morocco Hilula

Day 1: Casablanca - Rabat

Day 2: Rabat - Volubilis - Meknes - Fez

Day 3: Fez

Day 4: Fez - B’Halil - Sefrou - Fez

Day 5: Fez - Beni Mellal - Marrakech

Day 6: Marrakech

Day 7: Marrakech - Eurika Valley

Day 8: Marrakech - Essaouira

Day 9: Essaouira - Safi - Mazagan - Casablanca

Day 10: Casablanca

Day 11: Casablanca - Home

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