Jewels of Jewish Heritage Morocco: One-Week Private Tour | Original Specialists Since 2000

Begin your journey exploring Casablanca's vibrant Jewish heritage. Jews likely arrived in Morocco with Phoenician traders around the 6th century BCE, making this one of the world's oldest continuous Jewish communities.Visit the magnificent Hassan II Mosque for cultural context, then immerse yourself in exclusive Jewish heritage sites including Temple Beth-El, the centerpiece synagogue featuring stained glass creating rainbow mosaics through crystal chandeliers, gilded biblical inscriptions, and embroidered Hebrew scroll mantles. Explore the Ettedgui Synagogue and El Mellah Museum showcasing historic 1920 construction with King Mohammed VI's personal restoration attendance. Visit the Museum of Moroccan Judaism, the Arab world's only Jewish museum with world-class conservation standards housing religious, ethnographic, and artistic collections across 700 square meters.

Conclude with Jewish Mellah exploration of the century-old quarter with kosher markets, trilingual cemetery markers, and annual Saint Eliahou hiloula celebrations.

Explore Morocco's capital featuring the Royal Palace and Hassan Tower overlooking the Wadi Bou Regreg, plus the beautiful Mausoleum of Mohammed V decorated with stained glass windows and white marble. Visit Rabat's Jewish Mellah, former home to many Jewish families with Royal Palace adjacency. Continue to Sale, birthplace of Rabbi Hayyim Ben Moses Attar (1696), author of "Or HaChayyim" commentary revered throughout the Jewish world.

In Meknes, discover the "Moroccan Versailles" with panoramic views of the Islamic Medina, Bab El Mansour gate, and Hedim Square. Explore the Jewish quarter with ancient Hebraic epitaphs from the Christian era and the tomb of Rabbi David Benmidan, "patron of Meknes." Access 1-2 of Meknes' 11 remaining synagogues through our exclusive community relationships, plus visit the local cemetery and former Jewish school. Continue to Roman Volubilis UNESCO World Heritage site with fascinating mosaics and ruins providing historical context for Jewish diaspora patterns.

Experience Fes, among the most renowned cities in medieval Jewish history and former home to influential Talmudic scholars including Rabbi Isaac Alfasi. Explore the 650-year-old Jewish Mellah adjoining the Royal Palace, shelter site during the 1912 pogrom.

Visit the Lazama Synagogue and Jewish cemetery containing more Jewish saints than any cemetery in Morocco, including martyred Solica who was killed for refusing to convert to Islam - her tomb remains a pilgrimage site. Arrange private viewing of Maimonides' 1159-1165 residence, marking his escape from Almohad persecution. Tour the Ibn Danan Synagogue, Morocco's oldest intact synagogue from the 17th century.

Experience Shabbat services when available at active synagogues with kosher restaurant dining. Include Islamic Fes cultural sites including Al-Karaouine University, Zaouia Moulay Idriss II, and traditional medina crafts quarters, providing interfaith context.

Discover why Sefrou earned "Little Jerusalem" designation through this exclusive day trip exploring Morocco's model of religious tolerance. Sefrou maintained a high Jewish population percentage with well-developed religious life, and upon Morocco's independence, a rabbi from Sefrou was elected to Parliament.

Explore the Mellah comprising half of the old city's walled white medina with characteristic Jewish wooden balcony houses. Witness evidence of door-to-door Muslim-Jewish community living and unified religious practice. En route, visit Bhalil cemetery for Jewish burial traditions understanding.

Optional afternoon activities include Fes gardens such as Jnane Sbil, Batha Museum, and Bou Inania Medersa.

Journey south through Morocco's "Little Switzerland" with stops at historically significant Jewish pilgrimage sites. Visit Ifrane, once referred to as the capital of the Jewish Kingdom in Morocco, featuring synagogues and cemeteries serving as pilgrimage epicenter for centuries.

Experience Alpine architecture developed by the French during the protectorate era, complete with European styling and winter ski options. Stop at Zaouia Cheikh Dam, representing modern infrastructure from Hassan II's vision continued by King Mohammed VI. Lunch at Hotel Paris in Beni Mellal featuring regional cuisine.

Explore Marrakech's Jewish heritage within imperial grandeur context. Visit Majorelle Gardens and Berber Museum, Jacques Majorelle's 1886 creation honoring original Moroccan inhabitants. Tour the Yves Saint Laurent Museum spanning 4,000 square meters with Studio KO design and research library.

Discover Marrakech's Jewish Mellah, founded in 1558 by Moulay Abdallah in the Kasbah area where the Jewish community enjoyed autonomy and controlled the sugar trade. Visit Lazama Synagogue in the old medina, active worship space for the current 250-member Jewish community, and Bet-El Synagogue Gueliz, modern community center serving Jews living outside the medina.

Tour Rabbi Hanania Hacohen Cemetery, burial site of the "patron of Marrakech" including Rabbi Mordekhai Ben Attar's tomb. Explore the Saadian Tombs and El Bahia Palace showcasing Eastern Architecture. Conclude with sunset at La Mamounia, where Alfred Hitchcock wrote "The Birds" amid the 200-year-old olive avenue. Shabbat dinner and services at a kosher Sephardic home when available.

Experience coastal Essaouira's remarkable Jewish trading port history with exclusive community access. This seaside artist colony features lovely whitewashed houses with Star of David doorways, established in the eighteenth century by Alaouite Sultan Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah.

At its peak, Jews comprised 40% of Essaouira's population across 30+ historic synagogues. Visit the recently renovated Simon Attias Synagogue (Slat Attia) built in 1882 with original London woodwork, future home of the Haim Zafrani Cultural Center. Explore Byat Dakira (House of Memory), the cultural center preserving Jewish heritage.

Meet Joseph Sebag, the last Jewish resident, sharing Spanish Inquisition family heritage over mint tea at his antique shop. Explore Rabbi Haim Pinto's heritage sites (1748-1845), pilgrimage destination with annual September hiloula celebration.

Visit Essaouira's two Jewish cemeteries including the dramatic sea-adjacent older cemetery and the 18th-century expansion housing the Corcos, Yuly, and Levy family connections. The older cemetery features the unique "Cubist Cemetery" with its geometric white tombs creating striking visual patterns against the ocean backdrop.

Private transfer to Casablanca Mohammed V Airport or Marrakech Menara Airport