Moroccan Jewish Odyssey

Next explore Casablanca's Historic Synagogues, Temple Beth-El, Temple Em Habanim and Temple Neve Shalom. Casablanca is home historically to over 17 Synagogues.

Discover one of Casablanca's most popular synagogues Temple Beth-El. Beth-El, is considered the centerpiece of a once vibrant Jewish community. Its stained glass windows in the style of Marc Chagall and other artistic elements, is what attracts travelers to this synagogue. Sunlight, tinted by stained glass, bounces off a gigantic crystal chandelier at Temple Beth-El creating thousands of shimmering rainbow mosaics on every surface. The ark, the most important thing in the synagogue, houses the Hebrew scrolls and these are dressed in exquisitely embroidered velvet mantles. The walls are inscribed with gilded quotes from the Bible and the ceiling is equally decorative. 

Explore the Jewish Mellah with its historic synagogues such as Temple Bet-El, Em Habanim and Temple Neve Shalom. Enter Temple Em Habanim and the magnificently restore Temple Neve Chalom which has a small, intimate gallery featuring synagogue lamps and photographs. 

Visit the Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca. The Jewish Museum in Casablanca covers an area of 700 square meters, is the first of its kind in the Arab world. The Museum of Moroccan Judaism of Casablanca is a museum of history and ethnography, created by the Jewish Community of Casablanca in 1997 with the support of the Foundation of Jewish-Moroccan Cultural Heritage. The Jewish Museum in Casablanca is tucked into a residential neighborhood and holds a treasure trove with it being the Arab region’s only Jewish Museum. It uses world-class standards of conservation for its national and international collections. The Museum of Moroccan Judaism presents religious, ethnographic and artistic objects that demonstrate the history, religion, traditions and daily life of Jews in the context of Moroccan civilization.

The mellah of Casablanca is young by Moroccan standards, not much more than a century old. It assaults the senses in the evening, with a sea of women in brightly colored djellabas 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 horsemeat. The Jewish cemetery in the mellah is open and quiet, with well-kept white stone markers in French, Hebrew and Spanish. Once a year, Casablancans celebrate a hiloula, or prayer festival, at the tomb of the Jewish saint, Eliahou.

The Jewish cemetery in the mellah is open and quiet, with well-kept white stone markers in French, Hebrew and Spanish. Once a year, Casablancans celebrate a hiloula, or prayer festival, at the tomb of the Jewish saint, Eliahou.

The 4,500 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.

Visit the Royal Palace, the Hassan tower which stands on the hill overlooking the Wadi Bou Regreg. It is a gigantic mosque, emblematic of Rabat and famous for its unfinished minaret where storks nest. Next door, visit the beautiful Mausoleum of Mohammed V decorated with stained glass windows, white marble and a wrought-iron entryway with a stairway leading to an impressive dome. Visit the Jewish Mellah which today is now the home of very few Jewish families. 

Explore the gardens nearby and visit the Palace of Rabat and visit the Necropolis at Chellah/ Kasbah of Chellah and Kasbah Oudaya. Option to visit the seaside community in Sale, which is the birthplace of Rabbi Hayyim Ben Moses Attar. Attar was an 18th Century Kabbalist born in Morocco in 1696 and known throughout the Jewish world for his Bible commentary with mystical content.

Next take the road for a Guided Jewish Heritage Tour of Imperial City of Meknes, "the Moroccan Versailles" and the Roman Ruins of Volubilis "Walili."

Start out with a Panoramic View of Meknes which offers a splendid look at the old Islamic Medina with its numerous tall and soaring minarets. Other sites explored include Bab El Mansour, the Meknes Stables, Hedim Square, the Thursday Gate and mosque of Moulay Ismail. 

Visit the Jewish Quarter on arrival in Meknes. Explore the Jewish Mellah, with its narrow lanes and colorful courtyards. The presence of Jewish history is evident in the Hebraic epitaphs that date back to the Christian era. These epitaphs along with Greek inscriptions can be seen on the Meknes Jewish zaouia, a place of pilgrimage where the tomb of Rabbi David Benmidan still resides. 

Continue to the Roman City of Volubilis. Begin your visit by discovering the fascinating Roman ruins adorned with beautiful mosaics and colorful tiles depicting Roman mythology. The ruins are spread out across several acres and what remain visible are several fragments of wall, parts of massive columns, the capitol, the basilica and a triumphal arch. The ruins reveal how the Roman Empire transformed the original Carthaginian settlement into a typical Roman city complete with mansions, a town center, a triumphal arc and temples devoted to the Roman gods.  Commence your visit in Volubilis, and then take the road to Fes.

Overnight at a Boutique Hotel or Riad in Fes.

Fes (referred to as Fes El Bali) is among the best known cities in medieval Jewish history. It was once the home of one of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi, the most influential Talmudic scholars of all times. Founded by Moulay Idriss in the eighth century, Fes is the leading spiritual center and the former artistic, intellectual capital in Morocco. Well respected for its historic significance and its former Jewish population, who openly celebrated Jewish life, Fes is a must see city for all Jewish travelers. The name of Fes has its origins in the word pickaxe (hand tool) which legends say Idriss of Morocco used in sivler or gold to create the boundaries of the old city. 

During this Guided Jewish Heritage and Culture Tour of UNESCO Fes you will visit Jewish Heritage Sites and Cultural Sites of Fes that combine site seeing at Synagogues, Medival Universities, Mosques, Cemeteries, a Children's School, the Mellah along with gardens and palaces. Your guide will offer a connective link between Muslim and Jewish Morocco.

The Jewish Mellah: In contrast with the young Mellah of Casablanca, the mellah of Fes 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 Jewish Cemetery: The nearby cemetery contains the tombs of more Jewish saints than any other cemetery in Morocco. One of the more important saints is Solica, who was killed for refusing to convert to Islam.

Maimonides:Throughout the old city of Fes, there are traces of ancient Jewish life, including the home of Maimonides, who lived in the city from 1159-1165. Suffering from the persecutions of the Almohad dynasty, Maimonides emigrated to escape forced conversion.  In the face of a declining population, the Jewish community of Fes is working hard to maintain its community spirit and preserve its heritage and traditions. The community center, Centre Communautaire "Maimonide," is one of the most well organized in Morocco, with a kosher restaurant and modern synagogue on the premises 

The Danan Synagogue: The Danan synagogue was once only one of several inside the walls of Fes, and not the most elaborate. The Ibn Danan Synagogue is one of the oldest and most intact synagogues in Morocco. This synagogue, located in the heart of the mellah (Jewish quarter), is a rare survivor of a pivotal time in Moroccan Jewish history.

Synagogues of Fes Unmarked on their exteriors - dating from the 17th century: among the most unique in the world. The Mellah of Fes once had 40 synagogues. See the vast and picturesque whitewashed Jewish cemetery adjacent to the gates to the Royal Palace and the nascent Jewish Museum at the Em HaBanim synagogue. 

Old Medina Muslim Sites & Shopping in Fes: University of Al-Karaouine, Zaouia Moulay Idriss II , Dar Batha, Weavers Cooperative 

Visit Seffrou, the capital of cherries. Sefrou, south of Fes, was known as Little Jerusalem due to its high percentage of Jews and its 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.

En route to Sefrou make a short stop to visit Bhalil a cemetery

Sefrou was once a major center for Morocco's Jews and its walled white pedestrian medina is still characterized by their houses with wooden balconies. 

A good example of interfaith dialogue in Morocco can be witnessed in the city of Sefrou. In Sefrou lived Muslims and Jews in good harmony door to door and practiced their religious rituals in unison. 

Jnane Sbil Gardens: Batha Museum & Andalusian Garden
, Bou Inania Medersa 

Overnight in Fes.

Visit Marrakech’s Gardens, Palaces, and Jewish Heritage Sites.

The Old Spice Market: The Rahba Kedima is a colorful market filled with a wide array of spices from Cumin, Cinnamon, Saffron, Dried Pepper and more.

The Jewish Mellah: Founded in 1558 by Moulay Abdallah, the Mellah district was designated as the Jewish quarter in Marrakech. 

El Bahia Palace: The El Bahia Palace in Marrakech is a beautiful building and an excellent example of Eastern Architecture from the 19th century that represents trends and standards of the wealthy that lived at that time. 

Visit theMarrakech Lazama Synagogue in the old medina. This Quarter was created in the Kasbah area in 1558. The Jewish community enjoyed autonomy even though Jews weren't allowed to own any property outside the Mellah and controlled the sugar trade. There are approximately 250 Jews still living in Marrakech, and most live outside the Medina.

Visit Synagogue Bet-El, Impasse Des Moulins (Centre American) - Gueliz.

The Saadian Tombs: The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty that originated in the valley of the Draa River. 

Sunset Cocktails at La Mamounia Gardens where Alfredy Hitchcock wrote "The Birds" Built in 1929 this famous historical landmark hotel and gardens in the center of Marrakech is cared for by 40 gardeners who two times a year plant 60,000 annuals to enhance the grounds as well as maintain the immaculately mowed grass under the citrus and olive orchards, desert garden, rose garden and tropical garden as well as the many fountains. The 200 year-old avenue of olive trees leads one to the garden pavilion where you can soak in the peace and solitude with a cup of Moroccan mint tea.  

Overnight at a Boutique Hotel or Riad in Marrakech.

Depart for Seaside Essaouira, a seaside fishing town known for it’s Portuguese and Jewish History along with hand painted charming blue, white and yellow painted houses, fresh seafood and artist community. Locals call this magical coastal enclave "Souira"

Essaouira’s charming artist colony that boasts lovely whitewashed and blue-shuttered houses, colonnades, thuya wood workshops, art galleries and mouthwatering seafood. Once called Mogador by European sailors and traders, Essaouria is known for its annual Gnaoua Music Festival that attracts 300,000+ people in June. It also has an expansive beach for surfing called Plage de Safi.

Many of Essaouira’s painted houses still have the Star of David above the doorways of Jewish homes. Each year religious Jews from around the world come to Essaouira for an annual pilgrimage to visit the grave of Rabbi Haim Pinto who passed on in 1845. The hiloula celebrating Rabbi Haim Pinto is held each September.

On your Guided Jewish Heritage Tour of Essaouira you will explore the crumbling Jewish Quarter which was established in the eighteenth century by Alaouite Sultan Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah within the sixteenth century fortress. As Essaouira became a trading prot a Jewish Quarter called the Mellah was created. At that time Jews made up 40% of the city's population. The town once had over 30 Jewish Synagogues of which few remain today. 

Essaouira's Jewish Synagogues & Cemeteries: Discover Essaouira's Jewish synagogues, cemteries, the Mellah and also have the opportunity to enjoy a tea with Joseph Sebag, one of the last remaining Jews who is the leader of the community. 

Visit the recently renovated and newly inaugurated Essaouira Bet Ha-Knesset Simon Attias Simon Attias Synagogue. Simon Attias was built in 1882 on Rue Laalouj in the Kasbah, just beside the former British consulate. The synagogue was originally located on the second floor. The ground floor once held shops. The third floor contained the offices of Jewish courts, which heard both commercial and personal cases. The interior of the synagogue is ordained with its originally preserved wood work which was carved in London. The large, wooden Torah Ark featured columns and a rounded pediment, and is decorated with floral carvings. Today the Simon Attias synagogue is two-stories high, with large, rounded-arch windows with a Jewish Museum and a future cultural center. Once complete the Jewish Cultural Center will bear the name of the contemporary historian Haim Zafrani, originating from the city, guaranteeing the preservation of Moroccan Jewish heritage and helping to strengthen the national identity of the country.

Next visit Rabbi Haim Pinto's former home and the synagogue in the Jewish Mellah which has been preserved as a historic and religious site. The building is an active synagogue, used when pilgrims or Jewish tour groups visit the city.

While a generation ago there were Jewish inhabitants in Essaouira today there is just one left named Joseph Sebag. Sebag's family has been in Morocco since they fled Spain during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Sebag owns a small antique and brick-a-back store where one can always find Jewish and non Jewish visitors enjoying a cup of mint tea along a conversation with Jospeh. 

The ‘new’ Jewish cemetery, across the street, was opened in the 18th century to accommodate the growing population. It is the final resting place of a number of rabbis, intellectuals and musicians as well as many of the ‘ordinary’ residents of Essaouira-Mogador. The cemetery tells the stories of many great families of Mogador such as the Corcos, the most famous of the original ‘Sultan’s merchants’ and the Yuly and Levy families – some of whom are certainly ancestors of the first Jewish US senator, David Levy Yulee.

Departure from your riad to meet your flight