7 Moroccan Wonders

[Redalinho]

What's your 7 Moroccan wonders?

[Redalinho]

1- Hassan II Mosque (Casablanca)



2- Dar El Makhzen (Fes)



3- La Koutoubia (Marrakesh)



4- Medersa Ben Youssef (Marrakesh)



5- Ait Benhaddou Kasbah (Ouarzazate)



6- El Bahia Palace (Marrakesh)



7- Hassan Tower (Rabat)

[wonderXman]

Moroccan Cities (The 7 Wonders Of Morocco)
1- CASABLANCA (CASA / DARBIDA / ANFA):

Made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Hollywood, Casablanca is where everything happens in Morocco. It is Morocco’s largest city, its economic heart, and home to 60% of the country’s companies.

Casablanca features a wondrous mix of Art-Deco, neo-Moorish and shining contemporary architecture. Tall palm trees line the boulevards and you are never far from a quiet park, café or superb patisserie shop. The famous corniche is Casablanca's playground. Here the local population come to stoll and lie on the beach during the day, while at night it comes alive with restaurants and clubs.

Casablanca is by far the most cosmopolitan of Morocco’s cities. Underneath the brash westernised exterior, however, elements of traditional Morocco still exist. A constant reminder is the magnificent Hassan II Mosque, Morocco’s tallest structure, which towers over the city. Casablanca has some fantastic restaurants and is great for shopping.



2- MARRAKESH:

Marrakech, one of the great cities of North Africa, is the gateway to the desert. It is a city of unforgettable beauty, with its palm-lined streets and red-earth walls, surrounding a huge medina of flat-roofed houses.

The city is set in an oasis of 150,000 date palms, beyond which are views of the glorious snow-capped High Atlas mountains.

The Almoravids, from the Western Sahara, founded Marrakech in the 11th century. The city became one of the Islamic world’s most important artistic and cultural centres and the capital of their empire, which stretched from Toledo to Senegal. Today it is still an important cultural centre with a wealth of architectural delights and historical artifacts.

Marrakech is a city of labyrinthine alleyways, secluded palaces, museums, mosques and markets. Its souks are famous for their dazzling variety of spices and Berber carpets and for the fine quality of their leatherwork.



3- TANGIER:

At the crossroads of Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, Tangier has an individual character.

It is one of the oldest cities in Morocco. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians established trading posts here. The Romans made it a capital city. It was occupied by the Arabs and invaded by Vandals and Visigoths. Before the Spanish, the Portuguese controlled the town. In the early part of the 20th century, Tangier was an international city whose tax-free status and cosmopolitan image attracted European and American artists and writers.

Although it has lost a little of its glamorous image, it is still a bustling city with an air of mystery surrounding it. For most visitors that arrive in Morocco by sea, it is their first point of contact with the country .




4- AGADIR:

Morocco’s premier coastal resort was completely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1960. The modern town is set on a vast expanse of protected beach.

Agadir enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year. Its micro-climate allows sunbathing and swimming in the sea all year round, making it a favourite tourist destination.

Agadir’s beaches of golden sand offer some of the best water-sports in Morocco, including windsurfing, parasailing and deep-sea fishing. The town also boasts magnificent golf courses.

Agadir is well placed for trips northeast into the High Atlas, southeast to the Anti Atlas and further south into the desert.




5- FES:

Fes is considered to be the most beautiful city in the world. It is the spiritual and cultural centre of Morocco. The most ancient of the imperial cities, it was the first capital of the kingdom, in 808AD under Idriss II. It was again the capital in the 13th century under the Merinides and once more, in the 19th century, during the reign of Moulay Abdallah. Fes is a city of enormous variety and contrast. It is unrivalled in the spendour and beauty of its monuments and architecture.

As you walk through Fes, souks and mosques, dye pits and tanneries, medersas, restaurants, workshops and markets vie for your attention and assault your senses. The city has so many rewarding and interesting sites that most visitors won’t have time to see everything. There are three quite distinct parts to the city: the European town, built after the First World War; Fes el Jédid ("the new Fes") and Fes el Bali ("the old Fes").



6- OUARZAZATE:

Ouarzazate is the capital of the South. It is easily reached from Marrakech. The town is a good base for exploring the Kasbah Trail and the surrounding sub-Saharan region. To the east are the Dades Valley, known as the ‘Valley of the Thousand Kasbahs’, and the gorges of Dadès and Todra. To the south is the Draa Valley, whose date palm oases stretch for many miles to the Sahara Desert near the village of M’hamid.



7- RABAT:

Surrounded by beautiful beaches, the city of Rabat has a very special ambience with its memorable blend of Islamic and European influences.

The fourth of the imperial cities, Rabat was only declared the modern capital of Morocco in 1913 when the area was a French Protectorate, yet its history goes back to pre-Roman times.

During the 12th century, when the city was chosen as the capital of the Almohad empire, the kasbah was used by the sultan to launch campaigns against the invading Spanish. During that time, some of the finest Arab monuments in the country were built.

In the 17th century, Rabat became a haven for Muslims driven out of Andalucia and a haunt of pirates.
Today, Rabat is the setting for the Royal Palace of His Majesty King Mohamed VI and the seat of government.

[wonderXman]

1- Trees in Desert


2- Palms in lakes


3- Goats in trees


4- Hassan 2 Mosques


5- Vollubilis


6- Natural pyramid


7- Moroccan Luxury