nly eight miles from Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco has long been a Gateway to Africa. But your first impressions of Casablanca prove it is worlds apart. You tour this fabulous city with a visit to the Hassan II Mosque and wander the Medina in the Old City. With kingdoms that span centuries, Morocco has earned its royal title as home to the Imperial Cities. Morocco is an initiation into the exotic magic of Islamic, Arabic and African worlds - a landscape filled with medinas and minarets, deserts and mountains. Your tour of these exotic places begins in Rabat. Now the capital, it is home to the present king, Mohammed VI, the 23rd king of the Alaouite Dynasty. Here you visit the Royal Palace and Royal Mosque, enter the Chellah Gate and explore the Kasbah des Oudaïa.

Travel on to Fez and Roman ruins en route, where you step back in time to a medieval city that was the capital for 400 years. Tour the Royal Palace, Kairouyine Mosque, the Tanners Quarter and the Merenid Tombs. Visit carpet workshops and browse unique clothing shops. The next morning you follow the "Road to Marrakech".

In Marrakech, you visit the Koutoubia Mosque, the ornate Badii Palace and the Menara Gardens. End the day at Jemaa-el-Fna town square with its colorful world of snake charmers and food stalls – and discover the pleasures of shopping in the many suuqs. In the evening, dine on Moroccan cuisine at "Fantasia", accompanied by a spectacular show of mounted horsemen. Back in Casablanca, there’s time for more shopping. Choose a restaurant for your farewell dinner and relive the magic of Bergman and Bogart as you discover your own version of “Rick's American Café”. Those with more time may want to venture into the Atlas Mountains to explore the many hillside villages and then travel south to Ouarzazate. The kasbah with its smouldering red-brown walls is a medieval fortress that stands as the last outpost before entering the forbidding desert. Here the sand dunes seem to stretch to eternity - a vast wasteland filled with oases and the wandering nomadic Berbers.

Alken’s Morocco is a blend of romance and the best of North Africa’s imperial splendor.

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