Morocco - places we hope we'll see.

Morocco is only 2 months and 2 weeks away! I was finalizing my Morocco itinerary and thought I would put up some pictures of possible trip highlights (apart from delicious bowls of pipping hot Tajine and fluffy couscous. Hopefully, we can make a down payment for the private tour package we have chosen and put together quite soon and then I'll finally be able to shelve Project Morocco away for awhile, concentrating instead on Project Masters Application.

Our first stop would be the Imperial city and Capital of Morocco, Rabat. Many people have compared Rabat to the district capital of Washington, but we still felt like we should visit the capital city, since I don't think we'll can afford to visit Morocco again. We are of course, here for the Kasbah des Oudaïas.

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/folioalbumgb/4117395178/

View of the Kasbah des Oudaïas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24151047@N05/2886554517/sizes/l/

On day 2, we'll visit Meknes, Voubilis, and Moulay Idriss

I'm most excited about visiting Moulay Idriss. This is the first Arab Dynasty in the world and five visits to this place is equivalent to one Haj visit.

Holy City of Moulay Idriss

Flickr http://www.flickriver.com/photos/aurelien_villette/tags/morocco/

Days 3 and 4 will be spent in Fez where we will visit the colorful souks and of course the tanneries. I hope to buy myself a beautiful leather wallet there! The first time I met Fes was in a Jackie Chan movie. I can't remember the title of the movie, but I was very young at that time and I was absolutely fascinated with the massive pots of dyes. I also cannot wait to catch a glimpse of the expression on G's face when he steps into this exciting haven. It's a picture-heavy place but G's entire face would wrinkle and crunch up at the pungent odor!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuaphilippesy/4745026933/

Day 5 will be one of the longest drives for us as we'll have to make our way from Fez all the way to Errachidia.

Day 6 and 7 will be spent making our way to Merzouga and exploring the sahara desert. We'll spend ride on camels into the heart of the desert before spending the night there!

Hopefully, we'll get to see some mining caves here in Merzouga as well as take some beautiful starry pictures of the night sky. I know we'll enjoy Merzouga a lot, afterall it was pictures of the desert that first convinced the stubborn G that Morocco was to be THE holiday destination of our year!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elosoenpersona/2413472673/

Day 8 will see us moving into the high Atlas area. We'll visit the Todra gorge and the Dades Gorge.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86778817@N00/86564665/sizes/m/

Sharp bends leading to the Dades gorge. We'll be staying the night right down that valley!

Day 9 and 10 will be spent in Marrakech, including a day trip to Essaouira.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/curreyuk/999367892/sizes/m/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciarangold/4414827537/sizes/z/

the square, bustling with activity.

Day 11. This morning we will drive onwards to Casablanca to catch our flight back home via Dubai. As our flight is an afternoon flight, we hope to arrive in Casablanca early enough to check out the Hassan mosque.