Exclusive Vacation in Morocco
With managing editor,
KATE ST JAMES, FDIA
Fez is Europe, but closed
Marrakesh is Africa, but open
Fez is black, white and grey
Marrakesh is red
(John Gunther, Inside Africa 1955)
Morocco is one of the few places on earth where you switch from a country of donkeys and mules from the biblical past to one forging into the future while the cry of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer wafts across a labyrinth like medina. Cellular phones make no distinction between elegant suits, couture fashion jeans or djellabas and haiks in impossibly bright tones of orange, lime green, ochre yellow and pink.
Morocco is a visually sophisticated nation with a distinctive beauty and cultural legacy
which reached its zenith from the 11th to 13th centuries when the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties ruled North Africa from Marrakesh to Tunis. The Moors excelled in mathematics, literature and medicine, they built mosques, minarets and palaces that were the envy of the entire Islamic world. Curiously, these achievements were preserved by defeat at the hands of the Crusaders in 1492 and for the next 500 years Morocco was closed to outsiders. The skill of Moroccan craftsmen, already legendary more than a thousand years ago, now has fresh relevance. Among peaceful oases and palms, age old crafts adorn restaurants and palaces and the world’s trend setting contemporary stylists grab ideas and translate them comfortably into the now from this captivating, colourful, exotic country.
which reached its zenith from the 11th to 13th centuries when the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties ruled North Africa from Marrakesh to Tunis. The Moors excelled in mathematics, literature and medicine, they built mosques, minarets and palaces that were the envy of the entire Islamic world. Curiously, these achievements were preserved by defeat at the hands of the Crusaders in 1492 and for the next 500 years Morocco was closed to outsiders. The skill of Moroccan craftsmen, already legendary more than a thousand years ago, now has fresh relevance. Among peaceful oases and palms, age old crafts adorn restaurants and palaces and the world’s trend setting contemporary stylists grab ideas and translate them comfortably into the now from this captivating, colourful, exotic country.
Our tour to Morocco is leaving March 25, 2013 – April 7, 2013. If you would like to join us contact Kate St James kstjames@universalmagazines.com.au
