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Dear Hassan,
In August of this year my wife and I decided we had enough of the rat race
and needed an adventure. Many years ago she fell in love with the Moorish
architecture in Spain, so we immediately thought of the country of its
origin - Morocco. Like many Americans we knew only where Morocco was but
little of the country itself, so we began an Internet search to
learn more and to discover the types of trips offered. During that search
we came across Casablanca Travel and Tours a number of times. As our
search
expanded and we became more excited about the possibility of really going,
our instincts kept returning us to your website. The Imperial City and
South tour seemed to us perfect as an introduction to the beauties of your
country but more importantly to us was the fact that your agency is owned
and operated by natives of Morocco who are rightly proud of their heritage
and who have a vested interest in displaying its charms.
My wife and I opted for a private ten day tour from Fez to Marrakech
with an overnight in a Berber tent in the Dunes of Merzouga. We chose to
spend a little more for the private tour because we felt that the freedom
offered by a loose itinerary, private driver/guide, and the ability to
spend more or less time at any location at our own whim was well worth the
slight additional expense. I have to admit that I was a little
nervous about
arranging such an exotic trip over the Internet and I am sure I bugged you
with my continual requests for confirmations and updates, but you handled
everything very professionally even putting my mind at ease concerning
traveling in a Muslim country during the unsettling Mid East crisis (even
offering me the cell phone number of Americans traveling in Morocco at
that
time). Let me add here that at no time during the trip was this ever an
issue, the Mid- East was very far away and Americans are treated with
friendship.
How do we do justice in words to the beauty and exotic charm of Morocco?
How can we truly impress upon the uncertain that Morocco offers
sights and changes in scenery to impress even the most jaded of travelers?
From the snow capped High Atlas mountains to the Desert Sea of Merzouga,
to Cedar
Forests and Mesas and Valleys and Gorges, it is a dramatic country
of continual and unexpected visual delights. And while you stare in wonder
at the natural beauty of the landscape you are continually reminded that
you are no longer in Kansas as you see veiled women and Jalabied (sp?) men
walking along the roads, or donkeys laden with mysterious goods, or camels
silently watching your passing in the desert. The silence of the country
is so impressive that at times you will stop walking when you realize that
the only sound you have heard is the shuffling of your own feet. And the
Souks!! Step into the Medina at Fez or Marrakech and you step back
centuries, and you feel touched in knowing that the bustling commerce and
life you are experiencing has been going on, uninterrupted, for countless
generations. Be prepared to be the target of the hardest of hard sell
techniques but also understand that this too is ancient and custom . When
our guide asked us where we liked best we both would name the last place
visited, it seemed each new stop exceeded in wonder the last! Moulay
Idris was unexpectedly delightful, Volubilis silent and majestic, Risanni
wholly mysterious and unique, Ouarzazate hip and desert Hollywood, and
Tinghir slightly wild west. In Erfoud we met a wonderful gentleman, the
owner of an art gallery, who sipped tea with us and discussed life in
general. In the desert we were the only guests at a Berber tent site but
were treated with kindness and patience as we took camel treks into the
magnificent dunes to watch the sun set and rise over the Sahara. We
learned that night that the wind in the desert sounds like the ocean and
that the
stars at night are so dense that one can see the edge of the Milky Way. I
also learned that I can bang a drum with the best of the Berbers. In all
honesty, after our days of wonder we were relieved to bask in the
Western luxury of the 5 star Hotels offered during our trip. Palais Jamai
in Fez, the Berbere Palace in Ouarzazate, and La Mamounia in Marrakech
were all outstanding and lovely and the restaurants were great, both
Moroccan and International. Our favorite meals, however, were
roadside stops along the way especially a bar in the mountains and an Inn
at the Gorges that
were recommended by our guide, Abdellah. Abdellah, bye the way, is a
thirty something, friendly, delightful young man who quickly became our
friend during the trip and is very responsible for having made this trip
as memorable as it is. He has the knack of knowing how to give people
space when needed and he simply made some of the best suggestions for
pictures,
food, or side trips imaginable. Traveling as the only tourists with a
guide was a little intimidating to us when we started but Abdul made it
easy and in fact the only way to travel in a country as different to
Americans as Morocco. If you are lucky to get him as your guide trust him
and say hello to him for us. We are hoping he visits us in the States
someday. My wife and I would like to thank you Hassan for making all the
arrangements for this, our trip of a lifetime. There was not one glitch
during our visit and the flexibility the private tour offered us was a joy
(as was Abdul) I hope I have described sufficiently. We have become
lifetime fans of Morocco and we offer this letter to you to do with as you
please, and to offer ourselves as references for your agency and services
in particular and travel in Morocco in general. We hope to return someday,
Inch Allah!!
Leo and Marianne (or Miriam as the Moroccans preferred) Tracy
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