YOUR MOROCCO TRAVEL GUIDE: Garden Tours Morocco

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Travel Exploration Morocco Now Offering Garden Tours, Your Morocco Travel Guide

Travel Exploration Morocco has a few new additions to our special tour offerings this 2012 season. The new tours are "Majestic Gardens of Morocco" and "Gardens of Marrakech", both offering extension options. The "Gardens of Morocco" tours offer an extension option to the Tarodaunt and Agadir region. What distinguishes Travel Exploration's new tours from others is that it specifically caters to garden enthusiasts, botanists and gardeners because it takes a true look at the majestic gardens of the Maghreb. The Gardens of Morocco tour takes visitors on a unique journey to the Imperial Cities of Morocco while giving them a taste of Islamic, Andalusian, Moorish, Art Deco and Sultans gardens. This tour also gives travelers a chance to connect with the local culture through discovering historic sites, museums, mosques, old cities and traditional cuisine. The Majestic Gardens of Morocco offers guests 10 days and 9 glorious nights whereby they can explore the sites and sounds of Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech, the Ourika Valley and Ouirgane region.

The Majestic Gardens of Morocco tour begins in Casablanca at the stunning Hassan II Mosque which lies at the foot of the Atlantic ocean, then visitors continue the road to the exotic Sidi Bouknadal Garden outside of Rabat. Topped by afternoon sweets and mint tea at Cafe Maure. An evening at Sofitel Le Jardin Des Roses and a welcome dinner by candlelight in the gardens offers travelers a great way to start off their gardening vacation to the Morocco. Rabat holds its beauty with some of the most historic architecture in the country as well as gardens. Travelers on the Majestic Gardens of Morocco tour can also plan on visiting gardens in the medieval walled city (old medina) of Fes, a visit to the Imperial city of Meknes, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, After taking in the living museum of Fes the next stop will be the "red hamra" city of Marrakech, home to artists, writers and the chic. Marrakech's gardens are top notch and will be seen when light is at its best. Visits to the Majorelle Garden, La Mamounia Garden, the Koutoubia Gardens, the Bahia Palace and Gardens are just a few of the green spaces on this tour. A charming ending to the Majestic Gardens of Morocco tour includes a visit to Nectarome in the Ourika Valley, harmonizing foot baths, lunch at the Flower Power cafe and then an overnight at La Roseraie in Ouirgane.

10 full days and 9 nights of beautiful 5 Star garden Riads and Hotels, luxury transport, airport transfers, 14 excellent meals with a variety of traditional and contemporary Moroccan cuisine (breakfast daily at your Riad or Hotel, welcome dinner, lunch at a palace restaurant in Fes and farewell dinner), 4 Guided Historical Tours in the Imperial Cities, 8 Guided Garden Tours by a Botanist, Nurserymen and Herbalist, Garden & Monument Entrances Fees, plus exquisite sights, shopping time in the souks and a kelech horse and carriage ride in Marrakech.

Visit http/gardentoursmorocco.wordpress.com/majestic-gardens-of-morocco-tour/ to see the complete itinerary.

Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration in the USA at 1 (800) 787-8806 or in Morocco 1 (212)618-88-26-81 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Majestic Gardens of Morocco, Gardens of Marrakech, Islamic Gardens, Andalusian Gardens, Art Deco Gardens, Moorish Gardens, Marrakech Garden Vacations, Morocco Garden Tours, Travel to Morocco, Travel Exploration

Kasbah Ouadida & Andalusian Gardens, Your Morocco Travel Guide

[

Kasbah Des Oudaia in Morocco also referred to as Kasbah Oudaya or Kasbah Udaya, is located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river opposite of Salé. Kasbah Oudaia has been the citadel of the Alhmohads, Merinids and Andalusians in Rabat. Its location on a rocky outcrop high above the level of the river is an imposing site especially for the pirates of days gone by. Kasbah Oudaia was built during the reign of the Almohads. When the Almohads had captured Rabat and destroyed the kasbah of the Almoravids in the town, they began reconstructing it in AH 544 / AD 1150. They added a palace and a mosque and named it al-Mahdiyya, after their ancestor al-Mahdi Ibn Tumart. After the death of Yaqub-al-Mansur (AH 595 / AD 1199) the kasbah was deserted. Bab Oudaia is the principal gateway to the Kasbah – one of the most striking sights in Rabat and certainly one of the most beautiful external Moorish monuments. The gate was built by the Almohad Sultan, Yacoub al Mansour, in 1195. Its purpose was more ceremonial than defensive, designed for a grand entrance into the Kasbah and its souks and the nearby Sultan palace. The gate, massive as though it may appear at first inception, is not unusual in its size for an Almohad monument. It is striking for its harmony and the sheer simplicity and beauty of its decoration. The basic feature is the arch, composed of three different designs: the basic horseshoe, a check-and-shoulder design and finally a band of geometric ornamentation.

After passing through the grand door, ,Bab Oudaia, one will immediately reach an striking quarter, the Kasbah des Oudaias. The Kasbah is the original citadel of the Almohad, Merinid and subsequent Andalusian towns in Rabat. Here, you can see the Kasbah Mosque – the oldest mosque in the city, built around 1050 and subsequently rebuilt in the 18th century.

When you enter the grounds of Oudaia you immediately notice the Andalusian influence. Everything here reminds one of Spain, walls uniformly covered with lime, blue everywhere, the cobbled streets, the massive doors to colored moldings and wrought iron. The formal structured Andalusian style gardens are bordered with red hibiscus, hedges, morning glories, brugmansias, date palms and orange trees with a long harbored walkway covered in grape vines.

The Kasbah Oudaia stands out within a beautiful and quiet residential area surrounded by white and blue painted houses decorated with flowers. Kasbah Oudaia has become a haven for artists, attracted by the beauty of the site as much as by its soothing tranquility.

South of Bab Ouadaia, is the Palace Museum and Andalusian Gardens. The Palace was built in the seventeenth-century by Moulay Ismail, the first Almohad sultan to unify the country. Today, it showcases exhibits of Moroccan art and culture. A vast central patio gives access to private quarters and reception rooms containing the exhibits. There is a hall containing oriental rugs made in Rabat, an exhibition hall for musical instruments and a salon reserved for customs and rituals. The old palace grounds are occupied by the beautiful Andalusian Gardens. Although true to Andalusian traditions, with its flowering annuals and beds of shrubs, the gardens were actually constructed by the French in the twentieth-century. The gardens are a shady retreat, with a profusion of daturas, oleanders, orange, lemon and banana trees. When visiting Kasbah Ouadia, make sure to have tea and pastries at Café Maure set on the grounds of the Kasbah Oudaia with a majestic view of the river. For more information about Gardens Tours Morocco and Kasbah Oudaia Rabat Tours

Kasbah Ouadia, Andalusian Gardens, Rabat Tours, Palace Museum Rabat, Morocco Garden Vacation, Garden Tours Morocco, Travel Exploration