Morocco Jewish Heritage Tour 15 Days

Welcome to Morocco. Your private driver meets you at Casablanca airport and takes you to your hotel. If you land early, start with the Hassan II Mosque on the Atlantic and a walk along the Corniche.

In the evening, our team goes through the journey with you: the synagogues and cemeteries you would like to see, family names or towns you are tracing, and any kosher meal or Shabbat arrangements.

With a local guide, visit the Museum of Moroccan Judaism, the only museum of its kind in the Arab world, then the Beth-El Synagogue and the old mellah streets near the medina. Casablanca was once home to the largest Jewish community in Morocco, and visits are arranged in advance with the community.

Afternoon drive to Rabat for the night.

Walk the mellah of Rabat and its Jewish cemetery by the river, then the Kasbah of the Udayas and the Hassan Tower. In Salé, we can stop at the tomb of Rabbi Raphael Encaoua, still a place of pilgrimage, when access allows.

Continue to Meknes, whose mellah was one of the busiest in Morocco, and on to Fes.

Spend the day in Fes with your guide. The first mellah of Morocco was founded here in the 15th century, beside the Royal Palace. Visit the Ibn Danan Synagogue, the Jewish cemetery and the tomb of Lalla Solika, and the small Habarim museum.

In the afternoon, explore the medina of Fes el-Bali: the Al Quaraouiyine, the medersas, the tanneries and the craftsmen.

Drive to Sefrou, once called the little Jerusalem of Morocco, and walk its mellah with a local guide. Visit Bhalil and its cave houses, then cross the Middle Atlas cedar forests to Midelt.

Follow the Ziz gorges and palm groves south to the Tafilalet, where Jewish families lived for centuries in the ksour along the caravan routes. Stop in Rissani, then reach Merzouga for sunset over the dunes.

Explore the desert by 4×4: nomad families, Khamlia and its Gnawa musicians, and lunch among the dunes. In the late afternoon, ride a camel to your private luxury camp for dinner by the fire.

Visit the earthen mellah of Tinghir, partly restored, then walk into the Todra Gorges before the Dades Valley and its kasbahs.

A gentle day along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs: the palm grove of Skoura, Ouarzazate and the UNESCO ksar of Ait Ben Haddou. Jewish families once lived in many of these southern ksour, working as craftsmen, silversmiths and traders. Night in a kasbah facing the ksar.

Cross the Anti-Atlas through Taznakht, known for its carpets, and Taliouine, the saffron capital of Morocco. Arrive in Taroudant, the little Marrakech, inside its golden ramparts.

In the morning, walk Taroudant with a local guide: the ramparts, the souks and the old mellah, where a Jewish community lived for centuries. Then follow the Atlantic coast north to Essaouira.

Jewish merchants once made up half of the population of Essaouira. Visit the mellah, the Slat Lkahal and Haim Pinto synagogues and Bayt Dakira, the house of memory. Outside the walls, the old cemetery holds the tomb of Rabbi Haim Pinto, visited by pilgrims from all over the world.

Free afternoon by the sea.

Drive to Marrakech. In the afternoon, your guide takes you into the mellah: the Slat al-Azama Synagogue, the spice market and the Miâara cemetery, the largest Jewish cemetery in Morocco. Finish at the Jemaa el-Fna square at sunset.

Drive into the Atlas to the Ourika Valley, where the tomb of Rabbi Shlomo Bel Hensh is honoured by Jews and Muslims alike and visited during the yearly hiloula. Lunch in a Berber house with views of the mountains, then return to Marrakech for a last evening.

After breakfast, your driver takes you to Marrakech airport, or to Casablanca if you fly from there. Your journey ends here, with our team still a message away.