The Morocco Trip

PARK AVENUE SYNAGOGUE • STRANGERS & FRIENDS: JEWISH LIFE IN THE MUSLIM KINGDOM OF MOROCCO LED BY RABBI ELLIOT COSGROVE & RABBI CHARLIE SAVENOR CHAIRED BY LISA GRINBERG & SHERI ROSENFELD

NAGOGUE SY 1 8 E b e r - 2 6 U t o , N c 2 0 E O 2 V 0 A K R A P THE MOROCCO TRIP

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Every journey we offer is accompanied by a Tour Educator (TE) who brings your itinerary to life. Some of our TE’s have decades of firsthand experience leading people to particular places.

Your TE will provide you with an authentic understanding of the locations you will visit, will introduce you to the locals, and will share his/her enthusiasm and passion for the local culture. The result is a journey that transforms your understanding of a place, connecting you to the people and places you encounter in a way that is palpable and unforgettable.

Our TE's are like no other: intelligent, knowledgeable, engaging and fun. They will become an indispensable part of your experience and some might just become lifetime friends.

OUR TRIP

OCTOBER 18 - 26, 2020 OPTIONAL EXTENSION TO THE ATLAS MOUNTAIN & DESERT OCTOBER 26 - 29, 2020

FROM $5,885 LAND ONLY

HIGHLIGHTS Journey of education & inspiration Royal cities revealed: A Jewish journey to mystical Morocco Appreciate Berber culture and art Rock the Kasbah: Morocco’s rich musical tradition Shabbat in Marrakech with members of the local Jewish community Discover the long and rich history of Arab-Jewish co-existence in Morocco Visit the only Jewish museum in the Arab world Explore the natural wonders of the Atlas Mountains Excellent tour educator and superb service “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Andre Gide DAY ONE  SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2020 orientation with your tour educator at a local Jewish club. Our ON THE WAY TO MOROCCO Journey Together: During this introduction session, we’ll look forward to the days ahead, preview some of the highlights and Depart the US. themes of our trip, and share personal expectations of what we Overnight: Flight will experience in Morocco.

DAY TWO  MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 Meals: Dinner ARRIVAL IN CASABLANCA Overnight: Four Seasons, Casablanca Arrival at Casablanca International (we recommend arrival by DAY THREE  TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020 10:00 a.m. in order to join the morning program). GIANT MOSQUES AND ANCIENT RUINS Welcome by your tour educator and local guide and assistance - ON THE ROAD TO FES with arrival formalities. (Optional) Minyan. Welcome coffee and orientation. The Jewish Community of Morocco – Past, Present, Future: The Beginning of a Beautiful Journey: Begin your journey with Dialogue with Raphael Elmaleh, author of the book “Jews Under a panoramic tour of Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco, its Moroccan Skies” (pending confirmation). diverse neighborhoods, markets, and alleyways. Check out of the hotel. The Glory of Moroccan Jewry: Guided visit through the Museum Preserving the Past, Building a Future: Named after the famous of the Jews of Morocco, for a glimpse into the rich and colorful Jewish Moroccan celebrations held at the end of Passover, world of Moroccan Jewry. The museum is the Arab world’s Association Mimouna is an organization of Muslim students only Jewish museum. Its displays include ornate Jewish-Berber who honor the country’s Jewish traditions and promote Jewish- clothing and a reconstruction of a 13th-century The lives of Muslim friendship. We’ll meet some of the students and hear Morocco’s many Jewish goldsmiths are also explored while an of their activities, which range from kosher cooking workshops exhibition examines the 2011 Moroccan constitution which to organizing one of the Islamic world’s first conferences to explicitly acknowledges the “Hebraic” contribution to the commemorate victims of the Holocaust. country’s national identity. Visit the famous Mosque of Hassan II, one of the largest mosques Visit the Beth-El Synagogue, which is considered the "main" in the world. With hand-carved marble walls, a retractable roof, synagogue of Casablanca and is still very active. room for 100,000 worshipers, and the tallest minaret in the Check into the hotel. world, at almost 700 feet, this mosque is an incredible example of LaDa’at Focus An Inside Look at Moroccan Culture: Dinner and devotion and construction. Lunch on own, en route. The Fes Jewish cemetery, where we’ll hear stories of some of Depart Casablanca and drive to the ruins of Volubilis, a UNESCO the city’s legendary rabbis buried here. World Heritage Site. Founded in the 3rd century BCE, the town Fes’s Medina is a dense maze of alleyways and streets and the became an important outpost of the Roman Empire. largest car-free pedestrian zone in the world. Don’t worry, our Continue to Fes, the most extensive medieval city in the Arab tour educator knows the way through this UNESCO World world, and the home of Jewish scholars and rabbis for hundreds Heritage Site that still includes many buildings, mosques, and of years. gates from the 12thThe visit includes: Check into the hotel and enjoy dinner. A glimpse of local craftsmen at work in their shops as they weave, embroider, carve, and chisel using ancient techniques. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner A tour of the Madrasa Bou Inania. This Madrasa (Islamic religious Overnight: Marriott Jnan Palace, Fes college) was established in 1351 and is famed for its architecture, DAY FOUR  WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 minaret, and geometric decorations. It is one of the few Islamic THE MYSTERIES OF FES sites in Morocco accessible to non-Muslim visitors. Lunchat a restaurant en route before continuing on our tour: (Optional) Minyan. Visit the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts, a Enjoy glorious views of Fes and its Medina (Walled City) from the beautifully renovated caravanserai that preserves the tools and Borj Sud Fortress. lifestyles of the traveling merchants who would lodge and sell LaDa’at Focus Jewish Life in Fes: Travel through time as we their goods here. explore the long-standing Jewish presence in Fes. Despite Take a look at an ancient center of scholarship. The University of suffering from periodic persecutions, Fes’s Mullah (Jewish Al-Karaouine is believed to be the oldest continuously operating Quarter) was home to a thriving community. Its influential rabbis, university in the world. Non-Muslims can view it only from the scholars, and teachers included Rabbi Moses Maimonides (the outside. Rambam), arguably the greatest of all Jewish religious thinkers Fes is also known for its leather goods and the tanneries that and philosophers. Our tour will include: provide its distinctive smell. We’ll visit the Chouara Tannery where The recently restored Ibn Danan Synagogue, one of the oldest traditional ways of making leather are still practiced. and most important synagogues in North Africa. Return to the hotel. The El Fassiyin Synagogue: This once-vital synagogue had fallen Dinner on own and evening at leisure. into disrepair and was used as a boxing ring and carpet factory until it was recently restored with support from overseas Meals: Breakfast, Lunch funders and the Moroccan government. Overnight: Marriott Jnan Palace, Fes DAY FIVE  THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2020 that the king plays in Moroccan life. ROYAL RABAT We’ll walk around the walls of Rabat’s Royal Palace, the primary (although certainly not the only) residence of the current (Optional) Minyan. king Mohammad VI, and ask whether modern Morocco is an Check out of the hotel and depart for Meknes. autocracy, a democracy, or something in-between. City of a Tyrant: Witness the greatness and brutality of Moulay Ismail “There are no Jewish citizens, there are no Muslim citizens, (1634-1727), the king who turned Meknes into a royal city. We’ll see they are all Moroccans” – Muhammad V. Visit the majestic some of the beautiful buildings built during his long reign with their mausoleum of Mohammad V, Morocco’s king during World War skillful blend of Islamic and European architecture. But at his finely II, and hear how he helped preventing the Nazis from deporting decorated Mausoleum, we’ll also consider the brutality of “Moulay Morocco’s Jews to the death camps of Europe. the Bloodthirsty” who is said to have ordered the walls of Meknes to We’ll also visit the mausoleum of his son, Hassan II, who ruled be decorated with the heads of 10,000 of his enemies. over Morocco during the so-called “Years of Lead.” We’ll hear Wives and Horses: While the Torah warns that a king should not about Morocco’s divisions and human rights during this period acquire extra horses, a multitude of wives, or excessive amounts and the assassination attempts on the king’s life. It was during of silver and gold, Moulay Ismail took a different approach. He is Hasan’s reign that most of the country’s Jews migrated to Israel, believed to have had 2,000 wives and concubines who bore him Canada, and Walk through the markets, jewelry stores, and 867 children but he seems to have been fondest of his horses. We’ll grand old diplomatic complexes of Rabat’s Medina (Walled visit the Royal Stables which housed his 12,000 horses. Each horse City) as we make our way up to the Kasbah des Udayas. This had a separate groom-slave to look after it. We’ll also see evidence citadel is the oldest part of Rabat, dating back to the 12th Sitting of the huge earthquake that destroyed much of Meknes in 1755. high above the river and the Atlantic Ocean, it’s a treat for the What Was and What Remains: Meet with the caretaker of an old eyes with gorgeously decorated gates, blue and whitewashed Jewish synagogue and discuss the transformation of Jewish life in homes, and French-influenced gardens. the city and the country. In 1948, Morocco had perhaps 250,000 Check into the hotel. Jews - the largest Jewish population in the Muslim world. Today, Meet Andre Azoulay, a senior advisor to king Mohammed VI of only a few thousand remain. We’ll talk about the rich history of the Morocco and leader of the local Jewish community (pending Jewish community and the realities of Jewish life in Morocco today. confirmation). Lunch at a restaurant. Dinner on own and evening at leisure. Depart for Rabat, Morocco’s capital. The Kings and the Jews: Our tour of Morocco’s royal capital will Meals: Breakfast, Lunch allow us to experience the huge role, historically and currently, Overnight: La Tour Hassan, Rabat DAY SIX  FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 Check into the hotel. THE ROAD TO MARRAKECH Shabbat services at a local synagogue. - ONE SENSE AT A TIME Shabbat dinner with members of the local community. (Optional) Minyan. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Morocco and the USA – What’s Next? The US Ambassador to Overnight: La Mamounia, Marrakech Morocco will talk with us about the contemporary relationship between the two nations and outline key issues for the future. DAY SEVEN  SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2020 Check out of the hotel and depart for Marrakech. SHABBAT IN MARRAKECH | walking tour LaDa’at Focus Carnivals and Piety in Marrakech: An introduction to (Optional) Shabbat services at Slat el Azama Synagogue, the this whirlwind of a city, which combines the madcap energy of its synagogue of the Mellah. marketplaces with the serene rhythms of religious life. Shabbat lunch. Lunch on own, en route. Afternoon tour of the Medina (Walled City) of Marrakech,also The French Connection: Morocco is a melting pot of identities known as the Red City for the red walls that surround it. The and influences ranging from its original tribes to its more recent Medina is a thrilling, multifaceted experience. Highlights of the visitors including the French, who ruled over much of the country tour include: from 1912 to 1955. Bab Agnaou – a huge, superbly decorated gate allowing We’ll spend time in the French Quarter and visit the enchanting entrance into this royal city. Majorelle Garden of the French painter and botanist Jacques The Bahia Palace is considered the greatest palace of its time. Majorelle. The garden and buildings took him 40 years to create Its architecture, gardens, and design render it one of the great but you’ll think it was time well spent as we wander by paths achievements of Moroccan culture. and sparkling pools shaded by gorgeous trees and plants from The Saadian Tombs provide lavish insights into the wealth and around the world. power structure of the Saadian dynasty, which ruled Morocco The Berber Museum, also housed in the garden, is a tribute to from 1549 to 1659. Their greatest ruler Ahmed Al Mansour is the Berber tribes and people who have lived in North Africa for buried in the magnificent Chamber of 12 Pillars in a tomb made thousands of years. It includes beautifully curated exhibits of from Italian marble and gilded with pure gold. Less exalted traditional Berber art, clothing, and jewlery. princes and rulers from the dynasty are buried nearby. The We’ll continue to the Yves St. Laurent Museum. It showcases the next circle in the Saadi power structure, including royal wives, haute couture culture and accessories of this legendary French chancellors, and some Jewish advisers, were “relegated” to fashion designer, who lived for many years in Marrakech. graves in the still impressive gardens. Ben Kodesh Lechol: teeming with life. Get ready for amazement and a daily carnival of Rocking the Kasbah: Morocco has a rich musical tradition snake-charmers, street vendors, musicians, story-tellers, and including Arabic Chaabi folk music and the mystical melodies of Free time to explore Marrakech’s enormous marketplace on your Gnawa. Hear the sounds of Morocco during this performance by own. an oud musician. The oud, sometimes called the grandfather of What We’ve Seen and Felt while Exploring Morocco: Our farewell the guitar, is one of the key instruments in Middle Eastern and to Morocco dinner will include the chance to share experiences North African music. and discoveries that have inspired us during our journey.

Dinner on own and evening at leisure. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Overnight: La Mamounia, Marrakech Overnight: La Mamounia, Marrakech DAY NINE  MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 DAY EIGHT  SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020 UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN THE TASTES AND SMELLS OF MARRAKECH Breakfast at the hotel, followed by check-out. (Optional)) Minyan. Transfer to Casablanca International Airport for your return flight The Taste of Morocco: Savor the flavors, spices, and foods of to the US. Morocco in a cooking workshop, where fun and laughter are a crucial part of the menu. And after the cooking comes the eating with a delicious lunch of our own making. Our meal of the Maghreb will be accompanied by mint tea, the ubiquitous drink of Morocco and a symbol of its famed hospitality. Enjoy a guided tour of the Mellah (Jewish quarter) of Marrakech: Visit the Slat al-Azama Synagogue, the synagogue of the Explore the Jewish Cemetery of Marrakech. LaDa’at Focus Saints and Holiness from Morocco to Israel: The Transference of Traditions with your tour educator. Explore The Djemaa El Fna Square, an enormous marketplace, is one of Africa’s most astonishing sites. According to one theory, its name means an assembly of the dead and refers to the public executions that used to take place here. However, this is a place ATLAS MOUNTAIN DAY TWO  TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2020 & DESERT EXTENSION INTO THE DESERT (Optional) Minyan. Check out of the hotel and drive south along one of the most DAY ONE  MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 beautiful roads in Morocco towards the Saharan mountain ranges INTO THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS of the Anti-Atlas. On descending the High-Atlas, the scenery will (Optional) Minyan. slowly change, becoming more barren with interesting geological Check out of the hotel, depart Marrakech, and follow the old formation and canyons, signaling the beginning of the Sahara tribal pass over the Atlas Mountains that bore the traffic of the old Desert. Caravan route. Drive along the “Route of a Thousand Kasbahs,” a region of Arrive in Ait Ben Haddou, one of Southern Morocco’s most fortresses, which in antiquity, each had a clear objective to recognizable villages, often used as a location for fashion and film defend the nearby territory. The Kasbahs, however, also served shoots, and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. the purpose of trade stop, local market and general crossroads of Lunch at a local restaurant. ideas and goods. Each fortress was associated with its own palace Take a walk up to the old village and visit some of the Berber or castle so as to be better supported and defended itself. The families still living there. Here you will discover one of the most ancient role of the Kasbah proudly leaves its mark, producing a beautiful pages of the Berber architecture that UNESCO is trying spellbinding experience, not soon forgotten. to preserve. Walk along the Todra Gorge, carved by ancient rivers, leaving Continue to Ouarzazate, the film-making town built at the foot of behind high cliffs of up to 500 feet on either side of a basin, which the snowcapped High Atlas Mountains. at times is no wider than 33 feet. Check into the hotel and enjoy Lunch at a local restaurant. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Stop in Tineghir, a beautiful 20-mile long oasis, wedged between Overnight: Berber Palace, Ouarzazate two majestic mountain ranges. Continue to the edge of the Reg Desert in Merzouga, where the Saharan sand dunes begin. Modern Day Camel-Trekking: 4-Wheel Drive: As you imagine the desert as it should be, let your imagination come to life as you drive in rugged off-road (4x4) vehicles deep into the Sahara Desert. The Real Ships of the Desert: One Hump or Two: Ride camels over DAY FOUR  THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020 the sand dunes of Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara and arrive RETURN HOME at your desert camp. Breakfast at the hotel, followed by check-out. Enjoy a spectacular sunset and continue to your private camp in Transfer to Errachidia Airport for your flight to Casablanca. the middle of the sand dunes. Depart Casablanca International Airport for your return flight to Serenity and Sanctity: Really Getting Away From It All: Enjoy a the US. Traditional Berber dinner at the desert camp under the stars accompanied by local entertainers. Meals: Breakfast Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight: Desert Camp, Merzouga

DAY THREE  WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 EXPLORING THE DESERT First Light, Surfs Up: Early wake-up to enjoy a desert sunrise, and get the adrenaline pumping with (optional) sand-boarding on the sand dunes. Meditation session on the sand dunes. 4X4 Jeep tour deeper into the desert. Lunch at the desert camp. Depart the camp and drive to the city of Rissani and the ruins of the legendary caravan city of This town was a central hub of the very busy camel caravan trains in the region. Participate in a pottery workshop, for which Rissani is known. Continue to Erfoud, check into the hotel, and enjoy Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight: Palais de Desert, Erfoud “The flowering, not the fruit. The way, not the distance covered.” Meir Shalev

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