Morocco Tour Description: This One-Day Marrakech Jewish Heritage Private Tour includes visiting the Jewish Mellah of Marrakech, the Marrakech Synagogues, Jewish Sites, Moroccan Heritage & Cultural Sites

Tour Name: Marrakech Jewish Heritage Tour

Places Visited: Imperial Cities, Sahara Desert, Skoura, Dades Valley

Duration: A One-Day Marrakech Jewish Heritage Tour

►Book a Tour or call (800) 787-8806. Let us be your  Private Morocco Travel Guide This is a fascinating and Jewish Heritage Tour for first time travelers to Marrakech interested in discovering historic Jewish life. Hear the Stories of the Jewish Mellah, visit Sephardic Jewish synagogues and palaces, the cemetery and holy Jewish places along with picturesque markets and the spice souks. Shabbat Services and Dinner with a Jewish family can be arranged upon request.

Visit Ibn Lazama Synagogue, a 16th Century Jewish and is an important testament to Morocco's Jewish History 

Explore the Jewish Cemetery Museum and Marrakech Jewish Cemetery

Stories of the Jewish Mellah and the Spice Souk

The Beth-El Synagogue in the Ville Nouvelle of Gueliz

The home of Maimonides and Maimonides Jewish Community Center

Dinner at a Rabbi’s Home or Kosher Restaurant. Meet the Local Marrakech Jewish Community (Friday evenings)

Moroccan Historical & Cultural Sites: The Majorelle Gardens & Berber, Museum, the Bahia Palace, Ben Youssef Medersa, Saadian Tombs and Koutoubia Mosque and Gardens

Marrakech is a city of underground channels built by the architects from Cordoba, Spain to provide water for the town and Palmery. 

►Visit the Jewish Mellah - Founded in 1558 by Moulay Abdallah, the Mellah district was designated as the Jewish quarter in Marrakech. At the time of the Spanish religious wars, Jewish refugees were escaping the country, and were offered this little piece of security by the Sultan. 

►The Old Spice Market - The Rahba Kedima is a colorful market filled with a wide array of spices from Cumin, Cinnamon, Saffron, Dried Pepper and more.

►Visit the LazamaSynagogue in Marrakech, located in the old medina. The Lazama Synagogue dates back to the 16th century and is an important testament to Morocco’s deep Jewish history. This Quarter was created in the Kasbah area in 1558.  Meet Kati Roumani, an anthropologist from London, works as a guide at the Lazama Synagogue. 

► Tour the Rabbi Hanania Hacohen Cemetery, the place of burial for Rabbi Mordekhai Ben Attar and Rabbi Pinhas Hacohen Azough, where the “patron of Marrakech” resides.

►The Jewish community enjoyed autonomy even though Jews weren't allowed to own any property outside the Mellah and controlled the sugar trade. There are approximately 250 Jews still living in Marrakech, and most live outside the medina. The Mellah in the historic Marrakech medina is now almost completely Muslim. Visit Synagogue Beth-El in the Villa Nouvelle of Gueliz.

►Next visit the sixteenth century Saadian Tombs with its stark towers, the ruined 16th century El Badhi palace.

►Explore The Majorelle Gardens, previously the Jardin Bou Saf, bears its name from its original creator, Jacques Majorelle, the French expatriate artist who was born in Nancy France in 1886. Jacques Majorelle was the son of the celebrated Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle. In 1947 he opened his gardens to the public and during this time also painted a magnificent ceiling space at La Mamounia, a five-star hotel with gardens and the place where Alfred Hitchcock wrote, “The Birds.” Jacques Majorelle studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy in 1901 and later in 1919 he went to Marrakech, Morocco to recover from heart problems. He built the garden during those years using special color of blue which he used extensively in the garden that is named after him, Majorelle Blue. Jacques Majorelle returned to France in 1962 after a car incident and died later that year of complications from his injuries. As a collector of unique plants from five continents Jacque Majorelle left to Saint Laurent one of the more unique collections of flore and fauna of this era as well as a place of inspiration and contemplation. Even though Morocco is no longer under the French protectorate, this originally French creation is one of the most beloved areas in Morocco. 

►Next we will visit 12th century Koutouba Mosque and its influential minaret along with the Mausoleum of Lalla Zohra. Lalla Zohra was a former slave whose mythology is that she turned into a dove at night and performed miracles.

►The Koutoubia Mosque and Gardens- The largest mosque in Marrakech, Morocco. The minerat was completed under the reign of the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al- Mansur (1184-1199) and was used as the model for the Giarlda of Seville and for the Hassan Tower of Rabat. 

►El Bahia Palace - The El Bahia Palace in Marrakech is a beautiful building and an excellent example of Eastern Architecture from the 19th century that represents trends and standards of the wealthy who lived at that time. It was built for Ahmed Ibn Moussa (or Ba Ahmed) between 1894 and 1900 in the Alawi style that was popular at the time. Craftsmen were brought from Fes to work on this monumental task which took approximately fifteen years to complete.  

►The Saadian Tombs - The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The tombs have, because of the beauty of their decoration, been a major attraction for visitors of Marrakech. The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty that originated in the valley of the Draa River. 

Your guide will then help you navigate through the labyrinth like streets and alleys of Djemma El Fna Square. Enjoy the aromatic streets, taste the fresh squeeze orange juice and venture into the souks (shops) specializing in Berber carpets, silver jewelry, artisan workshops,handmade shoes, tanneries, etc.