Traveling through North Africa’s Medinas

If you’ve always dreamed of traveling to far away destinations, savoring exotic foods and amassing new experiences, embark on a journey for Morocco and explore its historic medinas.

  If you’re not familiar with the term, it refers to narrow pedestrian streets usually separated by ancient walls.  They were built by Arabs around the 9th century and always house picturesque courtyards with fountains, palaces and mosques. 

They can be busy, confusing and sometimes over-crowded, but in the midst of so much excitement you’ll always find stupendous shopping and dining opportunities. 

Begin your adventure with the medina in Rabat the capital of Morocco.  It’s situated off the second principal street.  Its gateway is more than four hundred years old and boasts a wide range of vendors selling clothing and jewelry.  It’s small in comparison with others but just as impressive. 

Not enough can be said of the Casablanca medina.  Through its maze of narrow paths you’ll encounter white washed houses as well as stalls showcasing everything from animals to handicrafts.  But do make time to tour the new medina designed in the early 1930s and featuring a mosque that’s open to non Muslim worshippers.  See the church of Notre Dame de Lourdes with its colorful stained glass windows.  And don’t miss Beth-El Synagogue one of the biggest and described as one of the most beautiful.  It displays Marc Chagall styled windows, an elegant crystal chandelier, decorative ceilings and walls inscribed with biblical quotes.  In this medina you can shop to your hearts content with the incredible selection of souks each one with more products than the other. 

And if in Marrakech, prepare to marvel in the works of talented artisans who create hand-made carpets, weavings, copper utensils and the famed Berber rugs.  Indulge your senses in aromatic spices, perfumes and incense.  Treat yourself to traditional clothing, wooden sculptures made in Thuya wood from the region of Essaouira, furnishings and metal pieces.

When in Fez, explore the immense medina built on a hill near the Royal Palace.  It dates back to the 1300s and offers visitors cobbled-stone alleyways, three-storey structures, mosques at every few meters and decorative fountains.             

In a medina, you might get lost but you’ll never lack for things to see.