Morocco Religious Studies School Trips

Daytime: Flight & transfer to accommodation with guide and exploration of local area

Evening: Free time to settle in and evening meal

Morning: Koutoubia Mosque, Bahia Palace and Jewish quarter (“the Mellah”)

Afternoon: Souks of the medina including the Medersa Ben Youssef Explore the Djemaa El Fna square

Evening: Evening meal

Koutoubia Mosque    

Viewed from the outside, this mosque was built in the XIth century by the Almohad dynasty and is the largest mosque in Marrakech, famed for its magnificent minaret, the oldest of the three great Almohad minarets remaining in the world.

Bahia Palace & Jewish Quarter ‘The Mellah’    

The walled Jewish Quarter in the city is the historic home to most of Marrakech’s Jewish community. It is also the location of the Lazama Synagogue.

Souks of the Medina including the Medersa Ben Youssef    

Once an Islamic college, the Medersa is one of the most spectacular monuments in Marrakech, containing at its centre a large courtyard with a central pool for ablutions.

Djemaa El Fna Square    

Popular with locals and tourists, this square is a hive of activity. During the day it is home to orange juice stalls and water sellers in colourful costumes, and in the evening the show wakes up and the square becomes host to snake charmers, acrobats, Chleuh dancing-boys, fortune tellers and magicians, as well as dozens of food-stalls.

Morning: Departure to Casablanca, Mosque of Hassan II

Aftternoon: Visit to the Cathedral Notre Dame de Lourdes, explore the Jewish museum

Evening: Transfer to hotel for evening meal

Mosque of Hassan II    

The largest Mosque in the world after Mecca, the Mosque of Hassan II is one of the very few Islamic religious buildings open to non-Muslims. It can hold 25,000 worshippers and accommodate a further 80,000 in the courtyards and squares around it. The highly modern mosque has a section of glass flooring allowing the faithful to see the ocean washing onto the rocks below.

Cathedral Notre Dame de Lourdes

In a striking contrast to the more traditional attractions that can be found around it, the cathedral was completed in 1956. The open, airy interiors are lit up by the coloured beams of light that filter through the stained glass windows which cover an entire wall, giving the window a surface area of over 800m2.

Jewish Museum    

The only Jewish museum in the Islamic world, highlights the history of the once-thriving Jewish community in Morocco and its influence on modern Moroccan society.

Morning: Departure for Rabat, visit of the Hassan Tower, Mohammed V Mausoleum and Cathedral Saint Pierre

Afternoon: Visit the Chellah, necropolis from the Merinide Period, Return to Marrakech

Evening: Evening meal

Hassan Tower    

This tower is actually a minaret, belonging to an unfinished mosque, sister of the Koutoubia in Marrakech and the Giralda cathedral in Seville, Spain, built by the Almohads in the XIIth century. The construction of the mosque began in 1195 but stopped in 1199 when the Sultan died.

Mohammed V Mausoleum    

Located on the opposite side of the Hassan Tower in Rabat, it contains the tombs of the Moroccan king and his two sons.
Cathedral Saint Pierre    The only Catholic church building in Rabat, the cathedral is still used by Christians today and mass is celebrated every other day.

Chellah    

Chellah is a medieval fortified necropolis located south of Rabat, Morocco.  Chellah existed since pre-Islamic times and houses complex of ancient Roman Mauretania Tingitana and medieval ruins. It is the most ancient human settlement on the mouth of the Bou Regreg River.

Morning & afternoon: Free time in Marrakech. Transfer to airport for return flight to UK