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Sarah Tours is the company people think of when they want customized tours in Morocco. We believe that travel is more than just ticking off destinations from a list. It's about immersing yourself in the heart of each place, to truly discover a destination. Our incredible adventures span all seven continents and allow you to delve deeper with local immersion, exploring not just the iconic sights but also the hidden corners known only to the locals, sustainable and immersive journeys.
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Adventure Articles
Fez Cultural and Historical Visit
Fez in One Day: A Living Journey Through 1,200 Years of History Fez is not a city you simply visit. It is a walking manuscript. It is a city you enter, slowly—through gates, alleys, sounds, and scents—until history begins to speak back. Founded in 789 AD by Moulay Idriss I, Fez is the spiritual, intellectual, and cultural heart of Morocco. For over twelve centuries, it has shaped Islamic scholarship, trade, craftsmanship, and urban life across North Africa and beyond. In one well-paced day, Fez reveals its soul—if you know where to look. Morning: The Birth of Fez and Its Sacred Foundations 1. Bab Boujloud – The Ceremonial Gateway Your journey begins at Bab Boujloud, the iconic Blue Gate. Built in the early 20th century, it marks the symbolic entrance into Fez el-Bali, the oldest living medieval city in the world. Step through it, and modern time fades away. 2. Bou Inania Madrasa – Architecture as Faith A short walk brings you to the Bou Inania Madrasa (14th century), built by the Marinid dynasty. Its carved cedar wood, zellij tiles, and calligraphy represent the golden age of Moroccan Islamic architecture. This was not only a school—it was a statement of power, knowledge, and devotion. 3.Al-Qarawiyyin University – The Oldest University in the World Founded in 859 AD by Fatima al-Fihri, Al-Qarawiyyin is the oldest continuously operating university on Earth. For centuries, scholars from across Africa, Andalusia, and the Middle East studied here—law, astronomy, medicine, and theology—making Fez a global center of knowledge long before Europe’s Renaissance. 4. Al-Attarine Madrasa – Knowledge and Trade Intertwined Near the spice and perfume markets stands Al-Attarine Madrasa, another Marinid masterpiece. Its location beside souks reflects a core truth of Fez: learning, commerce, and daily life were never separate. Midday: The Beating Heart of the Medina 5. Chouara Tannery – A Medieval Industry Still Alive ![] From a traditional terrace, overlook the Chouara Tannery, operating since the 11th century. Leather is still processed exactly as it was centuries ago—lime pits, natural dyes, and human labor. This is Fez as a working city, not a museum. 6. Nejjarine Square and Fondouk – The Art of Wood and Trade The elegant Nejjarine Fountain sits beside a restored caravanserai that once hosted merchants from across Africa and the Mediterranean. Here, Fez reveals its role as a major trade hub, linking gold, salt, leather, and ideas across continents. 7. Traditional Artisan Quarters – The Living Crafts Walk through neighborhoods dedicated to brassworkers, potters, weavers, and carpenters. These crafts are not souvenirs—they are inherited professions, passed down through generations, protected by guild traditions that shaped Fez’s social fabric. Afternoon: Spirituality, Community, and Daily Life 8. Andalusian Mosque – The Other Pillar of Fez Founded by Andalusian refugees in the 9th century, the Andalusian Mosque reflects Fez’s dual origins—Arab, Amazigh, and Andalusian. It reminds visitors that Fez was built by migrants, scholars, and artisans, not conquerors alone. 9. Mellah of Fez – A Shared Urban History ![] Visit the Jewish Quarter (Mellah) of Fez el-Jdid, established in the 15th century. Fez’s Jewish community played a vital role in diplomacy, trade, and craftsmanship, illustrating centuries of coexistence within the city’s walls. Late Afternoon: Perspective and Reflection 10. Borj Nord – Fez from Above End your day at Borj Nord, a 16th-century fortress overlooking the entire medina. From here, Fez appears as a dense sea of rooftops, minarets, and history—unchanged in spirit despite the passing centuries.
Food Security and the True Wealth of Nations
Food Security and the True Wealth of Nations: Why Feeding People Matters More Than GDP When global systems slow down, borders close, and supply chains fracture, one truth rises above all others: People must eat. A recent global study covering 186 countries reveals a disturbing reality: most of the world’s largest economic powers cannot fully feed their own populations without food imports. Despite impressive GDP figures and technological advancement, many nations remain deeply dependent on fragile global food supply chains. This finding forces us to rethink what true national wealth really means. The Fragility Behind Economic Power Countries often seen as global giants, including the United States, China, and India, fall short of full food self-sufficiency. Their agricultural output does not consistently provide a balanced, healthy, and sustainable diet for their entire population without relying on imports. Their prosperity is real, but it is interdependent, built on international trade routes, shipping lanes, and global stability. When those systems are disrupted by pandemics, climate events, conflicts, or energy crises, food security becomes vulnerable. Economic strength alone does not guarantee nourishment. Guyana: A Quiet Model of Food Self-Sufficiency In sharp contrast stands Guyana 🇬🇾, a small and often overlooked country in South America. With fewer than one million inhabitants, Guyana meets 100% of its nutritional needs. Fertile agricultural land, abundant freshwater resources, and a strong connection between people and the soil enable the country to remain food-secure without relying heavily on imports. Guyana proves that scale is not the determining factor; stewardship of land and water is. Food Security: The Forgotten Measure of Real Wealth This study reminds us of a fundamental truth often ignored in modern economics: A nation’s real wealth is not measured only by GDP, but by its ability to feed its population, especially in times of global instability. Before financial markets, industrial output, or digital economies, human survival depended on agriculture, water, and community knowledge. Societies that respected these foundations endured. Those who neglected them struggled. Why This Matters to Conscious Travelers At Sarah Tours, we believe travel should go beyond sightseeing. It should help us understand how people live, farm, share, and sustain themselves. Across Morocco, Africa, Southern Europe, Latin America, and beyond, we meet communities whose resilience is rooted in: • Traditional farming practices • Seasonal food systems • Respect for land and water • Local knowledge passed through generations These places teach us something modern systems often forget: When everything stops, food becomes the first priority. Travel as a Path to Understanding Sustainability Responsible travel allows us to reconnect with essential truths: • Where does our food come from? • Who grows it? • What happens when global systems fail? By exploring agricultural regions, rural communities, and traditional food cultures, travelers gain a deeper understanding of food security, sustainability, and resilience. Because to travel wisely today is also to learn how humanity can endure tomorrow. Final Thought When the world becomes uncertain, the land remembers. And those who care for it will always have a future. By Hamid Mernissi
Day Excursions from Fez
Day Trips & Desert Escapes from Fez — Chefchaouen, Meknes, Middle Atlas & Sahara From Fez, every road leads to a different Morocco: blue mountain towns, Roman ruins, holy hilltop villages, cedar forests, orchards, and — far beyond — the golden silence of the Sahara. These journeys are not simply excursions. They are short stories lived in a single day, written in light, landscape, and human encounters. In this travel reflection, we share some of our most meaningful experiences starting from Fez — crafted with care, authenticity, and respect for place and people. Fez to Chefchaouen — The Blue Pearl of the Rif (Full-Day Excursion) Leave the ochre walls of Fez behind and travel through rolling hills and olive groves toward Chefchaouen, the legendary Blue City of the Rif Mountains. As you enter the town, the world shifts into shades of indigo and sky: alleyways painted in blue, carved wooden doors, balconies draped in bougainvillea. Wander gently through quiet streets where artisans work behind half-open doors and fountains murmur beneath tiled archways. Chefchaouen is not rushed — it invites you to breathe, to photograph, and to listen. Journey Highlights • Blue medina & Andalusian atmosphere • Mountain scenery & panoramic viewpoints • Gentle walking & artisan workshops Meknes, Volubilis & Moulay Idriss — Empires, Stones & Saints (Full-Day Excursion) This day gathers centuries into a single journey. In Meknes, once the imperial capital of Moulay Ismail, monumental gates, royal granaries, and vast esplanades still echo the ambition of a dynasty. The rhythm of history lingers in the scale of its walls and the calm of its courtyards. Continue to Volubilis, the Roman city where mosaics sleep beneath open fields and storks perch on fallen columns. Each stone whispers stories of merchants, scholars, and families from distant centuries. The road ends in Moulay Idriss, a holy hill town wrapped around a shrine — white houses cascading over olive-covered slopes, a village of devotion, pilgrimage, and timeless tranquility. Journey Highlights • Imperial city of Meknes • Roman ruins & mosaics of Volubilis • Holy town of Moulay Idriss Middle Atlas — Ifrane, Cedar Forests & Azrou (Full-Day Excursion) Rise into the cool air and high meadows of the Middle Atlas. In Ifrane, stone houses, lakes, and flowered gardens recall a peaceful alpine town where time slows to a gentle rhythm. Travel onward to Azrou, where ancient cedar forests breathe resin and moss. Beneath their tall trunks, Barbary macaques roam freely and the wind carries the scent of pine and earth. This is Morocco’s quiet highland — a landscape of altitude and silence. Journey Highlights • Alpine-style town of Ifrane • Cedar forests & mountain scenery • Barbary macaques & fresh high-altitude air Sefrou & Bhalil — Villages of Springs and Cave Homes (Full-Day Excursion) Just beyond Fez lies another Morocco, intimate and deeply human. In Sefrou, a town of gardens and flowing springs, bridges cross lively waters and old houses lean toward narrow streets. Once a vital trading post, Sefrou still carries the calm dignity of a place where cultures met and lived side by side. Continue to Bhalil, a village known for its cave houses gently carved into the hillside. Here, life moves with humility and grace: laundry drying on stone terraces, children playing in thresholds, tea served in the cool shade of rock-hewn rooms. Journey Highlights • Traditional town of Sefrou • Rivers, orchards & village life • Bhalil cave homes & local encounters Fez to Merzouga — Sahara Dunes & Desert Nights (3-Day Journey) This journey carries you from the green valleys of Fez to the golden edge of the Sahara. Cross the Middle Atlas and its cedar forests, descend through valleys and desert plateaus, and follow the palm groves that announce the approach of Merzouga. There, the dunes of Erg Chebbi rise like waves at the end of the horizon. At sunset, ride a camel across the sand as the sky turns amber and rose. Spend the night in a desert camp beneath a sky luminous with stars — where silence, music, and wind share the same language. Journey Highlights • Mountain & desert landscapes • Camel trek across the dunes • Sunset & sunrise over the Sahara • Desert camp & cultural music evenings
Tea Ceremony in Fez
Spearmint and the Geography of Taste in Fez By Hamid Mernissi Spearmint held a place of quiet importance in our daily lives when I was growing up in the Medina of Fez. It was never a mere garnish to tea, but a seasonal compass, a marker of refinement, care, and intention. One did not simply buy mint; one sought it, according to time, place, and the dignity of those who would drink the tea. In spring and summer, our search took us beyond the walls of Fez, toward the fertile plains of Meknes, irrigated by the sweet waters of the Boufekrane streams. Mint from those lands carried a clarity, upright stems, tender leaves, and a fragrance that rose instantly when rubbed between the fingers. It was the mint of generosity and daylight, of long afternoons and open doors. Winter demanded another knowledge. Then we relied on the gardens of Bab Lhdid, where aromatic mint thrived beside wormwood, sheeba, and sage, salmia, herbs reserved for colder days and heavier conversations. Their scents were deeper, medicinal, grounding; they warmed not only the tea but the chest itself. In winter, mint was no longer playful; it became protective. If one truly cared about the tea, distance did not matter. You crossed the city if you had to. And yet, mint was everywhere too, sold on street corners, carried in baskets, offered in bunches, but everyone knew that not all mint spoke the same language. In Rashm Laayoune, there was a small, unassuming shop owned by ʿAmmi Driss Sefreoui, who sold nothing all year long but fresh mint and aromatic herbs for winter infusions. That was his devotion. His shop smelled of patience and continuity. You did not ask questions there; you trusted the leaves. In the Andalus quarter, at the junction of Sid Al Awwad and El Khrachfiyyine, another name carried weight: Al Qadri Lbcir. His mint produced the finest albeldia, short, dense, intensely aromatic, a mint that did not shout but lingered. Connoisseurs knew it. So did those who aspired to be. Tea itself followed its own hierarchy. In Fez, quality tea came from a few trusted families, the Tazis and the Benkiranes, at the Sagha warehouse at the heart of the Medina, where taste and reputation were weighed more carefully than price. Three tea names defined households and occasions: Nmili, Elbaroudi, and Sha’ara, always green tea. Budget and preference determined the daily brew, but Sha’ara tea was always kept aside for special moments, honored guests, or when the need to impress without saying so arose. We were not accustomed to packaged tea. Every Fassi home understood this discretion. The tea set itself was a ceremony before the ceremony. Two trays were essential: one for the glasses and teapot, the other for the ingredients, mint, tea, sugar, accompanied by a small cobbler used for tashlila, rinsing the tea leaves as the pot began to breathe. Nearby, always, a samovar or kettle rested over a charcoal fire, steaming quietly, feeding the pot with boiling water so it could simmer properly, never rushed. The host sat at the center of this small universe, surrounded by tastefully chiseled utensils, preparing the tea with a dignity that required no audience. Tea was served an hour after a generous meal, or offered to guests who came not to eat, but to talk — to settle family matters, exchange news, or mark presence between meals. Tea sets varied: silver Manchester for the refined, pewter or silvered brass for the modest, pure brass for those who valued endurance over shine. But whatever the material, the gesture remained the same. The high pour was not for display; it was to awaken the tea, to crown it with air and foam, to honor both the leaves and those who would drink. In Fez, tea was never rushed. It taught us how to wait, how to host, and how to belong.
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