Morocco
MOROCCO, the farthest east
Morocco is enchanting, mystical, charming, warm, chilled, cool, enlightening
Morocco is blessed, deep, far, wide, ancient, new, moutain, sea and sandy dune.......
Morocco is a land founded by a saint. Moulay Idris the first (ra) was family of the Prophet Muhammad(saw) and ended up at the farthest west or Maghrib (modern day Morocco) after incessant persecution of the family (ra) in the Arabian Peninsula at that time 790 AD. His son Moulay Idris the second(ra) had then founded Morocco's heartbeat, the walled city of Fez in 808 AD. Moulay Idris the first (ra) is buried on Mt Zerhun, approx 2hrs from Fez and his son Moulay Idris the second (ra) is buried in Fez itself.
Morocco was really the bridge between the lands of Islam and Europe in the middle ages. It was the Almohad dynasty 1130 AD and onwards (via Andalusia Spain) that really began to enlighten 'the West' in everything from scholarship and philosophy to street lighting and sewage systems. This period flowered into a great exchange of different knowledges and tolerance between different faiths rarely experienced in history.
All of this was founded in Morocco and its main two centres of learning and tradition were Marrakesh and Fez. The Marrakesh of today is quite a spoilt version of before, but Fez still stubbornly retains its authenticity, mystique and allure. A city built within walls, there is never enough room except for pedestrians and horse cart. Morroco's landscape, with its rich red texture, is wonderfully fertile and you'll easily find any a route to desert, mountain or sea.......