We officially started our Moroccan Mosaics tour of Morocco this morning. There are just fourteen of us, plus our tour co-ordinator Richard and our Moroccan guide Tarik. We have all met each other and we’re sure we will enjoy each other’s company over the next two and half weeks.

First, while still in Rabat, a short stop at the Hassan tower, which is about all that remains of the mosque that was commenced in 1195. It was to be the largest mosque in the world, but construction was abandoned after King Hassan’s death a few years later. The site also contains the tomb of King Mohammed V, the current king’s grandfather. Then to the nearby town of Salé and a walk through a maze of alleys to the small town square, a nondescript square now surrounded by shops and hosting a few trees with their lower halves painted in lime. Its significance is that for the 250 years of the white slave trade it was a bustling slave market. In the mid 17th century Moroccan (and Algerian) corsairs started plundering shipping, especially that bringing wealth from the “new world” and in fact landed in places as far away as France, Cornwall, Ireland and even America to round up and kidnap whites for the slave trade back in Africa. It has been estimated that about one million white slaves passed through the Salé market, many to be used on the vast construction projects initiated by Sultan Moulay Ismail when he ascended to the throne in 1672 (and ruled until 1727). It is a fascinating and relatively unknown aspect of European life that lasted until the early 18th century when diplomacy finally prevailed and the trade was stopped.

Then a couple of hours drive in our small coach to the town of Meknes, which Moulay Ismail chose as his capital and proceeded to turn it from a small village to a world class city. A great fan of France’s Louis XIV, he was keen to build a palace to rival Versailles. Although commenced, the palace was never completed (as was the case with many of Moulay Ismail’s other grand projects), however it is estimated that during his 45 year reign, over one million slaves passed through the gates of Meknes. We visited the granary, one building that was completed and is still intact. It was designed to hold all of the grain harvest of Morocco for one year and could contain enough grain to feed the half million population of Meknes for twenty years in the event of a siege (which, by the way, never happened). We also visited the stables, designed with pillars on the same principle as the Cordoba Mosque, and able to hold his 12,000 horses.

Then to the charming Bou Inania Medrasa (Islamic college), and on to the Dar Jamal, a palatial 19th century residence that is now a museum, and a walk through the narrow alleyways of the medina and across a large open square to finish at the largest gates in Morocco in the gateway of Bab al Mansour, named after Mansour ‘Ilj, a former Christian slave who converted to Islam and did quite well out of it. It was the main entrance to what was to be the palace, and was designed to impress all who entered.

Finally to our hotel, a traditional riad with rooms leading off a central courtyard. No TV, no telephone but a bathroom (converted from a cellar) where you can actually sit on a stone bench while you have your shower! Out for dinner to a local restaurant tonight with the group, then:

Tomorrow: off to the sacred pilgrimage town of Moulay Idriss, then to Volubilis, perched on a high plateau, then finish the day at Chefchaouen.