The trip was enjoyable, mostly due to the participants. We had a wide ranging group of educated, curious, experienced travelers. I thought our guide, Ali, was knowledgeable and well spoken. However, he seemed more interested in talking than in listening and seemed to like to begin answering a question before it was fully expressed. Our tour director, Racquel, seemed to be most interested in talking/texting on her phone to Israel. She said that "her phone did not work in Morocco" . What if there had been an accident or other emergency? However, the one woman who was ill during the trip reported that Racquel was extremely helpful and rose to the challenge. Personally I was bothered on two occasions: One was at our final dinner when everything had nuts in it. My husband was unable to eat anything. (His food allergy was registered before the trip). We checked the restaurant menu and there were 6-8 choices without nuts that could have been ordered instead. The second time was when we wanted an earlier ride to the Marrakech airport than had been arranged. The proper response would have been "We don't think you need to go that early but we will make the arrangement". Instead, we had to argue with Racquel extensively before she would accommodate us. We have been on 4 similar trips with other organizations. While we are glad we went on this trip and enjoyed Morocco and our travel companions, the organization and daily operations of this trip were well below the level we experienced on other trips. For this reason, I doubt that we would travel with Tiyul again or recommend it to anyone.

In sum, it was a rich experience with a very good group of people. Thank you for organizing the trip. I was interested to see Morocco and to learn more about the Jews of Morocco (and the reasons that so many left for Israel in the 1950s and after the 1967 war, despite the fact that historically they had been rather well integrated and accepted). I also had distant personal connections--my late spouse had lived in Morocco years ago (I brought his book of beginning Moroccan Arabic with me), and I have relatives in France who are Maghrebi on their mother's side. We had a very good local tour guide, Ali, and our bus driver, Mohammad, was an excellent driver, navigating crowded city streets as well as the tight turns on the steep road through the Atlas Mountains. I also appreciated the talks by Rabbi Yoel. I got along well with our trip leader, Raquel, but she did not contribute much by way of commentary until the end of the trip--but then, this was her first time leading a tour in Morocco, her expertise being the Jewish communities of Europe. This was a very congenial group, and I had chances to meet and talk with almost everyone, and enjoyed some rich conversations. This was one of the important parts of my experience. I am also a great fan of Islamic decorative arts, and loved being in the presence of the tile work, the plaster work, the calligraphy, and so on in the mosques, synagogues, gates, riads. The accommodations were quite satisfactory, and the food was excellent. (I am surprised that I still fit into my clothes.) On our itinerary in Fez was the house that Maimonides was said to have lived in. We did not go there, which was too bad. Even if Maimonides had not really lived there, I would very much like to have seen the place claimed as his home. Fabulous to have spent the night at the dessert camp and to ride a camel. While I very much appreciated travelling to the Sahara and through the Atlas Mountains, I wonder whether there is a way to decrease the long hours spent in the bus so that there will be more time to explore the cities and towns. In Marrakesh, we missed going to the synagogue in the Mellah. The next day, the last day of the tour, some of us went to the synagogue. One group went by taxi; I walked with another member of the group, and thus we were able to stay as long as we liked in the synagogue and the attached talmud torah, now a museum, and experience the environment. And then the two of us found our way to the Jewish cemetery. I am so glad to have had that opportunity to walk to the Mellah with one other person, find our way to the synagogue, and visit the synagogue, talmud torah (now a museum), and the cemetery, with no time constraint. One criticism. When two members came down with covid near the end of the tour, there was no announced protocol or recommendation. There should have been a recommendation or reminder for the two people to isolate and not travel until recovered. Two other members of the group came down with covid soon after returning, and one of them told me that he had not worn a mask on the plane. Did he infect others? Of course, I don't know, but it would have been good if we had all been reminded to wear a mask while travelling.

This was a memorable trip. Morocco is a fascinating country, the people are friendly and the food was fabulous. The other travelers were a great group and we truly enjoyed the experience. Our guides were very good. They were knowledgeable and attentive and very helpful when a couple of travelers had health issues that needed to be addressed. A couple of the local guides were especially good. I have several suggestions to make the experience even better. (1) This trip was intended to give us a feel for Morocco's Jewish past and present. Some opportunities were missed in this regard. E.g., there was a synagogue near the hotel we stayed at in Casablanca, but no one suggested we visit it. On our way to Marrakesh we drove past an old synagogue, but did not stop. We walked by the old Sephardic synagogue (founded 1492) in Marrakesh, but no arrangements were made for us to visit (although some travelers went on their own). (2) There was too much crammed into each day and the time estimates for travel were unduly optimistic for a group our size. We didn't have enough down time to decompress and we ran late every day. A couple of the attractions could be eliminated (e.g., the visit to the fossil shop; the Yves St. Laurent museum and gardens (although the Berber museum was very interesting). (3) Related to the foregoing, we ate dinner very late each evening and this meant trying to get to sleep after a heavy meal. (4) If you have another trip with our demographic, (60-75 year olds), consider not arranging 3 huge meals -- however delicious they were -- each day. Maybe a special lunch one day, a special dinner the next. Don't get me wrong, though. I really enjoyed myself and learned a tremendous amount about the country.

This was an awesome trip! Ariel was a superb organizer and secondary guide. Jacobo ws our Mexico City guide and we couldn't have asked for a better one!

Pyramids. Cathedrals. Historic synagogues. Stunning ancient artifacts. Colorful folk art. Mole and mescal in a huge underground grotto. Dancing to real mariachis on bright-colored boats as we floated down a canal surrounded by happy people and greenery. We had a wide variety of adventures and experiences in one of the most fascinating cities in the world, and all in the comfort of a well-appointed bus and in spite of dense Mexico City traffic. The trip was well balanced in terms of exposure to both specifically Jewish points of interest and more general tourist attractions. We had visited Mexico City before and were surprised and pleased with both the access to the Jewish community-- private religious schools, synagogues and community centers, as well as the quality of most of the guides who were able to give us interesting information about everything we were seeing, including things my husband and I had seen before. The chosen restaurants were good in terms of both food and ambience. The hotel was suitable with comfortable beds and attentive staff. The tour guides were also attentive to individual needs as they came up. But probably my favorite thing was the tour attendees themselves-- educated, intellectually curious, pleasant people eager to enjoy life and each other. One of my favorite trips of all time.