Morocco and its imperial cities

Lashed by the tidal swells of the Atlantic where part of it juts out, Hassan II Mosque is sort of the symbol of Casablanca. Erected from 1986 to 1993, the mosque is an architectural masterpiece. It took 35,000 workers to make the design a reality, plus some 65,000 tons of reinforced concrete and marble galore. Both tourists and Casablanca's locals enjoy taking a Sunday stroll here.

A major figure in Moroccan history (17th century) who carried out the construction of the city's most beautiful monuments, Sultan Moulay Ismail raised Meknes to the rank of imperial city. Part of its sanctuary is now accessible to non-Muslims. After passing through a beautiful series of patios, the mausoleum room is indeed divided into two parts: one sacred, the other secular.

Created in 1994, the Festival of World Sacred Music in Fes is unmissable. Joan Baez, Patti Smith, Björk, Ben Harper, Paco de Lucia, Ravi Shankar, Barbara Hendricks and Salif Keita have all come to sing on one of the stages in the town. For overa week, between May and June, the performances continue between the Bab Makina square, the JnanSbil garden and the hidden riads of the medina…

Beneath the famous 12th century Hispanic-Moorish minaret which was the model for Seville's Giralda, the largest mosque in Marrakesh can hold nearly 20,000 worshippers. Only accessible by Muslims, you can nevertheless walk through the rich gardens and imagine the ancient souk that traded in manuscripts here. Kotoubia still means “Mosque of the Booksellers” …

A place of spectacle where you will see at least two performances. By day, Jemâa el-Fna square is home to dried fruit vendors, barbers and shoe shiners. The square attracts fortune-tellers, jugglers, snake charmers, water vendors and henna artists, who share the space with the ephemeral food stalls that appear at night. Savour cumin escargots or chicken kebabs while Gnawa music floats around the square. My favourite time is right in between the two performances, at dusk, when the square is transformed and Marrakchis and tourists flow into the centre of the city and into another world.

Between the Tadla Plain and the Middle Atlas Mountains lies the city of Béni Mellal where people live the good life. A famed landmark still dominates the skyline on the road to the imperial cities of Fez and Marrakesh: the rammed earth Berber casbah built in the 17th century. Another one of the city's unexpected points of interest is it serves as the best place to start hiking to the Middle Atlas mountain range and depart for caving expeditions to the area's grottoes and chasms. A pure gem!