Mystical Tours

Were decsendants from the prophet Mohamed. They originally came from Arabiain the 12C, and settled in the valley of the Draa in the South of Morocco. They moved to Fez and were easily given power by the Wattasides. In the 16 C, they rebuilt the town of Taroudant as their capital.

During the Saadians’reign, the portugueuse had always dreamt of regaining power in the Moroccan territories. King Sebastian who was asked helped from one of the sultans nephews, landed in Asilah with a massive force of soldiers, there followed a memorable battle in 1578 at Ksar Kbir. The battle was known as the battle of the Three Kings, in which the portugueuse army was defeated, and in which King Sebastian, the Pretender and the Sultan Abd El Malik died.

Glorious in their victory, the Saadians under the reign of Ahmed Saadi(1578-1603) settled down in Fez. The Badi Palace and the Ethereal Mausoleum ( les tombeux Saadians) in Marrakesh are proofs of the wealth of Saadians.

They were also decsended from the prophet Mohamed. They had arrived from Arabia some three ceunturies earlier to settle near Rissani in the Tafilalet region in the south.( They are referred to as Filali). Unlike preceding dynasties they did not move and seize power but were formally invited by the people of Fez to come to the capital and take over the throne of Morocco.

The first Alaouite ruler ,Moulay Rachid, reigned in 1666. He restored order with a firm hand, revived the life of all mosques and drove out all the pretenders. Under the reign of Moulay Ismael( 1672-1727) Morocco was made again a great country.He exchanged ambassadorts with many leading Powers. Meknes was chosen by Moulay Ismael as the imperial city which he made his capital. Today, the miles of ruined walls, palaces and stables bear witness to his energy and ambition and also to the scale of his success.

In 1757, another wise and strong Alaouite ruler came to the throne. He was Mohamed ben Abdellah. Hebuilt the city of Essaouira and invited the English, the French, and the jewish people to settle and to trade there.

Moulay el hassan acceded to the throne in 1873. He had the task of pacifying the tribes and was the first monarch to enter the wild Souss Area, where the tribes never acknowledged the authority of the state.

During his reign, the European governments suggested ways of reforming administration , such as fixed salaries, civil servants and a more structured method tax collection.

Attacks on foreigners were frequent and the tribes took power into their own hands. At that time, the French occupied Morocco, The Spaniards, for historical reasons, insisted on sharing the influence on Morocco. In 1906, the Conference of Algeciras( in which 30 nations were present) took place and had the effect of internationalizing the whole affair. Tangier was an international free port, and the whole country was under the protectorate of the French government.

In 1912, Sultan Moulay Hafid signed the Treaty of FEZ . He was relieved from the power to govern. The country was under the controle of a French Resident- General called Lyauty.He aimed to pacify and to construct. He also built the ports of Casablanca and Kenitra, the new towns of Rabat, Fez, Meknes and Marrakech, while the old medina of theses cities remained untouched. A modern educational system was introduced, the administration was modernised and the legal system reformed. Still the tribes in the south of Morocco were very rebellious. By 1920, there was a more structured rebellionand resistance in the Rif Mountains, led by Abdelkarim Khattabi. The French began by driving a wedge between Berbers and Arabs. The Sultan, at that time, signed a beber decree in 1930, which on the contrary of what the French calculated, brought the two parties even closer. Then , a serious movement of national independance was born especially formed by young intellectuals from Rabat and Fez.

In 1927, Moulay Youssef was succeded by his son Mohamed V, aged 17 years old. It was not until after World War II that the independence movement really gathered momentum. The troops Moroccans provided for the French army had conducted themselves with honor. At that time, an official independence party was formed called Istiqlal,whose first act was to send a memorundum to the sultan and the French authorities asking for independence and a democratic constitution. The immediate reaction to this request was the arrest of several Istiqlal leaders , whereas the sultan refused to sign any more decrees concerning his people.

In August 1953 the royal family was deported to Corsica and Madagascar, and another person was designed by the French to sit on the throne. Violence towards the French officials was the reaction of the Moroccan people, who claimed the return of the king.

In December 1956, The king was taken to France , where he signed a declaration promising that there would be a constitutional monarchy which would move towards ademocratic state.

In March 1956, the French signed an agreement in which they granted full independence to Morocco. The Spanish did the same and Tangier lost its international status during the same year.

The Sultan formed a government and French Officials were gradually replaced by Moroccans.

In 1961, King Mohamed V was succeded by Crown Prince Hassan II who presented a new constitution. Tthe first elected parliament assembled on 1963.

The Green March, which took place in 1975, is the most important event in the Reign of Late Hassan II. 350.000 unarmed Moroccans marched south into the desert to reassert the sovereinty of the Sahara which was in the hands of the Spanish at that time.

In July 23rd, Late KING Hassan II was succeeded by Crown prince Mohamed Ibn Al Hassan, with the title of King Mohamed VI aged 36 years old and , holds a State doctorate on the subject of the relations between The Europeen Union and the countries of the Maghreb, from the university of Sophia Antipolis of Nice.