Thank you Hassan for your note. We had a lovely time in Morocco. We especially appreciated the services of our driver, Abdu Abdel. He was not only a very good driver - very safe and conscientious but also courteous and always prompt. He had an excellent command of English and a very good sense of humor which we all appreciated.

We really enjoyed our time in the desert - that was really special. In retrospect (and for future travelers), it might make more sense to spend the night after the desert as well as the one before in Erfoud so travelers can clean up and have some free time. I think if I were planning the trip again, I would return to Erfoud after the desert and driver to Todra Gorge and Ouarzazate the following day and only stay for one night. That would allow people to leave their luggage in Erfoud and take a small bag to the desert.

Thank you for all of your assistance in planning the trip. It was most enjoyable for all of us and we loved seeing as much of Morocco as we did.

Karen Gordon

Hi Hassan.

Well, Marlene and I have arrived home from our wonderful trip to Morocco. Rhoda and Emily are due today and Carol M left on Nov. 8 without a hitch. We did indeed fall in love with Morocco. It is a country of opposites, adventure, wonderful sites and extremely nice people. We loved Rachid, our driver. He was great to us and looked after us. He deserves a big bonus and lots work as he was terrific. We loved the hotels and the Riads were wonderful. They gave us a taste of the new and the old. The woman who owns the Riad Tiwaline was wonderful and very accommodating to us as well. She was sure that we had an escort to the parking area to pick up our taxi to 'Yacout' on our last night and she arranged for our transportation to the airport with the same taxi driver. We felt safe all the time we

were in Morocco. I would recommend the Riad Tiwaline for those who

want to have an authentic experience staying in the Medina. We loved the Riad La Sultana. It was fabulous. The locations for both Riads were great. We also enjoyed our other hotels; The Rabat Hotel (only Marlene and I stayed there as Emily, Carol M, and Rhoda missed their plane connection to Casablanca), Palais Jamai, and the Berbere Palace

Hotel. Our experience sleeping in the desert is one to remember.

We had the bare minimum essentials (a mattress and pillow on the sand in a tent). The guides and workers were charming and very nice. We

had an evening of entertainment in which some of us took part. I know we did a lot of planning and negotiation with you, but I think it was all worth it. I know I can speak for everyone, when I say we had a wonderful time. You may receive additional comments from the other travelers. If you would like a debriefing, in person, we would love to relive our experience with you at one of the local Moroccan restaurants.

Thank you so much for all your patience. I know it was trying at times, but I think all the effort put into the trip contributed to making it such a success. The trip did turn out wonderful as you predicted. We would love to return to Morocco someday, En Shalla. Allah (did I mess up on the spelling?)

Carol Cory

I wish to thank you for arranging for Abdou with Ste Aynas Tour. He was a delightful person. He was indeed "at our disposal" and not only drove us, but told us about culture, history, religion, economics, etc. of Morocco. He told us he was only a driver, but he answered our questions and we appreciated that.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Carol Saunders

Date: August 16, 2006

Please excuse this delay in thanking you for assisting us with the program to Morocco and also for the absolutely delightful lunch with you and your family. The food at your family’s house was outstanding and the conversation and the friendship shown was extraordinary.

We liked the Sheraton in Casablanca and when we returned they gave us a very warm welcome. They also helped us find a driver our free day so I could find my elementary school and the villa we lived in. The school was still there and had not changed, however the beautiful tree lined street where we lived was now a barren street filled with apartment houses. How sad!

The trip went extremely well and thanks to our wonderful driver Karim Radi we were able to find a geocache that is hidden in Todra, Morocco. There are only seven in the entire country and we found one. We are thrilled and quite the talk of the American geocaching world. I think we are the only Americans ever to have found it! The three of us climbed up one side of a mountain but it was the wrong side and so we had to go down again and then up the other side which was a goat path (much better than the other side) and thanks to Karim and his help in getting over the rocks and stones we were successful and his photo is now at  Geocaching.com.

Volubilis was a treasure and the guide we had was so knowledgeable and brought the Roman city to life.

What can I possibly say about the Tikida Gardens? We were in Paradise! What a lovely place and a delightful staff. The food? Absolutely superb!!!!Karim had a difficult time getting us to leave! . We really liked Marrakesh and the Tikida Gardens.

We liked staying in the Riad El Medina inside the walls of Essaouira.  This is a great walking city and we found a nice restaurant in the city for lynch that had couscous. What else?? Dinner at the hotel was excellent. We liked Essaouira also very much.

Finally our return to Casablanca and we hated to say good bye to Karim Radi. He became a friend as well as a driver. He drove very cautiously and well. We always felt extremely comfortable with him. He also was very protective of us and made sure that we had an excellent experience. We hope to return to Morocco another year and we would definitely want the same driver.

Perhaps we will meet up again in Washington.

Gale and Michelynn McCall

I would like to say we really enjoyed the 10-day trip to Morocco in December. Extending the 7-day trip I won was well worth it! Eight days of sunny cloud-free weather made for a spectacular trip.

We got to see a lot of beautiful scenery which reminded me of many parts of America. Khalid did an exceptional job as our driver and guide during the trip. We found the people of Morocco friendly and helpful and enjoyed the many diverse sites we stopped at over the 1200 mile trip. I recently did slideshow presentations to family and coworkers who were impressed with the diversity and beauty of Morocco.

Attached is the survey sheet that Khalid gave us in Morocco.

Thanks again and maybe I will see you at the upcoming Adventures in Travel Expo in Feb.

Curtis Cillo

Fairfax, VA

Thank you for everything! My wife and I had the most wonderful time and we absolutely loved Abdou.
Justin Hamilton

 My husband and I recently returned from two weeks in Morocco, which you   arranged. Our trip went very well and we found Morocco to be a  fascinating and very welcoming country. We will highly recommend  Morocco - and your agency - to your friends. I wanted in particular to express our appreciation for the work of our   very fine driver, Mr. Rachid Radi. We could not have asked for a more
 perfect escort for our two weeks in Morocco.
 He was unfailingly professional, courteous, responsible, pleasant and   interesting. He worked very hard to help us in every way he could. His  driving skills were top notch. His English was extremely good. He made  an enormous positive difference in our experience in Morocco.

 Thank you again for all your help.

Sincerely, Susan Manes

Hassan,

thank you so much for putting such a fantastic trip together.. it was a dream trip. We so enjoyed meeting all the people and seeing the countryside. What a wonderful country. we enjoyed every minute of it. We will, for sure, be in touch. Blessings,

 Susie Stavros

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your work on arranging the land for our trip to Morocco. We are grateful for your fine efforts and should report that the trip went extremely well. It was great meeting you in Morocco.

We all were amazed at the beauty of the country and the wonderful hospitality of all the Moroccans we met. We were particularly pleased with the services of our guide Mohammed Rami. He was professional, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to be with. He was an excellent choice!

We will include your company in the credits of our program and have included it in an article that will be published soon on Marrakech.

Again, thank you for taking our project on with only short notice.