FEZ

Fez is the cultural and spiritual centre of Morocco described by many as the new Marrakech, the oldest of the three imperial cities. The main attraction in this ancient city is the medieval Medina with it’s countless bazaars and shops. The more modern part of the city is known as the Ville Nouvelle, and has a decidedly French influence. A visit to the souks will undoubtedly lead to a stopover at Fez’s famous tanneries where one of the oldest arts in Morocco, and the world, is practiced to produce the soft leather that has been sought after for centuries.

The best vantage point over the ancient walled city, which lies at the eastern end of the plain of Saiss, bordered by the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, is from the ruined Merenid tombs on a hilltop. From here it is possible to view the skyline, and to pick out some of the magnificent palaces, green-roofed holy placed and the Karaouine Mosque, all hemmed in by workshops and tenement, souks and squares. Exotic Fez is a city steeped in culture and history, Fez really is the true Morocco.

MOROCCO

For Westerners, Morocco holds an immediate and enduring fascination. Though just an hour's ride on the ferry from Spain, it seems at once very far from Europe, with a culture that is almost wholly unfamiliar. Throughout the country, despite the years of French and Spanish colonial rule and the presence of modern and cosmopolitan cities like Rabat and Casablanca, a more distant past constantly makes its presence felt. Fes, perhaps the most beautiful of all Arab cities, maintains a life still rooted in medieval times, when a Moroccan empire stretched from Senegal to northern Spain, while in the mountains of the Atlas and the Rif, it's still possible to draw up tribal maps of the Berber population. As a backdrop to all this, the country's physical make-up is also extraordinary: from a Mediterranean coast, through four mountain ranges, to the empty sand and scrub of the Sahara.

In recent years the worst of the hustlers have been cleared off the streets (anyone who visited in the early 1990s will be amazed at the change) and the unofficial guides you encounter are fewer and more discreet. Morocco is really an ideal place for the independent traveller. A week's hiking in the Atlas, a journey through the southern oases or into the pre-Sahara, or leisured strolls around Tangier, Fes or Marrakesh once you adapt to a different way of life, all your time will be well spent. It's also a safe and politically stable country to visit: The death in 1999 of King Hassan II, the Arab world's longest serving leader, was followedby an easy transition to his son, Mohammed VI.

It's difficult for any traveller to go for long without running into Morocco's equally powerful tradition of hospitality, generosity and openness. This is a country people return to again and again.

Tangier, Fez, Casablanca, Marrakesh... just the names of these cities stir a hint of spice in the nostrils. Morocco has been thoroughly mythologized and for good reason. Travellers extol the country's unique living history, its shimmering light and its extraordinary art.

Morocco offers major benefits from a financial standpoint which makes it a highly attractive prospect for purchasers:

• Property market booming - average rises of 15% per year and in some cases 30%.
• Rental occupancy reaching 85% most years.
• Low property taxes
• Safe Investment - Notary supervised property registration similar to France/Spain.
• Full repatriation of funds should you re-sell in the future.
• Only 20% on any capital gains.
• New tax benefits expected to be announced in 2007.