Morocco: Arabic Language and Community Service (Summer)

Educational Excursions

During the excursion outside Rabat, students enjoy varied opportunities to practice their language skills while visiting historical sites such as Meknès, Volubilis, and Fès to explore Morocco’s history of dynasties, and while visiting small towns in the Rif Mountains, like Chefchaouen and Ouezzane. Students are exposed to rural life during a village stay in the region of Ouezzane. Students also spend a day on the Mediterranean shore in Cabo Negro.

Highlights of the excursion include:

Fès, Meknès, and Volubilis. Students walk through the labyrinth of the ninth-century Fès medina, the oldest Islamic city in the country, and learn about the different dynasties that ruled over Morocco. A visit to Meknès allows students to enter a seventeenth-century mosque and visit the granary of Moulay Ismail, the founder of the presently ruling dynasty. The visit to the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the best preserved in the country, is also a highlight of this trip.
Ouezzane. Students experience a simple traditional life different from the one in Rabat. The excursion includes a short homestay with a rural family in the area of Ouezzane. During their stay, students complete a community service project with a local NGO that enables them to compare urban and rural development and civil society work. They also shop in the local souk accompanied by their Arabic instructors.
Chefchaouen. Students travel to the mountain inland town of Chefchaouen, known for its striking blue buildings, and spend free time hiking and exploring it on their own. On the way back to Rabat, students have the opportunity to relax and enjoy a swim in the Mediterranean Sea.