What’s Up With Rabat?

Rabat is located on the Atlantic Ocean, on the south side of where the Bou Regreg River meets the Ocean. On the north side of the river is the city of Salé. Rabat functions as the capital of Morocco and houses the royal palace and government. This is the King of Morocco’s primary residence, or at least that’s what we were told. Rabat is a diverse city with a wide variety of things to do and see.

Hassan Tower

Perhaps the most well known and traveled destination in Rabat is the Hassan Tower complex. The Hassan Tower is part of a project that was never completed, in fact it was never even close to completion. This project was commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur towards the end of the 12th century. It was supposed to be a gigantic mosque that would rival the largest mosque in the world at that time, the Great Mosque of Samara in Iraq. However, in 1199 Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur died and work on the mosque came to a halt. The project was abandoned. Only the tower, or minaret, was completed. It’s composed of red sandstone and stands just over 144 feet tall. Other than that, there were the beginnings of several walls and 348 columns. They had not gotten very far into the construction process.

Today, one can visit the site free of charge. There are two main side gates to enter through. Each of these gates is flanked by a horse guard. The guards wear white uniforms. I believe there’s a changing of the guard every 2 hours or so. You may take photos of the horses and guards while they are at their post. Do not take a photo if you see the horses and guards returning to the stables. You will get yelled at. Happened to quite a few people.

Inside the plaza one is free to explore. Get up close and personal to all those columns. walk right up to the minaret. Between the minaret and columns there’s a sunken area with a fountain. Quite pretty.

Mausoleum of Mohammed V

At the opposite side of the complex from the minaret lays the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. Construction of the mausoleum began in 1961, the year Mohammed V passed, and was completed in 1971. The building is on an elevated platform and made of concrete with the exterior being covered in marble with traditional Moorish arches. There are four entrances, each with a guard in attendance. Inside the walls are covered in tiles. The roof is an intricately carved mahogany wood. It is quite spectacular to see, especially if you appreciate woodworking at all. My father was a most excellent craftsman. He would have loved to see this elegantly carved ceiling.

Inside the mausoleum there’s a walkway around the perimeter. There’s a guard in each corner. The center is sunken a floor down. Here lays the carved white onyx tomb of Mohammed V. Both of his sons, Abdallah and Hassan II are also entombed here. It’s truly a place of beauty.

Directly next to the mausoleum is a mosque, it’s sunken between the mausoleum and a rectangular open-air pavilion, which is also on an elevated platform. This pavillion was under construction when we visited and thus closed for visitation. Naturally the mosque is not open for visitation from non-Muslims.

Kasbah Oudaya

This UNESCO site is situated at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River. It’s essentially a walled in city atop a hill. A fortress containing a city. The original walls were constructed around the mid 1100’s. The main gate, the Bab Oudaia, is considered one of the most beautiful gates of Moroccan architecture. Today it’s a popular tourist destination despite primarily being a residential neighborhood.

Inside the buildings are painted mostly white with some blue. There’s a lovely garden area that’s quite peaceful, the Andalusian Gardens. Lots of tree lined pathways and a few fountains. Met a lovely cat there who tried her hardest to adopt me. Crawled right on my lap and purred her little heart out. She was the best part of the Kasbah. But then again, I do love cats.

Outside the garden is a tea area with great views of the river. One can get Moroccan tea and choose from an assortment of Moroccan sweets. There’s also a small restroom here.

While we were visiting, the streets were pretty dead. Only a few vendors had their wares out on display. We headed out to the viewing platform along the river at the northeastern corner of the Kasbah. Here there are excellent views looking out to the city of Salé, Rabat beach and toward the Lighthouse of Rabat. Just below the platform, on the river side is a seaside fortification and artillery platform that was used to guard the river and protect the fortress.

Lighthouse of Rabat

This lighthouse is seated along a lovely rocky coastline. If you like lighthouses, it’s worth visiting. If not, the coast line is fabulous. Here you’ll see locals and tourists alike enjoying the day along the cliffs. There are families strolling along, men fishing and people sitting mesmerized by ocean waves. The footing is a tad arduous as you’ll have to pay attention to every footstep. The rocky surface is pocked, ridged and rutted. Fascinating to look at, interesting to walk across. Sadly there’s a lot of trash and broken glass all over the place here.

Old Market and Medina

The Rabat Old Market lays nestled in the Medina of Rabat. Here one can wander the busy streets and observe the comings and goings of both locals and tourists. Rue Souika is a popular street. Here you’ll find a plethora of vendors carrying everything from head scarves, leather goods, souvenirs and local handicrafts. Part of the roadway is covered with a latticed roof over wooden beams. The effect is sophisticated and pleasing to the eye. I wound up buying a head scarf just in case I needed it (we planned to visit a mosque in Casablanca). The gentleman in the shop was quite helpful. He let me browse the immense collection. Once I selected one he even showed me how to wear the thing when I asked. Not that I’ll ever remember how to put it on. He was quite kind and patient.

When the market is loaded with people, as it was the day we arrived, you may find yourself shoulder to shoulder, nose to back with everyone around you. There was no wiggle room as we inched our way through the crowd that evening. I stayed directly behind Doug and had to keep a hand on him to prevent being separated in the madness. At one point, I felt a hand in my back pocket. Looking behind me, a little girl held onto me as she and her mother followed in line behind me. Her eyes were as big as saucers. Cute little thing. She let go once the crowd eased up a bit. Or rather, when her mother was able to see her little hand clinging to me. Can’t say as I blame her. That crowd was rather crushing. To be fair, it was the celebration weekend after Ramadan and I suspect the place was extra packed. During the daylight hours there are fewer people.

Wandering off this main street, we quickly found ourselves in quiet alleys and roadways that weaved around buildings. We diverted off the main path that evening in search of food. Which was a nightmare. Doug had been gracious enough to plot out three restaurants. All of them said they were open online. We went to each. None were open. They were not super close to each other. All of us (including our travel buddy friends) were tired, hungry and grumpy. Poor Doug got to be the ringleader and navigator. Eventually, on our fourth attempt, a gentleman pointed to a door and said to enter for a restaurant. We did. Ducked under a very low arch to find a closed door. The gentleman had disappeared through a service entrance. After a few minutes the troops were ready to give up. All of them started walking away. For some unknown reason I hung back and heard the most delightful sound. Footsteps. And the door opened. The lady in charge took mercy on us and let us in. Thank heavens. We walked in quite delighted and still grumpy.

As I looked around this restaurant I immediately had that “Oh sh*t” moment. White tablecloths. Dim lighting. Tables spread far out. Very well dressed patrons. We definitely felt like something the cat drug in. I was not dressed accurately for this place. None of us were. And it definitely looked expensive. For Morocco, it was. They gave us menus. There was a set lunch and dinner menu. The lady spoke Arabic and French, which made ordering a slight nightmare. Long story short, they allowed us to order the less expensive lunch menu. And somewhere in translation it was lost that our friend is essentially a vegetarian. The tagine was beef. Numerous errors aside, I found the food tasty and was relieved to be fed. My friend was able to eat sides and the soup. None of us starved.

The next day we simply sought out new areas to explore and diverted off the main path. While most of the buildings are painted white, there are a few murals here and there. Small mosques are interspersed throughout. I found it shocking each time the call to prayer was broadcast. It’s so very loud.

Found streets with more local vendors selling food. Everything from fresh produce to meat. Some shops sold sweets and breads. There were stalls with olives and dried fruits. Some held flours and grains. There were frequent coffee shops with a total of maybe two chairs outside. We saw men playing card games. Men selling cigarettes, one cigarette at a time.

And everywhere there were cats. Which often breaks my heart. It’s rather obvious most of the locals are cat fans. People generally tolerate them quite a bit. There’s often a cat sleeping in each shop and you’ll see a random cat hop into someone’s lap. Normally they are pet and not shooed away. However, as the cats are not altered, there are tons of them. Which means some are too skinny and hungry. Or sick and wounded. I bought a bag of cat food as I couldn’t stand to see them hungry. I will make a note that especially the women of Rabat seemed to love that I fed the cats. At one point I saw one remarkably skinny kitty trying to sleep on the corner of a walking street. It was missing most of its fur on its haunches. I stopped to grab some food and walked back toward it, but it had disappeared. I was disappointed and turned back to Doug who was waiting a few paces away. As we were about to leave a lady came up to me and started speaking urgently. In French. Which I don’t understand. I couldn’t tell what she wanted. She kept repeating the word “croquettes” and gesturing at the street and then at me. I eventually opened my palm where the kitty kibble was still in hand. Long story short, she tried to lead the cat back to me and wanted me to feed it. We hunted down the sad kitty and gave it the “croquettes”, which we later found out means kibble in French. This woman really wanted this cat fed. Bless her soul. I think I’ve never instantly bonded with another human being so fast in my life. I wound up returning to the cat with the bag of food and leaving a healthy pile for that poor baby. It was in rough shape. It was the least I could do. It warms my soul that someone saw me try to find that cat and cared enough to hunt me down and then hunt the cat down to help it. Goodness can be found just about anywhere I suppose.

On Avenue Mohammed V, there are quite a few stalls selling street foods made right in front of you and a few restaurants, mostly filled with locals. Found a delightful bakery that sold a variety of baklava type treats. We visited there twice because it was delicious. We even tried a habricha sandwich. This is an extremely popular street food in Rabat. They consist of minced meat, typically beef and/or lamb, onions, eggs and a boat load of spices. This mix is served hot in a traditional round bread. It’s typically served with ketchup and a “hot sauce”. I went for the hot sauce and passed on the ketchup. We both decided rather quickly that these sandwiches deserve the hype. If you eat meat, they are quite tasty. I like to try some of the local specialties and these are definitely a specialty in Rabat. I also tried avocado juice. Which tasted exactly like you’d expect. Like highly blended avocados. The texture was velvety smooth. That being said, you’d better like avocados if you try it. I decided that, while I liked it well enough, I’ll likely never order another one. I adore avocados but that was A LOT of avocado. Even for me.

Other Mentions

Rabat has quite a few attractions that we did not fit into our schedule. There are quite a few gates throughout the city. If you’re an art fan, there are art museums. We didn’t visit any museums but we did see quite a few murals covering the sides of buildings while we strolled around town. Chellah Castle is supposedly quite nice but was a bit further than we wanted to walk.

Overall I enjoyed my stay in Rabat. Finding food was ridiculously frustrating if trying to eat in a restaurant, especially if you are there over holidays. I liked the street foods quite a bit. I highly recommend downloading an Arabic and French translation app on your phone to make communication possible if you don’t speak one of these languages. I enjoyed the bustle of the Medina and the beauty of Hassan Tower. If you’re headed to Morocco, this was one of my favorite places and I’d recommend it. Just be prepared for frustration. And haggling.

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