Day 2,282 of Traveling the World | Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco | April 30, 2024
Jan and Mike
What can we say about Rabat? The truth is – it is a Moroccan city like every other Moroccan city! Even though it is the capital, is doesn’t feel like other world capitals we have visited. We didn’t see many – or any – government buildings (but we also didn’t seek them out). We visited the oldest part of the city, the medina and Kasbah, which both are close to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Morocco forms the northwest tip of Africa, with part of it along the Mediterranean and a larger part along the Atlantic Ocean. Rabat is 55 miles north of Casablanca and 130 miles south of Tangier and the Strait of Gibraltar. Since it guards the entrance to the Mediterranean on the southern part of the Strait, it is a historically important piece of real estate and it must have occurred to many passing through that it might be advantageous to control it…and many civilizations have.
We have been exploring the city both by foot and by taxi, no longer surprised by another person sharing our taxi. It is $1 US per person to taxi anywhere in the city, although private taxis cost seven times that, or more. The taxi drivers have been friendly and very eager to try out their English skills. We took a food tour and asked our guide, Mohamed, where he learned his excellent English. He told us what so many others had: in school, and watching reruns of “Friends” in English. Our food tour was very good, as we roamed through the medina and stopped at tiny stores we would never dream had anything to offer us. Photos and descriptions are below. If you are ever in Rabat, his food tour was Moroccan Food Tours. He encouraged us to ask questions, and we did, as we were the only two on the tour.
Our hotel is connected to a mall, so it is easy to visit the food court and grocery store as often as we need to. It is also close to the Botanical Gardens, which were quiet, well-tended, and just beautiful. We stopped to wave to a little girl, and her grandfather greeted us in English, asking where we were from. It turns out he had worked for the Peace Corps, and we had a nice conversation. The Moroccan people are warm and generous, and we are finding it a delightful country because of its friendly, smiling citizens.
On a gloriously clear day – a view of the Atlantic from atop the Kasbah in Rabat (which just means “citadel” or “fortress” in Arabic – it is not a single destination; many Moroccan cities have one). The splash of red is the Moroccan flag.
A view from the side of the Kasbah. As you can see in both photos, cannons stand at the ready to protect the city!
A view of the Kasbah from street level.
Along the Main Street, the Kasbah is teeming with palm trees.
Inside the Kasbah are residential and commercial properties.
Down one passageway sits this attractive home, which everyone was photographing.
For sale were these very colorful trays – if only we had a home!
On a wall was this Picasso-style artwork.
Walking through the medina, we discovered it was newer – and wider – than the medinas in the other cities we had visited. It also had an attractive roof.
This feast for the eyes is incense – colored and scented wood chips. We were told that the colors of the chips had no relationship to their scents.
The incense also came in solid colors, equally attractive. If nothing else, everyone passing by stopped to look, as the colors were so vibrant.
Amidst all the Arabic and Moroccan garb, and thousands of pairs of shoes, was this single T-shirt for sale – from Portland, Oregon!
Mohamed, our food tour guide, said “the book man” is one of the most popular photo subjects in the medina. He apparently sits there reading and is his own best customer.
Three of the many tastes on our food tour: the man in the top photo was grilling meatballs made of ground chicken, turkey, onions, garlic, and spices. He piled it into a pita and sprinkled chili powder on top – it was our favorite of the entire tour. In the second photo is what Mohamed called “the Moroccan Subway” – into pita bread goes a potato patty (laid out in a circle in the front of the photo), and then you can add a fried egg for a little extra. All the veggies on the left are free. The last photo is the best bakery in the medina, where we got an assortment of Moroccan cookies.
In the first photo is rziza, a “stringy” bread drizzled with honey. Secondly, we tried homemade yogurt, slightly sweetened, which was delicious. In the third photo is different figs – we had a few that you split open and stuff with walnuts, which is a traditional hospitality item. Last is a vendor pouring traditional mint tea, along with homemade donuts freshly made.
Our last stop on the tour was lunch. Mohamed is showing us both the chicken tagine and eel tagine. Both were tender and just delicious. They came with bread, juice, white beans, and a plate of warm vegetables. He said it was a “mom-approved” restaurant (i.e., tasted just like homemade).
A scene in the medina.
As we were trying to snap a photo while this woman was passing, she thought we were trying to surreptitiously photograph her. So she caught up with us and said, “Here I am – take a photo, if you want!” We did. We gave her one of our cards with our blog address, so we hope she sees this.
This entire store sold only brains – hooves – lungs – sheep heads – hearts – and kidneys. Not our cup of tea!
This is the oldest, dirtiest, most rusted motorcycle either of us have ever seen – but it still works!
A scene we saw only once in the city.
An oceanside cafe where we ended our food tour with the bakery cookies, which Mohamed also said were “mom-approved.” He said if he buys the exact same cookies at any other bakery, his mom knows immediately. So we knew we got “the best.”
The Botanical Gardens were an oasis in the middle of Rabat, with few people, who were just strolling or sitting in the quiet.
Another scene in the Botanical Gardens. It was so lovely.
We had dinner one night at this Arabic-Lebanese restaurant. As you can see, the name is in Arabic. Google Maps translated it as Shawarma Mashawi Rabat, but when we arrived, it was a different name with different hours, so we thought the restaurant we were seeking was now closed, and went in here. Shockingly, we discovered it was the restaurant we wanted, but the name outside was Nakhat Acharq. Things here are fluid!
Wild bougainvillea snaking up a building.
Part of the Royal Palace are these arches that now have traffic running through them.
The Telegraph – Post Office – Telephone Building. Sigh. Vestiges of time gone by.
One of the Royal Moroccan Guards at the entrance to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.
The Mausoleum at Fortress Square.
The back end of a very chubby horse sculpture outside the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
This gorgeous tree is in a square across the street from the chubby horse.
This modern sculpture is adjacent to the chubby horse sculpture. It is titled “The Dreaming Machine” by Niki de Saint Phalle.
Breakfasts here are simply amazing. This is the restaurant La Rive. All the food you see on the table – eggs, bread, salad, yogurt, oatmeal, juice, cappuccino, and a bottle of water – cost $4 US each. But – this is in downtown Rabat. It usually isn’t that expensive!
🔹🔹 If you enjoyed reading our post, you can subscribe to our website to automatically receive every blog we publish. Just go to our “Contact” tab. In the gray box at the very bottom, it says – SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL.Just put in your email address, and we will appear in your Inbox! Also, right above it, there is a small form to send us a message, if you wish. (But please note, you cannot hit “Reply” on the post emailed to you to send us a message. You must use the Contact tab.)
