Casablanca and Rabat

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Today we toured Casablanca and then motored up the coast to Rabat which is the capitol of Morocco. Interesting country, very flat with interesting contrasts. Driving north to Rabat, the right side of the highway, lots of shacks and poverty. The left side of the road between the road and the coast very clean and affluent. Today being Sunday most everything is closed. It seems like every vacant field had a pickup soccer game going on. No grass anywhere but at least the fields were level.

Our first stop was the Royal Palace at Rabat. Because the King was in residence, we were not allowed to tour and in fact we had to stay at least 50 feet away from the door. From the outside the Palace is rather plain with nothing except the guards to indicate it was something special.

Yacoub El Mansour, the great Almohad conqueror was the first to brandish his mark on the city in 1195 and is credited with building the Hassan Tower, which was meant to be one of the greatest mosques in the Muslim world. The unfinished minaret (abandoned upon the death of the Sultan) stands at 44 metres (140 feet) and was originally intended to be the largest in the Muslim World at 86 metres (260 feet). However, the Hassan Tower is still the most famous monument in Rabat. Every façade of the tower displays a different pattern, and the shortfall in the tower’s height does not detract from the beauty of its design. Two hundred columns mark out the area where the mosque was intended to stand, and today, the site also houses the Mosque and Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the grandfather of the present king of Morocco, and architect of Moroccan independence. This is one of the few sacred sites in the country that non-Muslims are allowed to enter.

We next stopped at a hotel in Rabat for lunch. We were a little concerned after the fiasco in Seville that this might be another disaster. Much to our surprise, we were seated at tables for 8 or 10 and served our lunch. We were told the lunch would be typical except we would not be expected to eat with our hands, forks would be provided. The lunch was very tasty and included wine. After lunch we were entertained with belly dancers. A few of the men offered to donate dollars but were voted down by the ladies.

Our next stop was the ruins of the Kasbah of the Oudaias. We toured inside the walls and gardens with a quick stop for refreshments and restrooms. They served some pastries and coke. The next stop in Rabat, we visited the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest Mosque in the world. Very impressed with the building both inside and out. The combined area inside and the outside courtyard will hold 20,000 men and 5000 women for services. During the tour, our guide gave us a very understandable explanation of the religion.

Back to Casablanca for a quick shopping stop. We took the time to have our afternoon coffee at a outside café and watch the people go by. While having coffee we watched three old men dressed in a historical costume. They are covered in bells and copper cups with a goat skin container of water for sale. Mostly they posed for pictures after demanding money.

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Photos

The Hassan Tower
The remains of a large Mosque that was partially built.