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Published: August 7th 2007
Kasbah des Oudaias
The walk up to the Bab OudaiaIt must seem as though my Long Service Leave was endless as you receive yet another Travelblog! I was only away for three months but the writing of the blogs is taking longer! I have now been home for six months and am making a valiant effort these holidays to finish my blogs. Bear with me!
Rabat Since Independence in 1956, Rabat has remained the seat of government and home to the King. At present, that is King Mohammed VI. Rabat is largely a modern city with much more of a western influence in terms of dress and the roles of men and women. It has had a long history being first settled by indigenous people in the 8th Century and then later by the Phonecians and Romans. Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 until it became an independent nation in 1956. There is a definite French flavour in the country and of course everyone speaks French! The Medina is much smaller and much easier to navigate than the medinas in Marrakesh and Fes!
Our first task on arrival was to find a laundromat and drop off some washing (we only used a laudromat three times in three
Spice Stall
Michael examining some of the things for sale at a spice stall in Rabat's medina months!!) The truth is that we had very few clothes with us and just rinsed them out at night when we were able. We then headed for the medina. It was a Friday and as we neared the centre of the Medina the call for prayer went out. The mosque was small and the people praying spilled out into the alleyways and it was with some embarrassment that we had to pick our way through people praying on their mats! As they were all men I felt like an intruder but no one seemed to mind. They just got on with their prayers!
Kasbah des Oudaias As we emerged from the medina we saw a huge kasbah overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We spent ages trying to get a good photograph of a dog that was standing next to one of the cannons high up on the walls looking out. He really looked like he was on duty! The main gate Almohad of Bab Oudaia was built in 1195 and the kasbah was strategically placed to defend the city. Today it is largely residential and we enjoyed wandering through the small streets with their white-washed and bright blue walls, a
reminder of the influence of the Muslim refugees who came from Spain. We also walked around the Andalusian Gardens inside the kasbah. These were built by the French during the Colonial Period and make for a relaxing spot on a hot day. It was a bit unnerving trying to keep away from the young girls who approached us (some quite agressively) with dye-filled syringes trying to paint our hands and arms with henna patterns!
Le Tour Hassam Hassan Tower is Rabat's most famous landmark. It was begun in 1195 and was intended to be the highest tower in the Muslim world at 60m. The Sultan died 4 years later so the project was abandoned at 44m. There was an adjacent mosque but it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 and the only visible remains are the re-erected, shattered pillars.
Mausoleum of Mohammed V The tombs of both Mohammed V (the present King's grandfather) and Hassan II (the present King's father) are located below ground and visitors can view the tombs from a viewing gallery. All visitors are welcome but one must be respectfully dressed. The whole building is richly decorated with elaborate zellij mosaics from floor to
ceiling.
Chellah Chellah is the site of the ancient Roman city of Sala Colonia. Michael and I spent an amazing afternoon wandering around these ancient ruins with their many fig, olive, orange and banana trees. Close by are the ruins of an Islamic mosque and medersa which was built on top of the Roman ruins in the 13th Century by a Merenid sultan. Now the only itinerant inhabitants of this ancient city are storks which have taken over all the old buildings and trees in the area. We watched in wonder as they put finishing touches to their nests and were involved in their graceful courting dances. I have never seen so many storks in one place. Storks are highly revered in Morocco and no one disturbs them. Later in a corner of the compound we watched a woman offering a hard-boiled egg at a walled pool called Bassin aux Anguilles. These eggs are offered by infertile women to the eels that live in the murky depths of the pool in the hope that they will bear children.
Caught up in the Celebrations for the Birth of the King's Daughter While we were at Chellah we heard some
jets fly over with red, blue and white jet trails. We joined throngs of people out on the streets all vying for a good vantage point to see the display. The roads were jammed with cars and we were glad that we were walking! As we neared town we soon became envelopped in a sea of people and I had to hold on tightly to Michael to make sure that we didn't get separated. I felt very much at the mercy of the crowd and was very aware of the dangers of pickpockets in such a situation. Again we seemed to be the only Westerners out in the throngs of people! As it took us a good two hours to walk back to town, a strong police and military presence on the streets made me feel a lot more comfortable. We found out later that the celebrations were in honour of the King's new baby daughter, Lalla Khadija. The King is very popular in Morocco and everywhere we went there were huge posters of him adorning buildings and streets.
Casablanca In Casablanca we saw what is often referred to as 'The mother of all Moroccan sights' - the Hassam
II Mosque. This is the world's third largest mosque and was built to commemorate the former King's 60th birthday in 1993. It is open to all visitors between prayer times so we took a guided tour of the complex. It was designed by a French architect, Michel Pinseau, and more than 6,000 traditional Moroccan artisans were employed during its construction. It cost more than half a billion dollars to build and can hold 25,000 worshippers inside with areas outside for an additional 80,000! Its 210m high minaret is the tallest in the world and at night lazer beams are pointed eastwards in the direction of Mecca. Inside it has a centrally heated floor, electric doors and a retractable roof. The furnishings are built from Cedar from the Middle Atlas, marble from Agadir and granite from Tafraoute. The vast prayer hall is said to be large enough to house Notre Dame or St Paul's Cathedral comfortably. It is an amazing sight!
One day, as we were walking along a street in Casablanca, a young man ran past us carrying a big rock. We watched as he ran up to a group at a bus stop and violently hit a man, who
Ornamental Door in the Kasbah
Notice the blue and white-washed walls. Michael was watching a cat fight in the vines overhead. We counted about 7 cats having a go at each other! was waiting at the bus stop, on the head. The man fell to the pavement and the perpetrator ran off and disappeared into the crowd. The man who had been hit got up shakily and although he was bleeding a bit from the head he appeared to be OK and there were others around him. It was the only incident of violence that we saw in Morocco but it was certainly disturbing. It must have been a revenge/payback incident as the man did not appear to have been robbed.
Rick's Cafe We also searched out the famous Rick's Cafe located near the medina. This cafe was built in 2004 and the piano bar is a reconstruction of the bar in the film 'Casablanca'. We had a relaxing time looking at all the memorabilia from the film and drinking a gin and tonic while being treated like royalty by the waiters! I took some photos and one of the waiters insisted that I sit at the piano and 'play' while he took a photo of me!!
More Anxious Moments in Tangiers! Michael and I then took a local bus up to Tangiers which is located on the northern coast of
Morocco. From there we would take a ferry as it was the cheapest way to get to Spain. We had a fairly quiet trip up to the north of the country stopping at a 'caravan park' on the way! Apparantly a lot of people visit Morocco, bringing their cars across from the continent by ferry. It was a fairly uneventful trip until we hit the port of Tangiers. We were travelling in a coach with an enclosed trailer which held the luggage. There were also bags (including our backpacks) underneath the bus in the luggage compartments! As our bus slowed down at the first set of traffic lights, a motley band of young Moroccan teenagers swarmed around the bus, their minds seemingly set on either getting access to the trailer or pinching bags that were stored underneath the bus. Our fellow Morrocan travellers were getting very agitated and were shaking their fists at the boys through the windows. Just then the traffic lights turned green and I breathed a sigh of relief as we were made a get-away. Our escape was short-lived! The boys gave chase and followed us to the next set of traffic lights where our bus driver
Looking out on the Atlantic Ocean
It took me quite a while to get this photo! moved the bus backwards and forwards to try and literally shake them off! I had visions of our backpacks disappearing into the slums of Tangiers on the backs of these boys. Don't forget our three carpets and one blanket were in those bags! Looking down from my window I saw one boy crawling under the bus; all I could see were his legs sticking out! He was certainly putting his life at risk as the bus could move at any time. He managed to scamper out as we set off once more. The next set of lights were further away and we managed to lose the boys but to our dismay they were replaced with another mob at the next lights! We finally made it to the port where a gate opened on our arrival and swiftly shut behind us as we made our way to the ferries. Nothing had been stolen. Later, on the ferry we found someone who spoke English and he told us that the boys were actually trying to hide under the bus in order to get into the port where they would try to stow away on one of the ferries crossing to Spain. It
certainly made for another hair-raising experience as we left Morocco! The crossing which took about three hours was very smooth and Michael and I sat up on the deck and watched the sun set over North Africa. We felt very nostalgic as we said 'Good bye' to Africa once again.
Reflections on Morocco I really enjoyed our two weeks in Morocco and developed a real respect for the people there. Here are a few random observations.
*When one is welcomed to Morocco the speaker clasps his hand over his heart. It certainly makes you feel special!
*The obvious lack of alcohol in the country was striking. It was great to see the men meeting at open air cafes and drinking mint tea and coffee together as their way of socialising.
*The Moroccans have a real love of children and in the evenings you would see families out in the parks playing with their children.
*I loved the French flavour of life in Morocco; the language and the croissants and pastries!
*We developed a real love for mint tea (Berber whisky) and easily fell into the ritual of drinking it whenever we could.
*Moroccan toilets are not the best and
one has to learn to sqat and put all used toilet paper in the bins provided. No toilet paper should go down the drain. Luckily we had had a bit of practice on our recent travels in Turkey.
*Rooms for prayer were available everywhere and we often saw men praying in little rooms at bus stations.
*We would certainly recommend Morocco as a holiday destination if you are after somewhere with a difference!
Next blog is Granada and Barcelona.
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Botsalano
non-member comment
Wish I had been there!
Another great blog!! Love the colours and textures. Bring on Spain!!