Roaming Rabat

I didn’t love Casablanca.

I loved the mosque, but I hated the dirt & noise of the metropolis itself.

Rabat is like a completely different world.

It’s peaceful, relaxed, green, light & utterly beautiful. Having spent a day in The Rose Garden, I was ready for some culture so went exploring.

The old town looks more like southern Spain or Greece than Morocco.

Whitewashed houses, cobbled streets & my favourite shades of blue splashed everywhere you look.

They say the blue keeps away mosquitos. I don’t know if it’s true but I’m going to use it as an excuse to buy everything in this exact colour.

The air is surprisingly light & cool in the kasbah. The high walls & narrow, winding streets keep the sun from your back & the fresh sea air whistles through. If you follow the gentle slope downhill, you’ll find yourself at the waters edge. Little cafes dotted along the wall offer mint tea & sweet pastries filled bursting with nuts, dates & honey. Waves crash below & locals chat in a rhythmic mix of French & Arabic. In so many places like this you can often feel like an outsider, like a child lost in a supermarket while everyone looks on. But not here. The people mostly ignore you with a quiet disinterest. You’re left with a beautiful sense of anonymity, free to soak up the experience in your own little world.

Almost like a ghost who isn’t really there at all.

The citadel sits proudly at the top of the kasbah. An old fortress, now retired. He sits & grows old in the garden.

He quietly watches the people come & go. Children playing, women chattering, lovers nuzzling quietly. Unlike monuments at home, this place isn’t reserved for noisy visitors, unruly children & family arguments. It’s an oasis of calm, shared by many.

Inside, the old town jewels, clothes & trinkets are displayed.

Sunnies by Ray Ban, dress from ASOS (possibly the most comfortable thing I have ever owned!), basket from Cath K, shoes from Minetonka.

After the relaxed, snoozing atmosphere of the citadel we visited the regimented, very serious Mausolee Mohamed V & the Hassan Tower.

Flanked by mounted guards, this isn’t a place to relax. It’s a place to come & show your quiet respect to the fallen king & his two sons. (Girls, make sure you take a large shawl to cover up with.)

The ruins of the old mosque look something like a chess game being played between the tower & the mausoleum.

Inside, you’ll find more of the incredible local craftsmanship at every turn. Especially if you look to the sky.

Down, below the viewing balconies lies the king and his two princes. He died in 1999, having completed the construction in 1971, he’d thoughtfully already made his bed.

Just outside the grounds there are watermen.

They announce themselves by ringing bronze bells & supply the locals with cool water from goatskin bags.

Outside the palaces, things are significantly more… manicured.

Is it strange to get excited about trees?

Probably.

None the less, I think these trees are awesome!

I don’t know if you can see properly… but they line the roads. Nothing special about that, I hear you think. Look again. They all interconnect. The branches reach out & grab each other, making one long tree with lots of legs.