Rabat & Tangier

We spent a few days in Rabat and a few in Tangier exploring these cities on our way back to Spain.

Rabat

We really liked Rabat. We stayed at a nice apartment about 1 block away from a tram stop so we could easily navigate the city and it was only 15 minutes into the old town.

Medina

Rabat’s old town (Medina) was interesting. There were really only 2-3 main roads with shops and the souq and the rest of the area was housing and hotels. The buildings are all white with narrow winding streets. The souq was more authentic than the tourist ones in Fes and Marrakech and the prices were really cheap!

Kasbah

Across the street from the Medina is the Kasbah. This is a walled-in fortress and town with a nice garden. Again, the streets were white and windy – many of the roads start in one direction and end with a dead end heading in a completely different direction. The view from the top of the Kasbah was beautiful overlooking the sea and inlet river and the walled city of Sale on the other side of the river.

Chellah

The Chellah area is one of the oldest areas of Rabat. It was originally a Phonecian town which was then taken over by the Romans and then occupied by the Berbers. It was really interesting to walk around the old ruins and baths. It is also a sanctuary for storks and there were tons of nests and storks everywhere!

_{(Note: the first image below is not in the Chellah – this is actually in the Rabat botanical garden which we walked through on our walk through town to the Chellah.)}

Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Hasan Tower

The Hasan Tower is actually the minaret of what was supposed to be the tallest minaret in Africa. Unfortunately, the King who built it died during construction and the tower and mosque were never completed. In the same complex is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V (Sultan and First King of Morocco). The mausoleum was very impressive with different types of marble making up the intricate tiling. There were also royal guards posted both inside and outside that were quite happy to have their photos taken with all the various tourists.

Tangier

We stayed in an apartment across from the beach and within walking distance to the old city. Although Tangier had some nice views, it wasn’t one of our favourite places in Morocco. The old town had some nice walls and a fairly authentic souq area. One of the main tourist attractions is the Phonecians’ graves carved into the rocks overlooking the sea.

We had some great restaurants just outside our apartment, and on our first night ate at an amazing fish place.

This was the end of our 6 weeks in Morocco. We really loved it and could have easily stayed a lot longer. We’ll have to come back again.

Next stop – back to Spain.