“I stand in a portico hung with gentian-blue ipomeas…and look out on a land of mists and mysteries; a land of trailing silver veils through which domes and minarets, mighty towers and ramparts of flushed stone, hot palm groves and Atlas snows, peer and disappear at the will of the Atlantic cloud drifts.”
~Edith Wharton, In Morocco
After a filled-to-the-brim morning exploring Casablanca, we were on our way to Rabat, Morocco’s capital city and spot on the map where the Bou Regreg River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Our tour guide Moose was still going strong on the hour-long drive, regaling us with stories and information about the new Moroccan city we were about to visit.
Rabat didn’t become Morocco’s capital until 1955, after the country gained independence from France. From its 12th-century beginnings as a Berber Muslim empire to the French Protectorate period starting in 1912, the city is a mix of Islamic and French-colonial heritage. We would be visiting sites that reflect both worlds, and it became clear to me before stepping off the bus that this was a place quite different from the other Moroccan cities we’d had the chance to experience.
Royal Palace
Our first stop was Rabat’s Royal Palace, home to the king and royal family. The palace sits at the end of a mechouar, a large public square used for assemblies and parades. As we walked toward the palace entrance, Moose received word that we were the last group of the day permitted to enter the palace grounds. Preparations were underway for a special visitor – we never learned who it was – and the area would be closed to the public.
Mausoleum of Mohammed V
It turned out that the Royal Palace wasn’t the only attraction closed because of the mysterious “special visitor.” The Mausoleum complex of Mohammed V was off-limits as well, with its guards on horseback ensuring that no one made it past the gated entry. We were permitted to take photos through the gates’ wide bars, which offered a peek into the architecture and scope of the space.
The mausoleum contains the tombs of the Moroccan King Mohammed V and his two sons, King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah. It was commissioned by Hassan II after Mohammed V’s death in 1961 and completed ten years later. Built on an elevated platform at the southeastern corner of the esplanade, the mausoleum features a distinctive pyramid-shaped green roof and Moorish arches and carvings.
Across from the Mausoleum of Mohammed V stands the Hassan Tower, the minaret of an unfinished mosque commissioned by calif Abu Yusuf Yaqqub al-Mansur at the end of the 12th century. When al-Mansur died in 1199, construction stopped on what would have been the largest minaret in the world and the largest mosque in the western Muslim world. The minaret was left standing at 144 feet tall.
A Moroccan Lunch
Suddenly, it seemed, it was time for lunch. Although food was a welcome thought, I had somehow lost track of the time. Two cities in one day! My head was spinning from everything we’d experienced. Casablanca seemed so far away, even though it had only been a few hours. And now here we were, having chicken tagine in Rabat.
Yes, chicken tagine. Our meal at Dar rbatia was pre-ordered and featured the same main course Herb and I had learned to prepare at our cooking class in Tangier. A day earlier, we had also enjoyed a pre-ordered lunch of chicken tagine at a restaurant in Marrakech. Both tagine meals were tasty – we thought the Rabat restaurant’s was better – but neither could compare with the home-cooked recipe passed down from Fatima’s grandmother.
Kasbah of the Udayas
Our final stop was, for me, the highlight of Rabat – and perhaps the most beautiful place we visited in Morocco. The Kasbah of the Udayas. Impenetrable-looking stone fortress with sweeping hilltop views. The spot where the Bou Regreg River leaves Morocco behind, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Across the river from Salé, whose modern rocket-shaped tower belies the city’s ancient origins.
But even with all that exterior charm and bravado, it’s what lies inside the Kasbah of the Udayas that is so unexpected and lovely that it transports you to another world. The setting looks like pages from the blue-and-white palette of Santorini, Greece, mixed with Moorish architectural details. We wandered narrow winding streets, past a market, the oldest mosque in Rabat and some of the most charming homes imaginable. Moose told us that the houses in this neighborhood are now so valuable they are passed down in families.
Andalusian Gardens
The Kasbah neighborhood spills into the Andalusian Gardens, a peaceful enclave of orange trees, trumpet lilies, bougainvillea and a host of palm varieties. I would have loved to pull up a bench and stay a little longer. But it was late afternoon, and we had a bus to catch to Casablanca. And then it would be time to sail on from Morocco.
It’s just always so hard to say goodbye.
Oh yes, another post, another place on the list! Rabat has never featured on many itineraries I’ve seen and I had dismissed it as a modern city lacking the buzz of Marrakech. Friends had visited Rabat for a brief stop en route to a coastal resort and didn’t mention the gardens or the Palace – I wonder what they *did* see, then!? Thank you, Mary, for filling in the gaps they left and for another great post.
Gill, you are so right about ship itineraries that stop in Morocco. This one was really appealing to me because of the overnight in Casablanca, enabling us to visit Marrakech as well as Casablanca and Rabat. Plus the prior stop in Tangier! My travel wish list was very fulfilled!🥰 We were also extremely fortunate with the scope and content of the tours. I can’t imagine missing the fabulous Kasbah and gardens…simply enchanting!