Earthly Wanderings: Rabat

Rabat continued continued :)

After the ruins we went to the Hassan (II) Tower. The tower was meant to be a minaret for a mosque that was never completed, construction on the mosque and tower began in 1195. The tower is only about half of it's intended height.

The complex is guarded by royal guard on horseback as well as on foot.

The tower:

The tower is only part of the complex. On the other side is the mausoleum of Mohammed V, the grandfather of the current king. The mausoleum is also the resting place of Hassan II (the king's father) and his brother Prince Moulay Abdallah (the king's uncle).

Our guide kept calling it "the second Taj Mahal"

Another cute kid on top of one of the pillars between the tower and the mausoleum, they were to support the mosque.

Some from the inside.

King Mohammed V

Under side of part of the roof of the mausoleum.

After seeing the tower and mausoleum we were turned loose on the city of Rabat! I was originally part of a group of 6 or 7 but, eventually it dwindled down to just me and Jen. We ate at one of the "restaurants" in the Medina and then walked through the cemetery to a beach. Sadly I was running out of space on my phone for photos, so those are on my camera. I'll try to update them as soon as I can. We were trying to get to a sandy beach but we only found a rocky cliff side. Walking across to the edge felt like what I think walking on Mars would be like. It was all lava rock, like rock Swiss cheese! Crazy cool!

We were supposed to meet up with my friend Aboubakr, who lives in Rabat, but there was something wrong with my phone and I couldn't answer his call. :( When I got back home to Meknés he told me that he thought he saw me while I was walking and he was in the bus.

After the beach Jen bought some souvenirs and then we walked to a park, but we couldn't figure out how to get in because the gates were chained closed so we sat in the shade on some steps until it was time to meet the bus again. Then it was the 2 hour ride back to Meknés, the highway here reminds me so much driving down the 99, they have the same white and pink flower bushes in the middle! It makes me smile to see a "piece of California" here in Morocco.

I am enjoying my time here so much!! The colors and sights are so different and the same if that makes sense at all. The people have been really nice to me. My flatmates get harassed walking in the streets I either don't notice or don't get harassed, either way I'm ok with it! I feel safe during the day walking around (no "I feel quite safe" moments either, Zeezee, genuinely safe) and I see something new every day. This is a great place to be and I'm thankful for this opportunity!

Love,

Kayla نور

Rabat continued...

After a drive through the royal and administrative compound which I managed not to get a single photo of we made our way to some ancient ruins. And when I say ancient I mean Roman ancient! Rabat has clearly been an important city for many years.

The city is known as the "city of cranes" and it's easy to see why. They were everywhere in this area. They can make some really strange sounds!I don't really know what this park area was called. Our guide was a rich wealth of information and so kind but it was a little difficult to understand him.

There were so many ruins from different time periods. And I can't remember them all so just look at the pretty pictures. :)

This is my classmate, Eileen. She also goes to the University of Utah. Go Utes!

My flatmate, and friend and the person responsible for making me laugh so hard I can't breathe, Alexis!

Rabat, Morocco

So yesterday we went on our first weekend excursion. We gathered at 8:00 for the 2 hour bus ride to the capital city of Rabat. Rabat is a large and historic city. It is filled with a mixture of old and new everywhere you look.

Our first stop was the casbah. It was the fortification built to defend the city. Now mostly artists and artisans live within the walls.

The door to the casbah. So big and grand. The seashells that are carved in the corners represent tolerance for diversity.

Within the casbah most of the lower portion of the walls is blue, it reminded me of photos of Greece. :)

This is the door to the first madrasah (Quranic school) in the casbah.

This is the first house built in the casbah. It is called the Lucky House (dar baraka).

Our tour guide actually lives in the casbah and was able to get us into a small "factory" where women work all day making rugs by hand! It was crazy to watch. Those of us who sat and watched and took photos were given "good luck" bracelets from the yarn they were using.