Morocco Take Two

“To visit Morocco is still like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines.” - Edith Wharton.

Unbelievable! I’m back in Morocco for a second time in a little over a month. It’s not a dream, I’m in Rabat meeting three friends who have just flown in from Los Angeles. We can’t wait to catch up on the 5 weeks I’ve been gone from home as we enjoy a refreshing drink, surrounded by tinkling fountains and beautiful sunshine.

I’ve come full circle on my African Odyssey which started in Marrakech with friends and family where a FUNTASTIC time was had by all. Now I’m going to explore more of what Morocco has to offer as we tour along the Atlantic Coast and through deserts and mountains to head back to journey’s end in Marrakech.

Rabat is the capital and administrative center of Morocco, the seventh largest city of the country located on the shores of the Atlantic and one of the cleanest cities in Morocco.

Our morning in Rabat started with a visit to the Palais Royale. The main seat of the government of Morocco and the home of the King when he’s in residence. An impressive palace complex including the royal mosque and all manner of administrative buildings. The palace itself is surrounded by royal guards consisting of the various branches of the military in their colorful uniforms. The fountains in the complex ran empty, a sign that the king was not in residence in the Palace.

After a brief stop to exchange some money, we made our way to the Hasan Tower and the mausoleum of Mohamed the V.

The Hasan Tower minaret was left incomplete when a dynasty change occurred. Despite asking the question multiple times we never quite got the answer why it was never completed by the new ruling dynasty especially since no new minaret was built for the mosque that was built here.

The mausoleum and the mosque are built of beautifully carved white marvel surrounded by colorful tiles in the Moorish style. Our guide tried to tell us that this complex is comparable to the Taj Mahal in India. Unfortunately for him there were 4 of us Indian women who scoffed at this statement and soon set him right. I wonder if he still continues to use the same lines with new tour groups?

The inside of the mausoleum however is breathtaking and rivals the workmanship of the Alhambra Palace.

We had caught glimpses as we drove up here but clearly visible outside the mausoleum is the Mohommed VI tower, a 55 story, 820 feet high skyscraper. This tower is the tallest in Africa and fated to remain the tallest in Morocco for the near term since UNESCO has put a stop to building any other buildings higher than the original skyline.

Alongside it is the very modern looking Grand Theater Performing Arts Center designed by a local Moroccan architect Zaha Hadid.

While we spent a lot of our time exploring the medieval parts of the Moroccan cities, these touches of modernity in some of the cities make an interesting contrast.

Then it was to the Kasbah and the Andalusian Gardens with a palace that has been converted into a museum. Here fountains bubbled with water in typical Moorish style with water running through the gardens laden with oranges which were the only fruit to be seen and somewhat bare of flowers thanks to the season.

After touring the museum, we made our way through the narrow streets of the medina towards the top of the fort for a scenic overview of the city.

The narrow streets always curving upwards and stairs that are really not quite the stairs we are used to are clean and quiet. The blank walls facing outwards hide the beauty of the courtyards and gardens that are located inside. These flowerpots on the road gave us brief hints of how beautiful the inside must look.

At the top we had a 360 view of the twin city of Sale, as well as a cemetery and the city of Rabat. We exited from a gate at the top of the fort to head towards our bus that was going to take us onwards.

As we exited, we stood at the top of a set of stairs that were supposedly used in the latest Mission Impossible movie for Tom Cruise to ride a motorcycle down. It certainly seemed like a daring endeavor, and I will have to get the movie to compare it to my memories.

Pastoral scenes greeted our eyes as we made our way to Tangier.

However, a bus full of people needs stops along the way and ours came at the beautiful artsy city of Asilah on the shores of the Atlantic. This town is bustling in the summer with people flocking here to enjoy the ambiance, but it was relatively quiet as we walked through the streets and admired the wall art and shops.

Walls have interesting paintings, a lot more sophisticated than the typical graffiti that we are used to seeing decorating walls.

On our journey to the top of the fort and back, we passed many shops and cafes but the most interesting one that we stopped at was this public bakery where the baker was baking bread which he shared with us hot from the oven.

Then some of us made friends with the baker and he brought out another loaf that he had just baked, and we got into trouble with our guide who was not happy about this. Still not sure what his beef was especially since we paid the guy.

The city by the ocean, what a view from the ramparts with the blue waters stretching as far as the eye can see and the white surf lapping up to the shore.

Colorful carpets hung on the walls enticing people to stop and perhaps buy as did art pieces along the sidewalks and of course paintings on the walls that we walked by. What an absolutely wonderful stop, probably one of the highlights of this journey through Morocco.

This is just the beginning and there’s a lot more to come so stay tuned.