Exploring Rabat and moving on to Tangier
I'm too tired to write much tonight (Saturday), so I'll just add a few notes and hopefully finish the post tomorrow. ETA: and that's what I did.
Saturday was our first day moving around in a group, and it was actually okay. Our guide, Abdul, gave each of us an device with an earpiece, so I can wander around while he talks about the places we're visiting and still hear his talk. He is very knowledgeable, and his information definitely adds value to what we are seeing, but I would rather wander around and see the places than stand and listen and then have only 10 minutes to wander before we move on. There is at least one other woman of the same mind. She and I are all over the place, but most of the group stands around Abdul and listens. Nope nope nope.
But it's a good group. I'm not the youngest, but I may be the second youngest, so we are not a young group! There is one lady who is almost 91. She gets around pretty well. As I said yesterday, except for one woman (on her first international trip), everyone is very well traveled, much more than I am! We are all from the US, but there are some in the group who immigrated from Asia so there is some multiculturalism. No one sticks out as annoying, which is wonderful!
On Saturday we went to several World Heritage Sites in Rabat. Actually, I just looked it up, and the entire old city of Rabat is a World Heritage Site, not any one location in particular. The Kasbah was the first stop, so "Rock the Kasbah" was mentioned, if not really sung out loud. The Kasbah has been restored and is right by the water (Atlantic Ocean). I found the details interesting: the door knockers shaped like the hand of Fatima, the wonderful doors, the tiling.
There are lots of cats everywhere. I fed some of my fish at lunch to a cat that appeared in the outdoor restaurant. There are very few dogs though. I don't think I've seen over a dozen in 3 days. Most of those were pets, but there have been a few strays.
After the Kasbah we moved on to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Hassan Tower. Construction of the Hassan Tower was started in the 12th century, but stopped when the Caliph who had commissioned it died. It was planned to be the minaret of the largest mosque in the world, but building stopped with the tower at 44 meters and only a few walls and columns in place. Interestingly, our guide said that the mosque had been destroyed by an earthquake, but I can't find any reference to the mosque being completed, though I did find something about a 1755 earthquake damaging what was there. (Maybe I just missed the details since I was wandering around while Abdul was speaking.) Adjacent to the old construction is the much newer (1971) Mausoleum of Mohammed V. The king died in 1961 and his body was moved to the site when it was completed. It's really ornate, with beautiful construction. There is a lot of tiling and some gorgeous brass decor. There is a mosque and another structure as part of the complex. I think I need to include a couple of larger pictures for this one.
I particularly liked these brass structures, which are just decorative, not functional.
As I mentioned, there are some remnants of walls that were built in the 12th century. The walls had holes through them for ventilation, and all of the holes now house pigeons.
I don't remember if I mentioned it, but the mosques in Morocco, with one exception, are not open to non-Muslims.
From there, we went to lunch at a seafood restaurant on the river. I have already eaten a lot of seafood! Oh, and we walked through the strangest street on the way to the restaurant. There were several other restaurants on the street and they had the oddest, pinkest decor.
After lunch, we had the rest of the afternoon free. We were given the option of staying in the downtown area for a couple of hours, and I chose that. I joined a very fellow tour member and we walked a couple of miles, exploring. I also found a patisserie and bought a lovely pastry. One of the cases had sweet rolls in it, and the case was absolutely swarming with bees. They were flying in the door of the shop and right into the case. There were dozens of them! 🐝 I do wish I'd taken a picture, but the women working there acted like all was normal. Maybe they were honeybuns in the case? (There were no bees in the other pastry cases.)
Oh, I almost forgot. Near the Kasbah there was an interesting cemetery. This one, according to Abdul, is for well-off dead people and is very well maintained. I took some pictures from the bus, looking over the wall, because I thought the tombstones were very interesting.
We headed back to the hotel, and I had an indulgent evening. I had a massage at the hotel spa, then a wonderful dinner and glass of Moroccan red wine. There was a tiny tagine of olives on the table, and I ate way too many olives. My dinner was a seafood pastilla, which was a flaky pastry filled with spicy seafood. I recognized shrimp, squid, scallop, and bits of fish, but I think there was more there. The wine was excellent, by the way. Morocco has a very active wine industry.
We were up early today (Sunday) to drive to Tangier. It was about a 4 hour drive, with one stop for a coffee/bathroom break. I enjoyed the drive—there was lots to see, but some people slept. I saw a large flock of flamingoes, which, of course, got me excited. In Tangier, we picked up a local guide for the 2 days here. Abdul is still the tour director, but we will have local guides in several towns. Actually, this was my least favorite day so far. Since it was Sunday, there were lots of local tourists at the sites we visited. Plus there is an international soccer match going on here, so there are also many people in Tangier for that. So, we took the bus to several places, spent 20-30 minutes at each (in crowds of other people), then moved on. We stopped at a park high above Tangier to look across the Mediterranean to Spain. Then on to a lighthouse, which I did like. There was a band playing, apparently something special because of the football match.
From there, we went to the Caves of Hercules. Now this is an old site, dating back to ~6000 BC. The Berbers cut stone wheels from the walls to make millstones, so there are circular cuts all over the inside. The opening to the Atlantic Ocean is called the Map of Africa, and looks like an upside down shape of Africa. Do you see it?
I'm not sure that I do.
Next, we went to the hotel to check in. I think I got spoiled at the Sofitel in Rabat. We're at a very nice Hilton here, but I use the word nice in quotes or italics. I'm not crazy about the Hilton chain, and this one, although it looks nice and has a great location, would look at home in Cancun or any other tourist area. I was excited about the view though, especially when I realized my room was on the side facing the Mediterranean. Then I looked out my window and saw...a wall. Yep, no view at all and had to look up to see the sky. I marched right back downstairs. I was not spending two nights looking at a wall. So, I got moved to a room with a view but it's facing the other direction, toward town. No joy here. But most of the remaining hotels should be less chain hotel and, hopefully, much more interesting. Honestly, I was probably pretty pissy when I marched downstairs. I was tired from the day and just disappointed in general. Oh, the best part of the room is a lovely giant bathtub. If I can find some bubbles or bath salts tomorrow, I may indulge.
Finally, I met my friends Ken (who I had walked about Rabat with) and Stephen. We went to a nearby mall and wandered around. We spent the longest time in the grocery store. I'm fascinated by what people cook in other countries. I used google translate to figure out what unknown items are. BTW, I had no idea before that quinoa came in red and black as well as white. We bought chocolate, then headed to the food court. You'll be happy to hear that we skipped KFC, Baskin Robbins, and Burger King, and ate at Taco King. I had a tuna pizza (tuna, olives, and cheese). Then back to the hotel where I've finally gotten caught up on the blog venture. (Sorry for the length!)
Tomorrow we'll be exploring more in Tangier in the morning, and eating lunch as a group. We'll then have the rest of the day to ourselves, and will head to Fes on Tuesday morning.
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