Rabat

Coming to Morocco and leaving out its capital of Rabat would simply be a shame.

I’ll be honest I knew literally nothing about the place before I visited but there’s a surprisingly large amount to do here and in fact the entire town itself is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site.

These are my favourites.

Chellah

Just south of the city is the Chellah, which is a super old (the site was apparently abandoned in 1154AD) necropolis or cemetary.

A lot of what remains here is simply ruins but I quite enjoyed some of the wildlife around the place!

Most impressive are the fortified walls which surround the site and the entrance is quite grand.

I’m not sure when the garden area was added inside but it’s completely unexpected and beautiful to find this amount of greenery once you enter the Chellah.

I’d recommend going for a guided tour here to understand more about the history of this world heritage site.

Our guide was a funny guy who seemed to think I looked Moroccan (debatable) and called me Fatima, a common name for women in this country.

It became an ongoing joke the entire tour since this happened more than once to me!

Tree or Rhino?

Kasbah of the Udayas

As I mentioned in my post about staying in a kasbah, the name refers to fortifications of various sizing and the one in Rabat is pretty large.

I’d actually describe the kasbah here as kind of an old town area alongside the coast – it is definitely worth a visit for some lovely views out to the ocean.

Some of the laneways are painted blue too – not to the extent of Chefchaouen – but it makes for a lovely walk through the winding paths.

Right near the entrance of the kasbah I found an interesting site which was an entire cemetery situated by the water!

Mausoleum of Mohammed V

Considered highly among the architecture created by the Alaouite dynasty, or the current Royal family of Morocco, this mausoleum houses three of the country’s kings – Mohammed V and his two sons.

There is usually a reader of the Koran present inside and although the building could be mistaken for being older than what it is from the classic exterior it displays, it was only completed in 1971.

The mausoleum is located opposite Hassan Tower, the Yacoub al-Mansour esplanade is the area you see between with a variety of columns located across the space.

There is a guard of horseback at the entrance too and I felt a little sad for the animal having to stand there for the entire day and pose with horrendous amounts of tourists.

The Royal Palace of Rabat

Also known as Dâr-al-Makhzen, the official residence of King Mohammed VI is located in a large complex area of sorts and the best part of a visit here is seeing the front facade entrance which is beautiful.

There is accommodation for the Royal Guard, schools and a library here too and the expansive space is used for parades.

Last but not least, the medina of Rabat is certainly worth having a look through while here.

Like any good medina there’s literally anything and everything you could want to buy but I have no photos from inside since it was bumper to bumper with people at dusk and my focus was on not losing my group and keeping my bag where I could see it!

Afterwards we went for dinner at a place opposite one entrance of the medina and this guy here was showing off his mad tea pouring skills – it was awesome!