Morocco- Rabat

It was a beautifully sunny day so we headed just south of Rabat to the Rabat Zoo.  It is the only zoo in Morocco and has recently moved to new premises.  Arriving just after 3pm we purchased tickets for 40 dirhams (3.50 euro) each and stayed until closing time.

Some highlights of the zoo were the chimpanzee and lions which we were able to see close up behind the glass.  We managed to see a Bald Ibis which we had yet to see in the wild here and also a huge flock of flamingoes.  I almost wondered why we have bothered to creep up on them at the lagoons as they were so easy to photograph here.  Another highlight was seeing the vultures feeding.

We had a car park in Rabat in mind which we had seen on the internet but when we arrived they said they didn't allow motorhomes.  So we continued on to the Plage des Nations, a beach north of Rabat which had guarded parking according to our camping book.  This unfortunately meant a drive through Rabat and it had already got dark.  We arrived and a guardian came out and took 30 dirhams for the night.

We decided we would use the bus from here to get into Rabat.  The next morning we talked to the parking attendant and after using Google translate we worked out that it was fine to stay and we could pay the night guardian again that night.  We were parked next to a hotel and a manager there actually drove us up to the main road (2km away) and toward Rabat, cutting our journey in half.  We waited for bus 28 and paid 4 dirhams each (35 euro cents) and got off near the Hassan tower.

We started our sightseeing at the 12th century Hassan tower.  There are stone posts in the courtyard there to mark out a mosque which was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.  There is also the Mohammed V mausoleum, which has the bodies of the present King's father Hassan II, and Hassan II's brother Moulay Abdellah.  Construction finished in 1971 and it was built for their father Mohammed V (current King's Grandfather).  It is open to all and even photos are allowed.  It is stunning inside and a real masterpiece of Moroccan architecture.

The guards at the entrance to the Hassan tower complex

The Hassan tower

Mohammed V Mausoleum

The ceiling of the Mohammed V Mausoleum

Inside the Mausoleum

We continuing walking through the new town to the ruins of Chellah, via a lunch stop on the way.  They are 14th century ruins from the Merenid dynasty and were built on the site of a previous Roman colony.  There is also the remains of a minaret and mosque.  There were many stork nests on these and it is very picturesque and peaceful.  Looking at the surrounding countryside and farms you would hardly know you are on the edge of a big city.

We finished the day at the National Archeology museum.  There were several interesting finds here from the wider Rabat area and also the Roman sites of Volubilis and Lixus.  Unfortunately the bronze statues from Volubilis were not on display as they are at a temporary exhibition in Marseille- so that was a shame.  The man working there kindly pointed out items of interest and told us more about them.  He insisted we take photos, even taking one of us, though photos are not allowed to be taken in the museum.

We made our way to Hassan II Boulevard where we hoped to be able to catch the bus from and found a stop.  The bus got more and more congested as we went along, and 30 minutes later when we got off most people that we had started the journey with were still on it.  This made it extremely difficult to get to the exit and harder still to look out and make sure we had the right stop.  On board there is also a woman who sits on the bus, takes the money and issues the tickets.  Another example in Morocco where machines haven't replaced a persons job.

The next part of the story is going to take some explaining.  We arrived back to the hotel and spoke with the parking attendant.  It was the same one as the night before.  We tried to pay him 30 dirhams, but he said to pay when we leave so that's cool.  We get to the van and I'm about to get in after Dale, when a man approaches.  I can't understand a word he is saying and I think he is probably selling something.  I said ' no thank you' and tried to close the door.  He then held onto the door.  He was extremely aggressive and I told him to back off.  We finally understood that he was trying to tell us that he was the guardian.  We told him sternly to come to the hotel with us as we wanted to talk to the hotel guardian about this.  The hotel guardian confirmed this man was the guardian!  This guy seemed to have got his nose out of joint as I had tried to shut the door on him, and said "you don't pay, problem.  You do pay, it's ok".  Well of course we had no problem paying, but when you approach us like a nut job, you aren't going to get a good response.  We said fine and then handed over a pen and paper for him to write a price.  He writes two 00s and then adds an 8!  Well even if he was trying to scam us, no one would ever pay 800 dirhams (about 70 euros) to stay the night.  He seemed to have a take it or leave it approach, so we said we will go.  It wasn't just the fact of the money anymore, but the fact that this guy was obviously crazy and a risk to himself, let alone us.  To leave we had to drive past the hotel and the hotel guardian tried to get us to stay but we simply said 'problem, danger' and pointed in the direction of where we had been parked.  The crazy man then came up, gave the back of our van a smack with his hand (man I hate it when people touch the van) and yelled at us to leave.  We drove away listening to the two guardians having an argument and then the crazy man walked up the road the same way we were going.

So disappointingly this left us to drive to another spot in the dark, on a main road which was badly lit.  I knew that you could get the train to Rabat from Kenitra which was half an hour north.  So we headed there and found a cheap campsite called Complexe de la Chenaie.  42 dirhams a night without electric and a 2km walk to either train station in Kenitra (there are 2).  The train is 15 dirhams each way per person and the trains are European standard.  So for anyone with a motorhome wanting to visit Rabat or Casablanca for that matter, we think this currently is the way to go!  Avoid Plage des Nations as while it is closer to Rabat, it is still a crowded bus journey away.  We had finished late at the zoo the day before and didn't want to drive too far which is why we chose it, but in hindsight we would have been far better off in Kenitra.

So for our final day in Rabat we had a pleasant train journey and got off at the Rabat ville station.  We headed to the souks first, walking through to the other side to the Kasbah des Oudaias.  This is a walled area, the residents living in blue and white houses and has a nice view out to Sale (the town across the estuary).  That is when the view point is open of course!  We had to make do by walking along the beach and climbing up the rocks.  This seemed to be a popular area for young lovers!  It was sweet, when affection of that sort is not really something to be shown in public here, and pre marital sex and homosexuality are both illegal here.

The Kasbah gate

The oldest Mosque in Rabat

There are some nice gardens in the kasbah as well, unfortunately there are some very persistant women offering henna.  At one stage I found myself tag teamed on both sides and they nearly touched my hands.
We had enjoyed our time in Rabat, actually spending a lot of time in the new town area and enjoyed the wide pavements and easily negotiated streets.  There are good attractions here, no hassle and few touts.  I actually found that we didn't stand out too much either as there is a cultural mix of people in the city.

The next day was cloudy and we stayed another night in Kenitra while the campsite was cheap and we were buggered from our big days in Rabat.  The days highlights were finding delicious pastries for 1 dirham each in the souk, and catching up on editing of our photos.

The next day we headed north to Moulay Bousselham, which had been our first overnight stop in Morocco 80 days ago.