Sunday, August 28, 2011

Casablanca to Rabat

Today we drove by Rick's Cafe, made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.  We probably won't be going there though.

Casablanca and Rabat are coastal cities and although very humid, have been cooled by the ocean breezes today, so weather has been pleasant.  The vistas of the sea are beautiful.  The ocean waves are really rolling in and crashing against the shore.  Hundreds of people are out enjoying a day at the beach.   We visited  some beautiful public squares today, plus the Mosque Hassan II, which is quite magnificent.  Of particular interest was our visit to the Oudaya kasbah, which is the oldest part of the city of Rabat.  It is made up of narrow, winding streets that are rather maze-like.  This month is Ramadan, and women all over are cooking for the celebratory meals that take place when the obligatory fast is broken at sundown.  There were some delicious fragrances wafting out on to the streets and I wondered how difficult it would be for the cooks to refrain from sampling the food they were preparing.

It seems like everywhere we go America's second embassy is there to greet us!

The market in Casablanca held some items we do not normally see - like this swordfish head!

There are satellite dishes everywhere!  You go by the worst hovel and it is full of satellite dishes.  Every roof lines looks like this!  People really lover their satelite TV here.

The main mosque in Casablanca is the third largest in the world.  The floor holds 25,000 worshipers!

The inside of the mosque is beautiful indeed!

Sandy got into the visit with her head scarf!

Rabat is the capital of Morocco.  It was founded in the 12th century by the Moors who used it to plan their strategy to retake parts of the Iberian peninsula.  When they were thrown out they kept the capital here.  This was the main palace until 1950's when the sultan died.  His son now moves around the country using this palace mainly to receive foreign visitors.

This is part of the 12th century city walls.  Inside is the old city of Oudaya kasbah.  The walls enclosed an area of about 6 square miles.

The old city is interesting.  Everything is painted blue and white.  The streets are very narrow and wind around.

The last area we visited was the Mohammad V mausoleum.  This mausoleum was built next to the remains of the 11th century Rabat mosque.  The mosque was never finished and, what was finished, was destroyed in an earthquake in the 1900s.

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