Today we departed Casablanca to head north. After breakfast at the hotel we packed, checked out, and walked about 15 minutes to the train station. The first leg of our journey today was a one hour train ride to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Rabat first rose to prominence in the 12th century, when the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu’min turned Rabat into a fortress to use as a point to launch attacks on Iberia. Its name dates from that time, when it acquired the title Ribatu al-Fath, meaning “stronghold of victory”. During that time frame it became the capital of the Almohad Empire. However, following the collapse of the empire Rabat went into a period of decline and the capital moved to Fez. Rabat did continue having a considerable military like history, having been one of the base ports for the Barbary pirates from the 16th to the 18th century. Following the French invasion of Morocco in 1912, they made Rabat the capital due to instability in Fez. Once Morocco regained independence in 1955, Mohamed V who was the king at the time elected to keep the capital in Rabat.
The train ride to Rabat was fairly nondescript. The tracks were a mile or two inland so periodically you could see the ocean in the distance and some large cargo ships offshore. However, mostly it was a combination of passing through small towns, with grazing land (sheep and cattle) and fields of grain between the towns. The terrain was very flat.
There were about 6 stops between Casablanca and Rabat. Midway en route a Moroccan man boarded the train and sat next to me. We stuck up a conversation even though his English was poor and my French and Arabic are non-existent. He was probably in his early 60s, and was very friendly. We found out that we both have a daughter and a son, and he showed me a picture of his wife. He wanted to know about our trip, and gave his opinion of the various places we were going to visit. He thought our itinerary was good, but said he did not like Marrakech - too many foreigners and too expensive. At some point he asked me if Donald Trump was crazy and unstable, and he said he liked Hillary Clinton. I told him yes, I agreed that Trump was unstable and told him that many/most Americans did not like Trump. He was going one stop beyond Rabat so as I left the train I was goodbye to my new Moroccan friend Siad.
After we arrived in Rabat we went to a restaurant close to the train station. We ordered what we wanted for lunch, left our luggage, and had 3 hours to see Rabat before returning to the restaurant to eat. We headed out as a group, but soon people scattered. Karen and I ended up with the two ladies from South Africa and the young woman from Chicago. We had decided to first go to Kasbah les Oudaias, Rabat's historical citadel. On the way we went past the parliament buildings and downtown Rabat commercial buildings.
We decided to go through the medina rather than take the main roads. We spent an hour walking through the Medina, aided by Google Maps to help us navigate. It started raining while we were in the medina, and it was raining hard by the time we left. Part way though we met another member of our group, Jason, who was trying to figure out which way to go. He joined up with us for the rest of the time in Rabat.
Ultimately we worked our way out of the medina and arrived at Kasbah les Oudaias. We toured the Andaluisan Gardens and enjoyed the vistas from the old fortifications. Similar to the medina, there is a maze of small alleys, and while there are a few shops, the area is mostly residential. The walls here are mostly blue and white, offering a contrast to the other areas we have visited.
We then followed the waterfront road and then back up the bluff to see the 44 meter tall Hassan Tower. It was part of ambitions Almohad project to build the world's second largest mosque, but its patron died before it was completed. The mosque was destroyed in an earthquake in 1755 and all that remains is the tower and a large number of pillars.
Adjacent to the Hassan Tower is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. We visited that and then worked our way back to the restaurant where we had left our bags. It had almost stopped raining by the time we got back, but everyone was very wet after being out in the rain for almost 3 hours. We started drying out during lunch, but it was pouring again after lunch as we dashed back to the train station.
We had about a 3 hour train ride from Rabat to Mekenes, and we got to know some of our fellow travelers better as eight of us we were cramped in a small compartment on the train.
About half way between Rabat and Mekenes the terrain started to change with rolling hills and mountains in the distance. When we arrived at Mekenes it was still raining and continued to rain on most of the 30 minute taxi ride to Moulay Idriss. The guesthouse we were staying at was halfway up the hill, so donkeys took our luggage while we walked up.
This small town was formed in the 8th century, when Moulay Irdiss I arrived, bringing with him the religion of Shiism, or Shia Islam. Moulay Idriss I was the great-grandson of the prophet Mohammed. Moulay Idriss remains the most holy city in Morocco, attracting many religious pilgrims. After arriving we had time to relax and start drying off and then had dinner prepared by the family at the guesthouse before retiring for the night. The final photo is from the terrace at our guesthouse.
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