The Intrepid map of our tour through Morocco
On our trip exploring Morocco, we left Casablanca to visit Rabat, the capital city. Intrepid, the online travel company with which we booked our 10 day tour, uses local transportation. So we boarded a local train at the main station in Casablanca.
It drizzled when we arrived but, armed with a paper map as well as Maps on my phone, we set off to explore the city. What I liked about our Intrepid tour is that we didn’t have to stay together as a group. Even with only 10 or so people, it was good to be able to explore on our own or stay with a guide if we wished. Our guide first took us through the busy city to a restaurant where we could store our luggage and would return to for lunch.
Then Hanna and I hoofed it to the old city walls for a look at the sea at the Kashbah. A kashbah is a citadel, a fort with city walls surrounding the original ancient city often with a mosque, homes and shops inside the walls. Rabat is a bustling capital city but the old medina is usually free of traffic and full of interesting spots to visit. Before entering the medina, we had a view of a historic light house and a cemetery of immense proportions. The gate to the kashbah is gorgeous and considered one of the best remaining samples of Moroccan architecture. It is also a Unesco World Heritage site.
We strolled through the old kashbah, then down the stone steps and into the medina with it labyrinth of alleys, little shops, tea houses and juice stands.
The drizzle stopped. We fell in love with the decorative doorways everywhere. We found a wood work shop where the beautiful crafted doors and room screens were still being produced or restored.
The craftsmanship has likely been handed down from generation to generation.
The man in my photo sells nougat. But just look at the doors behind him and his stall… Amazing art work.
Strolling through the medina we didn’t have enough eyes to take it all in. And everyone was welcoming and friendly.
We spotted a few people wearing traditional Morcoccan clothing… I was surprised to see how the colours and fabrics resemble clothing from South America - so perhaps still an everlasting historic connection to Spain.
We found our way back to luggage and lunch, then took the train to the next village in the mountains. Hop onboard for the next stop!
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