Rabat: Rockin' the Kasbah
Trip Start
Sep 19, 2010
1
10
32
Trip End
Oct 26, 2010
Rabat, Morocco
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy Kasbah sound
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Kasbah
(He thinks it's not kosher)
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Kasbah
(You know he really hates it!)
Rock the Kasbah
- The Clash
After work today (more on the hospital later), we went on a tour of my temporary hometown, Rabat, the modern capital of Morocco. The French deemed it so in 1912, preferring its coastal location to Fes' inland spot. Most skip Rabat on their itinerary, but so far I have found it to be pretty cool. We ventured out to get the lay of the land, visiting the city's more important sites.
We headed toward downtown and the water and first up was Le Tour Hassan. In 1195 the sultan ordered the construction of what was to be the highest structure in the world at the time at 60m (200 ft), the towering minaret of the Hassam Mosque. In 1199, the man died and apparently no one thought him worthy enough to continue, so today the tower still stands, but at 44m (145ft). Back in the day, before speaker systems, the call to prayer, or adhan, was done by a muesin from the top of the minaret. Thanks to its epic height for the time, this one has an internal spiral ramp system large enough to carry a man on his horse up to make the call.
(BTW - the adhan is called out by a muezzin five times a day, traditionally from a minaret, summoning Muslims for mandatory prayers, or alah. The main purpose behind the adhan is to bring to the mind of every believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology. In other words, to remind yourself five times a day to be good, to be Godful. Hardly something to be feared, in my opinion.)
The tower is surrounded by half-finished Roman-like pillars that were intended to keep the Mosque up, so you can see its scale. It would have been huge. Across the way is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, where the tombs of the current king's grandfather and two sons are housed. The building itself is gorgeous and it took seven years just to inlay the tiny tiles.
I took a pretty cool picture of what turned out to be a policeman. That's illegal in Morocco. He heard the snap of my camera, turned to me, and I knew I was busted. He walked towards me and made me show him my picture. He was clearly in it and I deleted it before I could say a word. No jail time.
Next, we rocked the kasbah. (I've been wanting to say that for a while.) A kasbah is a fortified walled city that housed the military, a citadel. Rabat's cliff-top casbah was built in the 12th century by the Almohads. Now it has a beautiful garden within its walls, where today's less-the-perfect Muslim couples go to have some private romantic time. There are pretty colorful doors throughout, and of course, kittens. As you meander around, you finally come to the Oued Bou Regreg which is a village-like quarter, with homes built in the 20th century. There are curvy passageways and blue and white walls that eventually lead to a gigantic pointed overlook with views of the Atlantic and the city's two popular beaches. From there I could also see two HUGE cemeteries which I hope to scope out next week.
From there we dumped out into the medina and checked out what the souks had to offer. Same stuff - leather, spices, lamps, shoes, you name it. The key to the souks is to go from noonish through 4ish when most people are indoors due to the heat. We caught it at a good time and had some breathing room. The thing that stuck out to me most were the terrifying mannequins that lined the medina, modeling everything from western street wear to belly dancing costumes. Very disturbing.
We took the bus home which was a good time to see how the locals do it. You don't pay the driver as you get on, an attendant walks around the bus and sells tickets. I have no idea how this man did it, because we were like sardines in there. The bus costs 3.5 dirham, or .42c. This is a civilized roadway, nothing like India where death is more or less a toss up when you are anywhere near the road. The Moroccan traffic and driving skills could simply be an especially annoying day on Colorado Boulevard, so it sorta felt like home. (Although, admittedly, I've never been on a RTD in my life.)
So now I know my backyard a little better.
Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=292648&id=633950714&l=be6c45591d
Comments
Sounds like you had a relaxing day touring the casbah - I just love being able to slip that word into conversation. Happy to hear the policeman story ended to everyone's liking - sorry you had to give up your photo op.
As always, the photos you do get are incredible. xoxoxo