![\"Riad](\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/V3IWkN8.jpg\")
<\/a><\/br>Riad Decorations<\/p><\/div> Our first stop of the day was Kasbah des Oudaias, a sea-side fortress where Bou Regreg River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Kasbah des Oudaias was just next to Rabat Medina, not a long walk from the riad where we spent the night.<\/p>\n If one were to attribute a color to Rabat’s Medina, it should be white, like the paint they applied to the alley walls. A fitting color for a rainy morning, just like the color of the skies.<\/p>\n <\/br>Streets of Rabat Medina<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets of Rabat Medina<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Islamic Shape Gate in Medina<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Hotel outside Rabat Medina<\/br>Doors lovingly decorated with Islamic patterns.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Avenue Al Marsa<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n <\/br>Kasbah des Oudaias<\/p><\/div>\n Before heading into Kasbah des Oudaias we made a brief visit to Bab Oudaya Art Gallery(free), where the only art really mattered was their rooftop view. (One can barely call their splashes of paint as “modern art”.) <\/br>Gate of Kasbah des Oudaias<\/br>Typical Arabic city gate with relief of Islamic patterns.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Minaret of Al Kasbah Mosque<\/br>The little village was so indulged in blue and white that even the mosque buildings were painted in these colors, although their minaret remained in typical Moroccan color.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Bou Regreg River into Atlantic Ocean<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Bou Regreg River into Atlantic Ocean<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Buildings near Atlantic Ocean<\/br>This building should be part of the coastal defense, so it\u2019s understandable that it’s not painted in the typical blue and white.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets<\/br>Some street artist’s vision.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Cats Resting in Building Doorway<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Not long after that we wandered into Andalusian Gardens, which was laid out by the French during the colonial period and made wonderful retreat during the hot days. However, that morning we were shivering in the wind and rain from the Atlantic Ocean, so we didn’t stay there for long.<\/p>\n <\/br>Tree and Flowers<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Flowers and Tower<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Orange Tree<\/br>With fallen oranges all over the place. The workers here never seemed to mind eating them.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Fountain<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Buildings along Andalusian Gardens<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Andalusian Gardens<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Cat Resting<\/br>It must be hiding from the rain.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Renovations at Kasbah des Oudaias<\/br>Just put whatever materials at the side of the road, typical third-world style.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Our next stop of the day was Hassan Tower. But before heading there we made a brief detour back to the riad because it was raining and we didn’t bring our umbrellas (we were over-confident when we set out). <\/p>\n <\/br>Streets of Rabat Medina<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Fireplace in our Riad<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Decorated Gate in Medina<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Flying Arches<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Streets of Rabat Medina<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Rabat Medina Wall<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Snails<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Jardin Tour Hassan<\/br>This seemed to be private garden reserved for Moroccan royals.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Hassan Tower was the minaret of an incomplete Mosque ordered by Sultan Yacub al-Mansour. Aimed to be the world’s largest mosque and minaret, its construction was halted after the death of Sultan Yacub al-Mansour. Today the columns standing on the site were the remains of the incomplete initial mosque.<\/p>\n <\/br>Hassan Tower with Surrounding Columns<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Fountain below Hassan Tower<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Columns by Hassan Tower<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Fountain below Hassan Tower<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Hassan Tower with Surrounding Columns<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n At the site there was also Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the last King of Morocco was buried there. When it’s open to the public, visitors can see the tombs of King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah, together with a ever-present Koran reader paid for by the state. <\/br>Mausoleum of Mohammed V<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Al-Hassan Mosque<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Floor Decoration<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Horsemen in Traditional Moroccan Costumes<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Constructions in Bou Regreg River Valley<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Fruits on Rabat Street Tree<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Fruits on Rabat Street Tree<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Bou Regreg River Valley<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Railway Extending from Bou Regreg River Valley<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Our next stop of the day was Chellah, a Roman and Arab ruins located just outside city center. It was already 12 o\u2019clock so we decided to finish our lunch first. However, we first walked through some upscale embassy district, with literally no restaurants, not even a store front.<\/p>\n <\/br>Bou Regreg River Valley<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Embassy Buildings<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Garden of Former Residence of Hubert Lyautey<\/br>A French Army general and colonial administrator, now this garden seemed to be guarded by troops and closed to the public.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Finally, we located a restaurant called Le Boursier in a more residential part of central Rabat, which was sandwiched in Rabat Royal Palace and the embassy district. On this aspect, the city of Rabat wasn’t that tourist-friendly.<\/p>\n <\/br>Lunch Pizza<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Lunch Barbecue<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Residential Building in Central Rabat<\/br>Finally, we left the upscale embassy district, and got to a more local neighborhood where there were restaurants.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Le Boursier Restaurant Exterior<\/br>They used canvas to keep out rain and wind, and keep its interior warm.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n After lunch, we walked in the drizzle to Chellah.<\/p>\n <\/br>Park in Central Rabat<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Entrance towards a Police Academy<\/br>Judging by its guards and people in uniform hanging around it (it’s lunch time) and its proximity to the Royal Palace in Rabat, we guessed it’s a police academy or police station.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Chellah was first a trading site of the Phoenicians, then colony of the Roman, later conquered by the Arabs. It housed the tombs of Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, known as the Black Sultan. <\/br>Flowers<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Bee Flying in Flowers<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Trail<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Tree<\/br>We were pretty curious about its almost-perpendicular branches.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Plants<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Artist Neighborhood<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Rape Flowers<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Remains of Roman Sculpture<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Minaret<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Many cranes inhabited and nested at the actual Arab remains site. And those cranes made the most appalling animal sound that I ever heard of. But maybe without those winged creatures the Chellah remains would be too much dreadfully silent.<\/p>\n <\/br>Chellah Remains<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Remains of Mosque<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Remains of Mosque<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Remains of Mosque<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Tomb of Black Sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Tomb of Black Sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Tombs<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Cranes Standing on Walls of Chellah Remains<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Plants<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Trail<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Stores<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Steles in Cellah Forum<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Roman Stores<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Pond of Eel<\/br>In this pond some sacred eels were raised.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Building by Pond of Eel<\/br>This looked like a Mosque but I’m not sure. An old lady that lived here, who also raised a lot of cats.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Walls of Chellah<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Entrance Gate of Chellah under Renovation<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n It was a rainy afternoon, and there weren’t many visitors to the Chellah ruins. There were some local people (presumably <\/br>Towers by Chellah Entrance under Renovation<\/p><\/div>\n Our next and final stop of the day was Rabat’s Royal Palace located not far from the Chellah ruins. <\/p>\n <\/br>Street Trees<\/br>It’s just outside Rabat’s Royal Palace, so those trees were well-trimmed.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Tourists could only enter Rabat’s Royal Palace through a designated gate. The Palace grounds were open for free, but there’s a police station just nearby where one must put his passport there as a security deposit (how third-world is that?). As for the actual Royal Palace, well, since the Royals still lived there, some photos at its threshold were as far as a tourist can get.<\/p>\n <\/br>Government Building in Rabat Royal Palace<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Ahl Fas Mosque<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Gate of Ahl Fas Mosque<\/br>In typical Islamic shape.<\/span><\/p><\/div> <\/br>Ahl Fas Mosque<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Rabat Royal Palace Building<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Roads in Rabat Royal Palace<\/p><\/div> <\/br>Roads in Rabat Royal Palace<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n After that, we took a taxi back to Rabat Medina, picked up our bags and headed for the train station for Meknes. <\/br>Rabat Medina Entrance<\/p><\/div>
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\n<\/a>Kasbah des Oudaias<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nThe residents of Kasbah des Oudaias all chose to paint their houses in blue and white, the color of the sea and the sky. Walking among those houses was like wandering in a fairytale story. However, I didn’t think the residents would bother to clean and maintain their rooftops, so we gently turned down the gallery manager’s invitation of rooftop visit (that of course came with a price).<\/p>\n<\/a>
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\n<\/a>Andalusian Gardens<\/span><\/h4>\n
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\n<\/a>Hassan Tower<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\n<\/a>Mausoleum of Mohammed V<\/span><\/h4>\n
\nHowever, on that morning, we found the Mausoleum of Mohammed V fenced off, and didn’t find its entrance. (We guessed there was some public events going on, as we saw later there were people in costumes on horses.)
\nWe saw a nearby entrance towards Al-Hassan Mosque (which could be connected to Mausoleum of Mohammed V), but it was a rainy morning and we didn’t want to take off our shoes to leave them in the rain, so we skipped it.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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\n<\/a>Chellah<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nBut to this day, the walled premises of Chellah was mostly occupied with trees and flowers. Whatever buildings left were too much in ruins to afford any restoration, so the local people just left them there in decay.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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\n<\/a>unlicensed<\/del> tour guides) hiding out the rain beneath its magnificent entrance walls. I’m not sure the sound the rain was adding to or breaking the tranquility.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Rabat Royal Palace<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nAmazingly, taxis in Rabat seemed to have their built-in share-riding meter that far antedated Uber. We learned this when our previous passenger got off, and we found the meter didn’t jump back to the flag-down rate.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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