After breakfast we were ready to depart our hotel at 09:00 but having just fixed up our room account at the main desk we turned to see our bags had disappeared. With minimum panic we rushed outside to see our bags being loaded with lots of other luggage into another tourist bus which had a group leaving our hotel at the same time.
After this minor drama was rectified we were soon on our way to Rabat which is approximately 100 km north of Casablanca.
The majority of the trip on the main A1 highway was following the coast road with the Atlantic Ocean much in view most of the way. On either side of the highway for most of the trip we could see extensive housing development with literally hundreds, if not thousands of residential blocks of units either already occupied or being constructed. Chahine said that this accommodation was principally for workers involved in the manufacturing industries for which Casablanca is renowned; namely car production, textile industries, glass production plus food processing and packaging. Most of this new urban housing and industrial development has occurred through encroachment onto land that was previously a rich agricultural region.
On arrival in Rabat we commented on the change to a cleaner and greener environment compared to that in and around Casablanca.
Rabat was established by Yacoub el-Mansour in 1195 and probably due to its complex historical struggles it wasn’t until 1912 that Marshal Lyautey made Rabat the political and administrative capital of Morocco.
Our first tourist site visited in Rabat was the Mausoleum of Mohammed V who is regarded as the father of Moroccan independence. The building was commissioned by Mohammed V’s son Hassan II and guards on horseback watch over the entrances to this sacred building.
Guards, Hassan Mosque
Rear entrance, Mausoleum of Mohammed V
The burial vault is located beneath the main visible floor level but its positioning is made apparent by a large white marble sarcophagus above. This sarcophagus was carved from a single block of marble and rests on a slab of granite.
Tomb of Mohammed V inside Mausoleum
The main building is intricately decorated with exquisite tile and gold painted timber work and the high twelve sided dome of mahogany crowns the burial chamber. Apart from the burial chamber the mausoleum includes a mosque and a museum devoted to the history of the Alaouite dynasty.
Dome inside Mausoleum of Mohammed V
Close by to the Mausoleum is the Hassan Tower built by Yacoub el-Mansour in about 1196. This prestigious monument stands on a hill overlooking the river Wadi Bou Regreg. It stands adjacent to the remains of the gigantic Hassan mosque that was never completed and fell into disrepair with the death of Yacoub el-Mansour in 1199. All but the mosque’s minaret (the Hassan Tower) was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755.
Hassan Tower
From the elevated position of the Mausoleum we could see the city below with two buildings that were especially eye-catching being the the fifty-five storied, tapered Mohammed VI tower and the new opera house. The opera house takes the form of a huge, white coiled cobra and the architectural design is delightfully imaginative and visually stunning.
Mohammed VI Tower
New Opera House
Trams crossing Hassan II Bridge across Oued Bou Regreg River
Our visit to Rabat then took us to Bab Oudaia Kasbah with its monumental city gates and walls built in the 12th century.
Bab Oudaia Kasbah (Fortress)
Bab Oudaia Kasbah (Fortress)
Cannon on Bab Oudaia Kasbah
The fortress or kasbah was formerly the palace of the original Alaouite Sultan and towers over the cliffs that line the Bou Regreg river. Within the fortress now are public gardens, souvenir shops and exclusive private homes many of which are painted white and the overall effect is to offer a resemblance to a Greek coastal town.
Tower & garden inside Bab Oudaia Kasbah
Private homes inside Bab Oudaia Kasbah
The view from the high point of the fortress showed the surf beach below, the river mouth and the newly constructed river rock walls and protective groynes.
Lighthouse & cemetery at Bab Oudaia Kasbah
Surf beach area & breakwater from Bab Oudaia Kasbah
Being now early afternoon, it was time for us to commence a 200 km journey northwards towards Chefchaouen.
The route took us along the coastal plane for the first half of the trip towards Kenitra and then we headed north-east to Souk el Arba. This was extraordinarily flat agricultural land with the dominant crops being canola, wheat, barley, sugar cane, sun-flower and vegetables. Stork nests atop high poles and towers were a common sight along the way.
Stork nests on tower
Stork nest on top of pole
Then from Ouezzane to Chefchaouen the road became hilly and the scenery changed to mainly olive groves and low forested slopes with eucalypts being common.
Salt mining on route between Rabat & Chefchaouen
Olive groves en route from Rabat to Chefchaouen
Bee hives on route between Rabat & Chefchaouen
Wheat crop en route from Rabat to Chefchaouen
On arrival at Chefchaouen we drove up through narrow streets and laneways to a steep point where we alighted with bags and met Mohammed our hotel manager. He assisted by carrying our big bags up numerous steps to our accommodation in the Dar Meziana boutique hotel.
Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen
After settling into our very cute and petite maison, we had dinner prepared and served by Mohammed. The meal entailed a cold tomato-based soup and a main course of lamb meat balls tajine cooked with cheese in a spicy sauce. Dessert was a semolina made from maize topped with nuts, sultanas and local honey.
Tomorrow we will explore this intriguing mountainous part of northern Morocco and specifically this fascinating village of Chefchaouen with its famous blue buildings. A ten kilometre walk in the Rif Mountains to a waterfall is also on the day’s agendum.