Days 20 and 21, Monday March 21, Tuesday March 22, Rabat

Rabat was my last city on my 21 days in Morocco. I left on the morning of the 22nd  day, I flew back to new York on Wednesday March 23.

I took the train to  Rabat  form Marrakesh at 9 in the morning on Monday March 21, it was a 3 hours ride in a very comfortable train. I went to visit the Roman ruins in Rabat which are spectacular and I saw in Morocco  for the first time neglected, hungry  and sick cats. At the ruins there is no food, probably they eat wildlife and probably there are too many cats for the food available. I felt really bad for them, somebody should rescue them and take them to the Medina or somewhere where there is more food.

There are Roman ruins and also ruins from other periods after the Romans came the Merenides. The place  is called Chellah and not too many people visit them as Rabat is not on the list of places to see in Morocco for the tourist in a rush who only goes there for one week. It is surreals, really worth a visit. I was very happy I  spent some  time there. It is like going to botanical gardens with ruins in it.

The site has been inhabited since 1154  only the  keepers live there. Here stood a thriving city and port, one of the last to sever links with the Roman empire. It is surrounded by walls and a gates built by the Merenides. There is an inscription above the main gate form the Koran "I take refuge in Allah, against Satan".

Here you can see Roman ruins form 200 BC and Islamic ruins. There are over-sized stork nests  on top of the ruins and many storks, it was mating season and saw storks mating on top of trees and ruins, a great sight. There is a spring pool, enclosed by vaulted low buildings considered sacred.

I also went to the Medina and I liked not being approached by the sellers
 like in all the other places in Morocco where you could not even walk in peace as sellers are very aggressive trying to sell you something.I eat really great food in the Medina, fresh fish and vegetables.

I also saw in rabat the Hassan Mosque and Mohamaed V mausoleum. and the best  part of my promenade was along the river, very peaceful and with many Moroccans promenading, specially woman and young people of both sexes, yes this is the city where you see woman on the street and young woman with young man walking together.  Even when I was coming on the train there was a  woman who traveled  in the  same compartment and when she arrived her husband came to fetch her and they kissed in the cheek when she arrived and she had a gesture of affection towards him that I did not see in public before, and they were middle age and well to do.

 A tumb, from the Arab period

 mating storks

Sacred Springs 

and the neglected cats 

Can someone  tell me what does the inscription say? 

 last picture on the Chella

 I took a taxi and went to the Mausoleum

 A guard at the mausoleum wearing a cape

 It is guarded by guards in horses in  a very interesting uniform

 A door like this was for sale at the Medina in a shop

most likely removed from  an old house 

last day on the promenade in Rabat 

GOOD BYE MOROCO,

tomorrow I will depart and this is my last picture. 

Day 19, Sunday March 20, Marrakesh

Having a tea of verbaine in milk

at the big plaza in Marrakesh 

This is a lake close to Marrakesh

Here I was having a Tagine with those two girls and my friend  Aziz who took us to the lake.  This restaurant was on the  road.
This man came to our table  play his instrument and sing


In the afternoon after the lake I went  to see Medersa ben Youseff in Marrkesh, it was  a Koranic school, like a seminary.

                                             impressive wood work

                                                made of carved wood

These are pictures of one of the architectural jewels of Marrakesh,
it is the Medersa Ben Youssef


After the Medersa I went to the Marrakesh museum which is housed in an old typical  house

 

Here was an exhibition, I like the painting