Day 3 October 17, 2024 Rabat Morocco
Today is a tour of the city. We started with the Royal Palace. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy. The people vote for government officials every five years. Then the king selects a prime minister to match the voting. The Royal Palace includes several government buildings as well as a royal school and living quarters. The king is not always at this residence. Today however he is present because the water fountains are on. The flag has no significance to his presence or absence. Representatives of all branches of the military are present at the entrances to the living quarters and administrative offices. We were allowed to get only so close to the building. The crown prince is studying law and economics at one of the universities. The grounds throughout the complex are well cared for as one would expect. The larger trees are sculpted round like marshmallows on a stick. A large number of storks live here most of the year. They are considered good luck.
Then we drove to the Kasbah. What an interesting history. One of the Mission Impossible movies used one of the staircases for Tom Cruise to ride a motorcycle down turn the corner and magically be in Marrakech. Much further back it was used by legal pirates called Corsairs. These were sanctioned by the government and attacked merchant ships belonging to Christian countries. They kept this prime location for 10% of their take. The regime ended and the new government ousted the corsairs and brought in a Moroccan tribe to live in the Kasbah. Their descendants still live here. Part of the Kasbah is a beautiful garden built in the Andalusian style. A small museum is also housed here. It contains jewelry and clothing. Both can be very ornate. The Kasbah sits where the river meets the ocean. Across the river is the town of Sale. Houses in the Kasbah sell for anywhere from $300,000 to $2,000,000 depending on size and location. Many are used for air BnB to help pay the mortgage. About 700 people live here. Many of the views are incredible.
On the drive to the Kasbah we could see the large rocket shaped building under construction. It will hold offices, apartments, and hotels. Not far from there is the opera house. It is in the shape of a cobra’s head. Then along the river are all of the maritime activities. Lots of fishing boats. They go out early in the morning and are already back in dock.
Our last stop is the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. The Hassan Tower was to be the tallest building in Africa. Unfortunately the builders were forced out of power so the tower was never completed. The mosque to accompany it was destroyed in an earthquake. The Mausoleum was open today which evidently is not always the case. Royal guards are posted at the entrances of the Mausoleum. Additionally guards on horseback are standing at entrances to the grounds. Each stands guard for 90 minutes. The horses and guards looked very bored.
Then it was back to the hotel with a free rest of the day. We walked about a block to a complex of restaurants and had a cheeseburger and chicken burger. Both were cheaper than home. Rob went for extra water and laundry soap on our way back. It appears that most of the population in this area of the country drink bottled water. The afternoon gave us time for a nap and to do this writing.
Spoffords Travel 