We had a reasonable start the next morning. After a decent breakfast, we checked out of the Barcelo and Ibrahim drove us back to the Hassan II mosque. We went into the ticket office and bought our tickets for the English tour. Our tour guide spoke decent English and she had her work cut out for her, shepherding over 60 of us around. Luckily the interior of the mosque is huge and there is more than enough room for our group as well as groups in other languages.
The interior is lavish, and all the material is sourced from Morocco, from the cedar wood for the roof, the stone work as well as the mosaic. Only the marble is from Italy and the chandeliers from Murano. The roof is fully retractable allowing for prayers under blue skies and enough ventilation when the mosque is filled to capacity.
Through the glass paneled doors one gets a great view of the sea outside.
After walking around the main hall, we made our way a level lower to see the ablutions area with the large marble fountains.
Finally we visited the hammam with the heated pool.
We made our way out of the mosque, walked around for a few more photographs, and rejoined Ibrahim. It was time to leave Caza and head on to Rabat.
An hour later after some pretty frenetic driving, we pulled into the traffic chaos of Rabat. Ibrahim says the drivers in Rabat are the worst in Morocco. Overall, the country does not have a very good driving safety record, but we did not encounter any problems on our trip.
Our first stop in Rabat was the Chellah Necropolis with its imposing gate, the Bab Zaer, named after a local tribe. Built in 1339, it was the burial site for the wife of the first Merenid caliph.
The rampart walls of the 14th century provide a nice view of the valley. The site is peaceful, with few crowds, and has a nice green walkway.
In the background are the remains of the old "zaouia" or religious institution that functioned both as a mosque and a centre for learning. Many storks have built their nests amongst the ruins and quite a few inhabitants were around that day.
Given that we were going to see a lot of souks over the coming days, we decided to pass on a visit to the souk and medina in Rabat, and headed straight for the Kasbah des Oudaias. The walkway leading up to the Kasbah provided stunning views of the fortifications and the coastline.
The kasbah is named after an Arab tribe that was settled here in the 16th century to protect the city from rebel tribes. Today many artists choose to make their home in the winding, lime washed blue and white streets.
Ibrahim managed to find a local guide who took us for a walk around the kasbah. Unfortunately, his English was not very good, so most of his information related to "this is from the 12th century, this is from the 15th century". But my trusty guide book filled in the details.
Towards the top of the kasbah is the Cafe Maure, a nice spot for a break with great views.
Close by is the Andalusian garden, laid out in Moorish style, dating to the beginning of the 20th century. It has a traditional arab "noria", or waterwheel for irrigation.
We concluded our visit to the kasbah by emerging from the 12th century Bab Oudaia. This gate is a classic example of Almohad military architecture.
Time for lunch, and after consulting our notes, we directed Ibrahim to take us to Casa Mamma, for a great Italian meal in a tiny bistro, with locals for company.
We decided to work off lunch by a visit to unfinished Hassan Tower, which was to be the minaret of the Hassan mosque, whose construction began in the 11th century. It was supposed to rival the great mosque at Cordoba in Spain. Work was never completed and all but the half tower was destroyed in an earthquake. It is from here that Mohamed V conducted the first Friday prayers after independence.
There are great views of the city and the coastline to be had.
My love affair with Moroccan doors continues with these beautiful bronze carved ones.
Across the pavilion is the imposing Mausoleum of Mohamed V, with these beautiful pierced copper candelabra outside.
The Mausoluem was designed by the Vietnamese architect Vo Tuan. The sarcophagus is a single block of marble resting on granite, and facing Mecca. The Royal Guards are dressed in white in summer and red in winter. A 12 sided dome is painted with "muqarnas" or stalactites.
It was time to leave Rabat and set off for the 3 hour drive to Fes. It was surprisingly green outside our window, I somehow expected all of Morocco to be quite desertlike, but this part of the country seems very fertile. We passed many sunflower fields and this huge lavender field (you can just about see the purple haze in the distance).
It was early evening as we pulled into Fes, and our entrance into the medina coincided with the evening call for prayer which somehow made the whole scene even more alluring. We drove up a narrow street and waiting for us was a person from the Riad Fes. He took us, and our luggage, through a gate and a lovely garden into the alley where the main doors of the Riad opened up.
Our first riad, and it was quite magical to walk off the street into this beautiful place, with the high ceilings,the courtyard, fountains, and music softly playing. While we completed check in formalities, we were plied with the ubiquitous mint tea and some savoury cookies while the manager gave us information about the riad.
Once we were set, we were taken upstairs to our room. Because of the seasonal tourist rush, we were going to be staying here three out of our four nights in Fes, and of the three nights, the first two were going to be in this traditional room which faced the inner courtyard.
The room was long and traditionally decorated, and we settled down and freshened up. We had decided to eat dinner at the riad itself, and so could afford to take it easy.
We headed into the restaurant, which is in the adjoining house, and the new wing of the riad. Not a single table was free, and that leads us to believe that its quite a popular place.
After a wonderful meal of pastilla for me and harira and a chicken tagine for Gordon, we took some pictures and retired to bed. We had an early start the next morning for Chefchaouen.
