Tuesday, July 06, 2010

RABAT - Morocco

On my roundtrip trough Morocco, we also visited Rabat, the capital of Morocco. From the city itself I noticed that it is a very busy and modern town. All embassies are located here in Rabat, the seat of the Morrocan government

Entering the city, beautiful houses and less beautiful buildings

The old town of Rabat with its souqs is behind this city wall

Modern Rabat is also a mixture of old and new

the city is very animated. Everywhere you can see the French influence in the architecture

In the middle of a large boulevard is this beautiful street to walk along. They call it the Champs Elysee of Rabat.

Little trains for a roundtrip, and chats in late afternoon and evening when it cooled down

We also had a look on the Royal Palace in Rabat.

It is very beautiful with lots of artwork but still looking simple an not overloaded like our Royal Palaces

Lots of tourists of course

The guards

the park

I loved this door, but it was locked so I couldn't say "hello" to the King

We then visted an unfinished Mosque the Hassan Tower

Begun in 1195 AD, the tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world along with the mosque, also intended to be the world's largest. In 1199 the construction on the mosque stopped. The tower only reached 44 m (140 ft), about half of its intended 86 m (260 ft) height. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 200 columns being constructed.

These unfinished columns were very strange to see.

On the opposite side of the Hassan Tower is the Mausoleum of Mohamed V where you can see the tombs of the Moroccan king and his two sons.

there is not much to say, the artwork inside and outside was just breathtaking

In reality it's even more beautiful

11 comments:

  1. Wonderful captures... I love such old monuments.

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  2. This is one reason I distrust guidebooks, bc the Rough Guide made it osund Rabat was hardly worth visiting, when actually it was everything I expected of an Arab city!

    If you knock three times then ring a little bell on the left hand side of that great wooden door, apparently the King does appear, and offers guided tours of his house, plus free mint tea to strangers ;-)

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  3. thanks for the lovely tour. excellent shots

    Have a sunny Tuesday!

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  4. Hi Gattina! Great post of a nice town! I loved to see the pictures of the Mausoleum; having been there at the lower level by the tombs, I couldn't get any picture... ;)

    Blogtrotter Two is showing some incredible rocks by the sea... Enjoy and have a great week!

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  5. The mausoleum is just stunning!

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  6. Anonymous6/7/10

    I love this. That mausoleum is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  7. alady'slife7/7/10

    very nice shots. Captures how life is in Morocco.

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  8. Beautiful. Love the simple elegance of the royal palace.

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  9. These old buildings are so exquisite and built with a lot of care and patience. Thanks for sharing, Gattina!

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  10. thanks for the virtual tower..i love visitg such rich old monuments that have so much to offer..beautiful pics

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  11. The architecture and intricacy of design is just so amazing. Think how much time it must take to make such detail! Wonderful shots. I definitely have to go there sometime.

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