After a half-day of classes, I once took a train out to Casablanca (about one hour from Rabat). It's one of the easiest cities to get to from the capital - plus any American who's seen the famous film would want to go there!
Although it was dreary and rainy when we arrived, as we walked toward the Hassan II Mosque by the coast, the sun slowly made its way out. Our timing was perfect. The sun's rays illuminated all of the intricate blue and green mosaics surrounding the enormous mosque. I went on a bit of a picture-taking spree, which you can see below.
The mosque was the main highlight of my Casa-trip (minus a minor incident where we illegally fit four people into a three-person taxi), so the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.
Then, during our one free weekend, some students and I coordinated an overnight trip to Fes (three hours out of Rabat by train). We had heard only good things about the city - Marrakech is considered extremely touristy, while Fes is more "authentic." However, when we got there, we were still shell-shocked by how much more touristy it was than Rabat. Everyone spoke English, made American pop culture references, and tried to forcibly corral you into their restaurant or shop.
Fes is famous for its meandering, uphill souk (market) and its tanneries. We took a tour that gave us a rooftop view of the leather working - it was cool to see, but they had to give us all mint leaves to smell to cover the awful smell!
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| Rooftop view of the city |
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| The tanneries |
Casablanca and Fes were fun excursion, and it was great to see other parts of the country. But, as I mentioned before, it made me realize how nice Rabat really is and I was always happy to get back.
Anyways, one more post to go: village life!
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