Morocco - Rabat

Our first venture onto the continent of Africa together brought us to Morocco. Why Morocco, I can't exactly remember the specific reason we chose it now, outside of it's a place we've not been giving us a new place and culture to explore and immerse ourselves in and we have enjoyed Moroccan food when we've had the opportunity to eat it elsewhere in the world. As I've mentioned plenty of times before, the only time I’m OK with getting up super early is if it involves travelling. Our flight to Morocco had us up pretty early as our journey connected through Montreal, which always adds a bit of time. Leaving the week before summer break is officially over appeared to be a popular week for travel based on how busy the airport was. Both flights were thankfully pretty uneventful. Neither of us got a good amount of sleep so when we arrived in Casablanca just after 7am (the day after we left) we were both feeling tired. We had heard that the immigration lines could take a few hours and that getting through immigration could take upwards of three hours at times. Thankfully for us we seemed to be the only plane to arrive at 7am and we breezed through immigration with little delay. I was quite impressed with how clean and modern the airport was. While waiting for our suitcase I noticed the airport workers handle each suitcase coming out to make sure they lined up nicely on the conveyor belt and one was even turning them upright on their sides to make more room. Not something you see at most airports around the world but was a nice touch. Overall we were out of the airport in no more than an hour. 

Morocco is still a predominantly cash society and so we knew that we needed to get some cash. One of the ATM providers we researched was right in the arrivals area as was Lilly Coffee so we got our cash and a quick pick me up before finding a taxi to take us to Rabat. From the airport to Rabat is about a 1.5 hours drive. So we didn’t fall for a taxi scam, we read that the best option was a Grand Taxi and to pre-negotiate the price. There wasn’t much negotiating in this case despite Z's best attempts.... the price was fixed and was slightly higher than we had read at 783 Durham but in the end for the length of the drive it was fine. 

Our first impressions of Morocco… the King is predominately displayed everywhere, there are photos of him in all the shops and the airport is named after him. Also predominately displayed everywhere are is the country's flag leading us to believe Moroccans are very proud of their country. Heading to Rabat, the capital of Morocco and where the King lives, we noticed as we got closer and into the city proper, the landscaping was manicured with precision, the roads were cleaner and shinier, and there was green space everywhere. In Rabat, the city feels relaxed, no one hassles you to buy anything as you walk through the Medinas, there are cameras everywhere which is a deterrent for crime, and we felt quite safe even when walking out at night. 

We got to the hotel Rabat Marriott by 10:30am and thankfully our room was ready so we were able to check in right away. We were greeted with Moroccan tea poured in the traditional fashion and in traditional glasses. Our check in agent was a wonderfully friendly guy who took time to converse and explain a few things about Rabat, and provide some positive thoughts on our overall Moroccan itinerary. The hotel is about four years old and still has a nice new feel to it. We had a lovely spacious room on the fourth (top) floor overlooking the pool. Driving in I noticed that there aren’t really any high rises in Rabat, mostly 4 to tops 6 stories. The hotel is next to Arribat Centre, a large shopping centre. Across the street is the AL Medina Stadium, a 18,000 capacity football stadium that opened in 2025 and is home to UTS Rabat. 

We had booked a 5pm walking tour on our first day to get oriented and get a feel for Rabat. We had the balance of the afternoon to chill out by the pool and get acclimatized to the heat. But first we needed some lunch and we decided to keep things simple and stay at the hotel which has a Spanish tapas restaurant poolside so we dined on some Lomos Saltados (actually Peruvian) and some garlic shrimp before lounging, or falling asleep like me, poolside. While the temperature was in the high 20s, it didn’t feel too hot as there was a nice constant breeze. 

While in the city, the cheapest was to get around is by a Petit Taxi and in Rabat these taxis are all blue cars so quite easy to spot them. Our walking tour meeting point was at Bab El Had, a roughly 10 minute drive so in a Petit Taxi we hopped. One of the unique things about these taxis is that they will often take two different fares if someone else is heading in the same direction; we only experienced that once when heading to the train station leaving Rabat. We also learned on that ride when the driver became a bit rude and impatient that there is a minimum fare of 7 Durham and even if there are two different paying customers, both pay the same fare price if ending at the same destination. The fare is not a shared fare.  

Our tour guide was Souf. We learned that he had a tour in the morning that day and that we were the only ones for the evening tour but he decided not to cancel even though it was just the two of us. We met Souf by the Fantaine de Place Bab El Had and started off through the main gate into the Rabat Medina. We wandered through the alleyways as Souf explained different aspects of Moroccan history, culture, and life including about the Berber people and the difference in language between them and the Moroccan people. Souf provided us with a lot of information and kept our private tour very engaging. As we walked through the Medina and market, the shop keepers were not aggressive and did not bother us trying to sell us anything. Unlike other Medinas and markets in Morocco the shops in Rabat display their price tag and Souf explained that here you do not need to barter, the locals pay the same price. The Medina is a maze of alleyways lined with countless shops selling fresh fruits, baked goods to “name brand” handbags, shoes, and clothing. While we may have been tempted to buy stuff, in the end we resisted and just enjoyed the experience. Our tour ended in the Kasbah, which is the city’s fortress overlooking the ocean. The monumental gate of the Kasbah is beautiful and considered one of the most beautiful gates in Moroccan architecture. There are about 2,000 people living within the Kasbah neighbourhood and is open and free for tourists. There are plenty of beautiful views of the city and the Atlantic Ocean from here. You can also see quite a bit of construction happening as the country prepares to welcome the world for World Cup 2030. Our tour ended at Cafe du Udayas where we enjoyed a Moroccan tea with Souf along with some super delicious cookies - the cost for three came to 80 Durham. Because the Kasbah faces the ocean, people come here to watch the magnificent Rabat sunset, and we caught a pretty great one before walking back towards the city centre for supper at Dar Naji on recommendation by Souf. We enjoyed a great meal here dining on Pastila chicken - which is a mix of savoury spiced meat, sweet caramelized onions, and crunchy nuts in a pastry dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon on top and Seffa chicken - which is vermicelli served with a sweet and savoury onion sauce and chicken pieces topped with ground almonds, icing sugar and cinnamon. Very popular throughout Morocco is fresh squeezed juices and so we had to try the orange juice as well - it didn't disappoint. This was a great first day introduction to Morocco.

We enjoyed a lot of incredible foods during this trip. Every dish we tried was full of flavour through great mixtures of different spices. A couple more of our favourites were Moroccan Harira soup - a delicious and hardy vegetable soup and Bissara aux Feves - also a delicious soup made from fava beans. The fish and seafood was a big hit with Z as well considering it was usually freshly caught. Surprising to us was learning that Moroccan had a fairly well established wine industry. One that we really enjoyed was a red wine from the Domaines Amal winery called Amal from the Rabat/Casablanca region. It's a Tempranillo/Shiraz blend, and is light, almost translucent in colour with hint of berry and a soft smooth finish.

The archaeological site Chellah is well worth a visit. We took a self guided audio tour to learn more of its history as we wandered the 7 acres of archeological remains. The site is surrounded by a 1km long Marinid wall and is home to an ancient city and a Marinid necropolis. The ruins are very well preserved and at the southeastern part of the site you find the Garden of the Towers. These gardens provide a nice reprieve from the heat. The Chellah is not only a UNESCO World Heritage Site but has also become a haven for a colony of white storks who have built their nests atop the ruins and minarets. 

Hassan Tower is a 12th century minaret of an unfinished mosque. The grounds have hundreds of unfinished stone columns stubs that the mosque was to be built on. The tower is made of a red
sandstone and stands 44 metres tall. The mosque was supposed to be the largest in the western Muslim world and was commissioned in 1195 by Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur but ceased construction upon his death four years later. The tower sits next to the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V and is an important historical and highly visited complex in Rabat.