relaxing, luxurious rabat
Sometimes you have to leave and come back to appreciate what it was you left in the first place. That’s what happened with me and Rabat – I left for a while. I saw other countries and other cities and returned with a fresh set of eyes.
I live about 40 minutes away from the Moroccan capital city. It’s not the largest city in the country, nor is it a well-known tourist town. It’s a calm and clean city where the king lives, and where the embassies are. There’s history, beauty and an incredible coast line. As in all cities, there is also poverty and trash. It’s alive.
While visiting Marrakesh, a famous and popular tourist destination in Morocco, we walked through the souk (market). It was quite the experience, with a lot of people trying to “guide” us and sell us things. It’s all well and good to do that, but it was quite overwhelming. In contrast, walking through the souk in Rabat was heaven. It’s quiet and clean and despite getting several invitations to visit someone’s shop, it’s easy to be left alone if one wants to. That’s when I realized how much I like this city. I’d like to show that in pictures.
The Kasbah of the Udayas is an 850-year-old fortress, right by the Atlantic coast. 
It’s not a beach resort, but there are beautiful beaches and an even more stunning coast line.
Sometimes, even fishing boats need to rest. It’s again the Kasbah of the Udayas in the background, but the water is the river Bou Regreg.
It’s a city of storks. This one, along with 100 other couples, lives in the ancient Chellah necropolis.
On the one hand, there are magnificent monuments, like this royal mausoleum…
… on the other hand, there are other treasures, like this flat with a view over the marina.
It sounds a bit like an advert for the city, now that I read through it again, but I promise that I wasn’t paid to write it. 😀
alternative viewpoints 
do you know why the boats are blue?
Good question. We asked a boat builder in Essaouira once, and he said it was just because people like the colour. It’s a very commonly used boat colour in Morocco and also in the Mediterranean, so it might be that there’s something else about it, too. My guess would be some kind of anti-barnacle chemicals contained in the paint, but I have no idea if that’s true.
I’ll let you know if I ever figure it out!
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