RabatFeb 20, 2006
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Well it is on to Rabat which is on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The city feels quite westernised in terms of architecture and clothes but there are very few people that can speak English. Everyone in Morocco can speak Arabic with majority speaking French...therefore little English so I have to bring out the hand signals / gestures and my best fourth form French that I did for six weeks...hmmm.
As with most Moroccan cities Rabat has a Medina (old city) and a Kasbah (fortress). The city is pretty low key with little hassle for westerners (both of them that I saw) as there it is not really a major tourist destination.
The taxis in Morocco are interesting...they come in two sizes the petit taxi and the grand taxi. The petit taxi seats up to three people and usually consists of every French and Italian manufactures smallest car such as Fiat Unos and Peugeots 205s. The taxis are suppose to be on a meter but most of the time you have to haggle for a price for a destination where you don't really know where you are going. The petit have a different colour for every different town or city you visit and are not allowed to leave the city limits.
The grand taxis on the other hand are big old Mercedes Benz. They seat two in the front seat and four in the back and have "set" prices for destinations don't leave until they are full or nearly full. They travel long distances between towns and usually pretty crammed but you can buy multiple seats.
Anyway enough of the taxis...the most interesting things to see in Rabat is the Chellah, which is a sit of an ancient Roman city. The site has some magnificent city walls and has been taken over by massive storks. There are some beautiful Islamic mosaics and a pool where infertile woman come to put peeled eggs into to improve there fertility....strange...
