Rabat. I regret I did not have more time to spend in Rabat. The city is the capital of Morocco, and offers the visitor an inside into the probably most westernised part of the country. There are also quite a few things to do, from a mere tourist point of view. We only visited the Royal Palace, ... Read review
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Rabat. I regret I did not have more time to spend in Rabat. The city is the capital of Morocco, and offers the visitor an inside into the probably most westernised part of the country. There are also quite a few things to do, from a mere tourist point of view. We only visited the Royal Palace, which is where the King actually lives, we were told. We also visited one of the local supermarkets to get some provisions for the next days, since we were ... more
Rabat. I regret I did not have more time to spend in Rabat. The city is the capital of Morocco, and offers the visitor an inside into the probably most westernised part of the country. There are also quite a few things to do, from a mere tourist point of view. We only visited the Royal Palace, which is where the King actually lives, we were told. We also visited one of the local supermarkets to get some provisions for the next days, since we were bound to the mountains. There is a local brand of pre-cooked couscous we found very good value for its money, and not too far from the real thing! I also remember some local biscuits with dates, which proved quite popular while in the mountains as energizers!
Advantages: Interesting people, different culture Disadvantages: small amount of hassle
Useful Information;
Moroccan Currency: Durham?s
Exchange Rate: £1 to 16 Dirham (dh)
Language: Arabic, French, Spanish
Capital: Rabat
I travelled to Morocco with two friends, Claire and Chris, for a 3 week backpacking trip during the Easter holidays. We travelled around in a figure of eight from Marrakech to Tarradonnt in the south, then to the north where we visited tangier and the other cities, returning to Marrakech via the desert.
We travelled by Thomson air which cost £80 return into Marrakech. We arrived early, as we had not pre-booked a hotel, hoping we would be able to find a nice one once we arrived. We took the trusted Lonely Planet with us as I had used this on a previous trip to New Zealand and found it extremely trustworthy, as it has lists of hotels and maps with which to find them.
After long queues at passport ...
Advantages: Such a variety of different cultures and scenary. Hot deserts to mountains, fertile plains to sandy beaches. Disadvantages: Snakes, cockroaches, beggars.
. It boasts the largest Mosque in the world, which was completed in 1993.
To me the most interesting towns are the four Imperial Cities. Marrakesh I have already mentioned, the others are Fez, Meknes and Rabat which is the present day capital. These cities are filled with history and were once capitals of their own part of the Moroccan empire.
Briefly, so that you won't doze off: Fez is the oldest, dating back to 800 AD, with a wide range of architecture. The old town is somewhere you can easily get lost so a guide is recommended. Official guides carry identification cards with them. Most speak French, as this is the second language of Morocco after Arabic, but there are usually English speaking guides available.
Rabat is fairly modern and even the old part of the town doesn't seem quite as exotic and interesting as Marrakesh ...
Advantages: Not as "touristy" as other parts of Morocco, steeped in history, a beautiful city Disadvantages: Beware small children and Moroccan men
As those who have read my travel reviews in the past may guess, I'm not really one for beach holidays - my idea of a perfect holiday is to spend a decent amount of time exploring places that are culturally very different from the UK. Friends of mine had been to Marrakesh towards the beginning of last year and had returned with photos and stories galore of haggling in local markets, watching street performers and sampling authentic Moroccan cuisine.
This all appealed...but I wanted somewhere more authentic, less "touristified". I still ended up going to Marrakesh as part of my Morocco trip (review coming soon) but further research convinced me that the city of Fès was a must-visit.
A BRIEF BACKGROUND
Fès is Morocco's third largest city, and the oldest of the Moroccan imperial cities (the others being Marrakesh, Rabat and Meknes ...
emmorticia 27.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional Review of Fès (Morocco)
