This weekend was so nice! The weather during the weekend in Fes hit around 105 degrees, so I'm glad I escaped it.
We decided to leave on Saturday morning. I had to be at Bank Al-Maghrib at 6:25 and I woke up at 6:00. I needed to be awake at 5:30, and even that was pushing it, but I scrambled to catch a taxi to leave my house at 6:15 and then get to the Bank at 6:25. My friend Marissa and I took the train at 6:50 and got to Casablanca at 10:50. Obviously, I had to try my conversation skills and interact with the people who were sitting in my train compartment :) . The girl who was sitting next to me just got married in Rabat and was visiting her family in a neighboring town. We saw the Mosque of Hassan II (مسجد الحسن الثاني)]. It was hands down, the most beautiful building I have ever seen or set foot in. It was huge and right by the Atlantic Ocean coastline, which made for a really nice breeze. I was super happy that I got to pray Salat ad-Dhuhr at the Mosque. What an experience.
Next, we ate and got on the train to Rabat, which took about an hour. We also met someone on the train, but spoke to her in English. She seemed to be part of the upper class and went to school in Canada. We walked to our hostel and navigated the city with a map and our Arabic speaking skills. We eventually got there, and then walked along the sea side and saw Rabat's beauty and it's lively board walk. The first site that we visited was the Hassan Tower, one lone standing minaret. The mosque's construction began in 1195, but was not finished, because the king building it had died. There were also pillars from the foundation remaining and in place. It was a sight to see children running among them. The Tower was adjacent to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. It was beautiful and the ceiling was breathtaking. I got to pray Salat ul-Maghrib at the adjoining mosque which was exquisite, as well. We then found food in the Old City of Rabat. I got a huge plate of chicken, fries, salad and bread for less than three dollars. Overall, Rabat was less expensive than Fes.
The next day, we went and shopped in the Old City. For breakfast, we had Nutella with freshly baked bread and a pastry for about 50 cents. I bought a Moroccan soccer jersey and a traditional men's dress (jelabah). We then headed to see St. Pierre's Cathedral. It was interesting to see the strong Moroccan influence on the Cathedral's architecture. Afterwards, we went to the archaeological museum. It had tons of Roman, Phoenician and Islamic artifacts from all over Morocco. For 10 dirhams ($1.25) we got a two hour long personal tour. Of course the tour was in Arabic, but I was proud of myself for understanding most of what the tour guide was trying to say. Another cool thing about the museum was that we got to touch a lot of the artifacts, something that could never happen in the US. After the museum, we peeked inside the boulevard that leads to the Royal Palace (it's surrounded by fortified walls, but there are gates for people to get in and out).This was along the way to the Chellah, an archaeological site filled with Roman and Phoenician ruins. The settlement was also settled by Sultan Abu-Husan in the 14th Century. SubhanAllah, practically all the buildings were crumbing, but the mosque was almost perfectly preserved. It was a eerie and beautiful sight indeed. We then made our way back to the train station to make sure we arrived back to Fes before dark. I was very proud of myself and the experiences I had in Rabat - I solely relied on a map and my Arabic skills and did not get a taxi anywhere.
That's me in front of King Hassan's Mosque!
Inside the mosque -- so beautiful!
Rabat!
Posing with a soldier outside of the Mausoleum in Rabat!
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