The
Tourist Guide
Of
Rabat
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By
Travel in Morocco
©
Http:
// www.travel-in-morocco.com
Rabat
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Capital
of a Modern State, Rabat is the symbol of the perpetuity of Morocco.
Interwined(embraced) in her(its) kilometres of color surrounding walls(speakers)
of amber, enrubannée by all her(its) micocouliers,
she(it) confuses(merges) in the same elegance her(its) historic heart
and her(its) current town. The capital of the Realm, overhanging the
Atlantic Ocean, plunges its roots into the History(Story) millennium
of the town so often object of greeds on behalf of the conquerors in
search of strategic folds Yacoub El Mansour, Almohades
planted its tents to XII ème there
century, before Mérinides, in turn,
affixes it their mark(brand) by raising(by drawing up) on the quoted
classic art steelyard of Sala, the necropolis of Chellah.
In the heart of the city, raises itself(draws up itself) the Tower
Hassan, the last vestige of an unfinished mosque. Behind marble
columns, the Mausoleum Mohammed V imposes the respect and the
meditation.
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Built in border of the estuary of Bou Regreg, Rabat offers number of walks decorated with flowers around the Atlantic Ocean. The numerous buildings which she(it) contains are so many testimonies which say length about it on its authenticity and Rabat raises proudly its attires in Gotha of the imperial cities. In the maze of its alleys, to the Kasbah des Oudaïas, the Islamic art is next(goes alongside) to the big modern realizations. He(it) results from it a brilliant mosaic which cheers up the glance of the numerous passers-by and satisfies their slightest requirements.
Opposite, on the other side of Oued, the magnificent white medina of Salted (Salted AI Jadida) contains treasures of crafts. The gardens of Rabat Salé, planted by sorts of the whole world, let admire a maze of paths cut by suspension bridges and by bridges in an exotic decoration(set). Connected in Rabat by a bridge(deck), Salted kept(preserved) the character of the towns of Islam with its shaded souks, its sunny places and its quiet streets, but its new districts establish(constitute) an economic metropolis of the very first plan(shot)..
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Rabat, the various districts of which set the European and traditional styles, possesses an interesting architectural heritage(holdings), to begin with the doors of the surrounding wall(speaker) of the kasbah of Oudaïa and the minaret of the mosque Hassan (XIIth century), which amounts to 55 m, one of the rare vestiges of this unfinished building. The city, which shelters several museums (archaeology, crafts), is the seat(siege) of the university Mohammed V (1957) and several cultural institutes and education. Based in the XIIth century, Rabat was originally a military post (ribat in Arabic) where from left expeditions armed(equipped) towards Andalusia. The development of the city goes back up(raises) in 1912, when Lyautey chooses her(it) as capital of the French protectorate in Morocco. The country acquired its independence in 1956, and Rabat stayed its capital. |
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Let
your imagination wander in front of the immense esplanade where rises
the tower Hassan. She(it) measures 44 m, but dream that she had to
peak in 80 m. She(it) is just like the dream of Yacoub
el-Mansour, grand but unfinished. Two
hundred columns bound what should have been the biggest mosque of the
Moslem world just like the empire almohade
which, in the XIIth century, extended to Tunisia and Moresque Spain.
Right by the tower Hassan, but in centuries of distance, here is the
mausoleum Mohamed V
the construction of which began in 1962. This sovereign led Morocco to
the independence and Morocco raised(brought up to) him(her) a monument
deserving of its gratitude(recognition). Not less than 400 craftsmen
carried out this luxurious work (the visit of the mausoleum Mohamed
V is opened to all). |
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To visit:
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The Tower Hassan: the mosque is built at the end of the XIIth century by the sultan Yaqoub el Mansour ( 1184-1199 ). He(it) wanted to build the biggest mosque, but this project is interrupted by its death in 1199 and the mosque remains unfinished and will be ravaged by the earthquake of 1755. The vestiges of the mosque: his(her,its) minaret, some columns and sections of wall have fine figure and let guess the scale of the initial monument. The minaret, quadrangular, raised(brought up) in the middle of the fragments of four hundred columns, raises itself(draws up itself) in more of 44m in height. The walls of half a metre in thickness, by forming a rising sweet sloping banister in vine around six superimposed central details(rooms). His(her,its) decoration(set) is sober and varied: wide and simple interlacings. |
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Right by the tower Hassan, but in centuries of distance, here is the mausoleum Mohamed V the construction of which began in 1962. This sovereign led Morocco to the independence and Morocco raised(brought up to) him(her) a monument deserving of its gratitude(recognition). Not less than 400 craftsmen carried out this luxurious work. Outside, a magnificent detached house(flag) of white marble crowned with green tiles(blows). Inside, a room magnificently decorated with, in the center, the gravestone in white onyx resting(basing) on a granite block so polite as a mirror (the visit of the mausoleum Mohamed V is opened to all). |
| Of the avenue Hassan II in the kasbah of Oudaïas - The avenue Hassan II goes along(follows) the " wall of the Andalusians ", raised(brought up) in 17th s, which separates the medina of the new town. Take, to the right of the market hall, the avenue Mohammed V who penetrates into the medina to turn(shoot) immediately to the right. | |
| Street Souika - main Artery of the medina, lined with Moorish cafes and with shops of food(supply), it is always very full of life. She(it) leads to the Big Mosque the minaret of which we perceive at the bottom(really) to the right of the street: this sanctuary was reconstructed at the end of 19th s A part(party) of the street is covered with reeds: it is the souk are Sebat where dominate traders of slippers and leather workers. Turn(shoot) to the left. | |
| The street of the Consuls and his(her,its) neighborhoods - This street, so called(mentioned) because the diplomats lived(lay) there until 1912, establishes(constitutes) the center of the local business. There are offered to the curiosity and to the greed of the passers-by the carpets(mats) of Rabat, the hangings of Salted. The beaten(emphasized) and openwork brass instruments, the pushed away(repelled) leathers, the silk embroidery. We shall notice, to the right, the impasse(dead end) of Consulat-de-France the father Chénier, representing of king of France in Morocco, lived there from 1768 till 1782, in n°62. The shops of the street of the Consuls mask a very different district. To worry an idea it is enough to pass to the left, between N 32 and 30. In an alley which begins under a house: just a step from the excitement and from the noise here is calms down him(it) and the silence of an old bourgeois town. The visitor can make some steps in narrow alleys framed(supervised) by high walls of brilliant one whiteness by the blue ultramarine of some shutter(sector). He(It) will appreciate the doors of stone cut or sculptured by many houses, often the only ornament of the facade: their Roman arches or lowered fall again on pilasters, most of the time gone(taken) up by a false girder resting(basing) on small columns. A veneer of stucco adds it a Moresque note, but the spirit of the Renaissance appears in these doors, Moslems' works come from Spain in 17th s to Return to the street of the Consuls. This one ends in a vast place(square) where recently even was held the souk el Ghezel, the market of the wool but in beautiful time(weather) of the "running"("race") we also sold it slaves - and among them count of Christians. | |
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Kasbah of the Oudaïas - This citadel is so called because a contingent of the tribe of Oudaïas was installed(settled) by the sultans alaouites there to hold it garrison and watch the city. But his(her,its) creation goes back up(raises) in 10th s Following the carved wall, rise jusqu ' to the monumental main entrance. Door of the Oudaïas - Bâtie at the end of 12th s by Yacoub el-Mansour on most the Mecca of Rabat, it is a beautiful example of the skill of the almohades architects to make of a defensive work an authentic work of art. Massive but of harmonious proportions, completely cut in a beautiful red stone, it is a real fortress containing a row of 3 rooms which can accommodate a small garrison. The entrance(entry) is protected by sturdy striking two whose only decoration is made by the alternation of thick and thin assizes(conferences) of the stone. Between them opens two on horseback exceeded and broken iron concentric bows; The biggest is decorated with sharp lobes surrounded with deep relief shaped interlacings. In écoinçons bloom big palmettes two. A registration(inscription) in characters coufiques court along the headband(banner) and falls again on both sides bows. A wide frieze it arcatures blind(fill) crown the whole, prolonged by two consoles in projection which support(bear) small columns. The door is in chicane to make more difficult the assaults. Inside, temporary exhibitions(exposures) are organized in the gallery Bab el Kebir. Turn(shoot) to the right to penetrate into the kasbah. By glancing behind we shall appreciate the other face of the door. Without reaching(affecting) the majesty of the first one(night), she(it) does not miss character. The absence of striking, useless of the internal side, gives more space and freedom to the sculptured decoration(set). |
| Platform of the semaphore - Continuing straight ahead in front of one, we borrow(take) the street Jamaa which crosses the kasbah. Notice, to the left, the oldest mosque of Rabat; based by 1150 by Almohades, she(it) was reconstructed in 18th s Crossing(Exceeding) a door we reach(affect) the platform of the semaphore; beautiful sight on the mouth of Bou Regreg and on the big Moslem cemetery which spreads out on the hillside of the hill between the medina and the sea. On the place(square), we perceive a clothing workshop carpet(mat,carpets,mats). Cross(exceed) the door of Oudaïas and come down again towards the place(square) Souk-el-Ghezel. To the left, between 2 old artillery, a door opens in the wall on a path which leads(drives) to the museum. | |
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Museum of Oudaïas - We penetrate at first into a building, in central court(yard), dominated by a four-storeyed massive tower. Built in the end of 17th s under the administration of Moulay lsmaïl, this palace was doubtless a pied-à-terre for the sultan or the residence of the caid of the kasbah, before being converted there médersa. The vast patio is decorated with a bowl of white marble it is encircled with sober columns, coupled in angles, which support(bear) bows exceeded by the gallery. In the former(ancient) oratory to the right of the entrance(entry) we admire a collection of carpet(mat,carpets,mats) of dif férentes regions of Morocco as well as furniture. On both sides of the court(yard), in heightened loggias, is exposed(explained) a beautiful polychromatic blue and ceramic ceramic collection of ceramic of Fes. In a cubbyhole of angle, embroidery of Fes, Salted, Meknès. In a big room, we reconstituted the inside of a rich house divans covered with brockets (Fes. 19th s) Ceremonial beds in the heavy embroidered(exaggerated) draperies, the former(ancient) carpets(mats) of Rabat. One big plate glass window stocked with very beautiful wrought irons offers a pleasant prospect(perspective) of the garden of Oudaïas. In the lounge(show) in front of the big room, the former(ancient) jewels of collection, golden and one money(silver). In a building(ship) leaned in the rampart Moulay Rachid, a room shelters musical instruments traditional city-dweller and countryman. Another quite close building(ship) gathers(combines) in a big room an interesting collection dedicated to the Berber life. We shall see weapons, luxurious harnesses, jewels of the South there, as well as models were dressed up representing all the Moroccan regions. |
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The garden of Oudaïas is one of the examples of riad or closed garden which we often meet in Morocco. Always close high walls (here, in Oudaïas, a wall carved, flanked(thrown) by turrets, which(who) surrounds the garden and separates it from the outside world), the riad, the composition of which joins in a more or less regular rectangle is often endowed, when it is not a part integral of a house of buildings(ships) which face each other in two of his(her,its) extremities. These rooms widely opened with galleries or these detached houses(flags) one extension are then connected by several paved, more or less wide rectilinear paths, cutting itself in right angle, bowls or jets of water marking their meeting places. He(it) establishes(constitutes) however mostly the heart of rich houses or palace all around of which these last ones articulate, being equipped with loggias, with iron balustrades forged or of fine wooden galleries, and a kiosk(pavilion) in the dome often painted by arabesques. He(It) offers to the glance a profusion of flowers and shrubs - banana trees, lemon trees, daturas, oleanders, orange trees distributed without visible plan(shot) in squares that spray séguias, and sometimes mixing(involving) their branches with the dark masses of cypress which frame(supervise) a central fountain. But the particular charm of this type of garden - That we notably find in Fes, in the palace of Dar Batha, in Meknès to the palace Jamaï, or to Marrakesh, where he(it) decorates the beautiful houses of Dar Si Saïd and the palace of Bahia - it is that he(it) participates in the architectural prescription of the building for which he(it) was conceived, and gets to the visitor a strong impression(printing) of peace and coolness. |
| Of the kasbah of Oudaïas in the avenue Hassan II - The boulevard Al-Alou goes along(follows) the Moslem cemetery of the kasbah. Immediately after a small mosque forming the angle, turn(shoot) to the left in the street Sidi Fatah. Among the numerous sanctuaries which line this one, the mosque Moulay el Mekki presents an elegant octagonal minaret decorated with bows with stalactites over windows and an attractive door surmounted by a lean-to of wood paints. The street Sidi-Fatah goes along(follows), in the angle of the street Souika, the mosque Moulay Sliman ( 1812 ) and returns, by Bab al Bouiba, to the avenue Hassan II | |
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Er-Rouah Bab Set in the almohade wall, this door - its name means " door of Winds " because it is whipped by the maritime winds - is contemporary of that of Oudaïas. It is a defensive work in chicane. Enormous striking two give some harshness to the stony facade the sculpture of which offers nevertheless pleasant(kind) one composition: two big scalloped bows draw the chief lines; in every écoinçon a palmette big blooms in a vegetation of interlacing; an ancient(former) quotation takes place on the headband(banner), whereas two small columns of angle add a note of whim to the monument. The inside contains several rooms the first one of which two in opened sky is covered with a remarkable dome on trunks, in radiant grooves. The gallery Bab Rouah installed(settled) in these rooms presents regularly exhibitions(exposures) of contemporary Moroccan artists. Mohamed Chebaa, Hassan Glaoui, Labied Miloud, Mohamed Melehi and Farid Belkahia, among others, exposed(explained) it their works repeatedly. It is here that was held in 1960 the first collective exhibition(exposure) of Moroccan painters, announcing the profusion of the pictorial creation of these last years. Resuming(taking back) the car, cross the surrounding wall(speaker) to the left of er-Rouah Bab. Follow the avenue Moulay-Hassan and, 200 m farther, cross(exceed), to the right, the door which gives access to the méchouar, the vast enclosure(pen) where raises itself(draws up itself) the palace of king. By-pass the méchouar. |
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Palace of King - On the right opens the main entrance of the palace, the monumental main entrance of yellow stone in the roof of varnished tiles(blows). Current Dar el Makhzen, built in 1864, on the place of a palace of the end of 18th s, was considerably enlarged until these last years. In the surrounding wall(speaker) of the palace divide up prices(lessons,courts,yards) and Andalusian patios all around of which are the royal Cabinet(Office), the ministry of the Royal house and the Protocol and the services of the Prime Minister. Cross the paved esplanade. To the left rises the mosque Ahl Fas where king sometimes goes(surrenders) to big procession. Friday from 12:30 am till 1 pm. Leave the méchouar by a door after which we turn(shoot) to the right in the avenue Yacoub-el-Mansour. Cross(exceed) Bab Zaers and follow the small road (leaving, very discreetly, the roundabout) which goes to the surrounding wall(speaker) of Chellah. |
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Chellah - Near the city, Chellah slumbers in an almost rural isolation. " The most romantic site of Morocco " as it was actually said, a strong impression(printing) of mystery and flat solitude on his(her) bulwarks, his(her) ruins and his(her) graves. Ancient(former) Roman city for a long time was left, Chellah knew a new fate when, in 13th s, the mérinides sovereigns chose this place as their last rest. The reddish wall of pisé, partially strengthened by stone and by brick, contains towers fitted out in rooms(chambers) of shooting(firing). She was finished in 1339 by the sultan Abou el Hassan to protect the graves of her ancestors and the pious foundations of Chellah. |
| The door - A beautiful stone door of size(cutting), elegant success of the art mérinide, gives access to the town of the deaths. His(her,its) facade, richly sculptured, is flanked(thrown) by two hexagonal(national) towers; the passage to the square plan(shot) of the bastions which crown them is harmoniously made by corbelled constructions stocked with stalactites. Cross(exceed) the door cubit. A path cut by staircases comes down(falls) towards a silent valley where grow freely reeds and fig trees of Inhumanity, micocouliers, olive trees and banana trees; a moving charm gets free of the dead town where a strong vegetation invades ruins populated with storks, where divers worship(cult) succeeded one another through ages, where are lying about(dawdle) many legends of fabulous past. Do not we tell that Chellah was formerly a magnificent town where the gold and the money(silver) were in such abundance as we went as far as worrying chains(channels) to hold in leash asses and dogs? And what today geniuses still keep(guard) treasures buried in the earth(ground)? | |
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The necropolis - go at first to the right, towards the koubbas which we perceive in side of hillside. At feet of the last one (the saint whom we worship is there maybe of pre-Islamic time(period)) extends a stony pond which was of use as fountain to the ablutions for mérinides sanctuaries. The supernatural source(spring) which feeds him(it) makes the object of a worship(cult) the origin of which doubtless goes back up(raises) in time(weather) age-old. She(it) contains sacred eels and tortoises; we also say that in the heart of the source(spring) live a fabulous fish adorned with golden rings. Retracing his steps. Cross(exceed) the surrounding wall(speaker) which closes the royal necropolis. We cross at first a small mosque in ruin in three spans (to the left a door shows still partially a cover of varnished ceramic). At the bottom(really) to the right, a passage, near a truncated minaret, gives access to the room(chamber) funeral of Abou el Hassan. At feet of a wall of pink stone finely chiselled, we can see the grave of the sultan, died in 1351, and last sovereign mérinide buried here (his(her) successors were interred in Fes.). Close, the another grave: that of his wife. A Christian converted to the Islam, the epitaph of which learns us that she answered the charming name of "Morning sun" (Chems ed Douha). Known also under the name of Lalla Chellah, the "Lady de Chellah" is the object of a real worship(cult), and administration on all the enclosure(pen). Go to the minaret which dominates the necropolis. We reach(affect) a court(yard). Paved by mosaic around an oblong pond bowls she(it) is framed(supervised) by galleries on which open small cells. The building, ruined enough, is a zaouïa; in this house of prayers, readers of the Koran assured(insured) the dead hosts of the necropolis the profit of prayers. The arrangement of places is rather similar to that of the médersa. To the right we can see the rests of the oratory with its mihrab encircled with a semicircular corridor(lane); It was formerly enough to worry seven times the tour(ballot) to deserve the title of hadj, normally reserved for the pilgrims of Mecca. To the left rises the charming minaret built by Abou el Hassan where the stone, the marble and the earthenware become allied in her(it) skate the years for the most attractive effect; a nest of storks crowns the lanternon decorated with zelliges. Return to the entrance(entry) of the necropolis. Immediately after the door, to turn(shoot) to the right and follow the wall up to the foot of the minaret. To the right opens the access to the Roman ruins. |
Selection of Hotels:THE FELUCCA: Hotel 3 ***
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Sir and Madam DISPOT will be happy to welcome you in a family atmosphere, a hotel of 25 rooms(chambers) (with TV) among which 18 have access directly on the beach, the others on the swimming pool of 25*18 of the brackish water (the sweet middle, the salty middle). The meals and the breakfasts can be taken in the room of restaurant, on the terrace looking onto the sea (with its pizzéria, opened in summer) at the edge of the swimming pool with its barbecue, on the terrace of your room(chamber) in front of the sea. Http: // fax (37 744069 or 37 744565) email perso.wanadoo.net.ma / lafelouque: dispot@wanadoo.net.ma |
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- Hilton Rabat *****. Souissi-Rabat, POB: 450 Souissi. Such: 07-67.12.34. Fax: in recommended 67.14.92.
- Farh Samir *****. Place(square) Sidi Makhlouf. Such: 07-73.21.17/18/19.
- The Tower Hassan *****. Avenue Abderrahman Annegai, 26. Such: 07-73.38.15/16. Recommended.
- Bélère **** Has. Avenue MOulay Youssef, 33. Such: 07-76.99.01. Recommended.
- Chellah **** Has. Street of Ifni, 2. Such: 07-76.54.54/76.40.52.
- Oudayas *** Has. Street of Tobrouk, 4. Such: 07-70.78.20/70.91.30. Recommended.
- Moussafir *** Has. Street Abderrahman El Ghafiki, 12-14. Such: 07-77.49.01/77.34.26.
- Shéhérazade *** Has. Street of Tunis, 21. Such: 07-72.22.26/28. Recommended.
- Terminus *** Has. Avenue Mohammed V, 284. Such: 07-76.06.16/76.08.95. Recommended.
- Yassmine *** Has. Zankat Mariniyes and Angle Mekka. Such: 07-72.20.18/51/57.
- Balima *** B. Avenue Mohammed V. Such: 07-70.77.55/70.86.25. Recommended.
- Of Orsay *** B. Avenue Moulay Youssef, 11. Such: 07-76.13.19.
- Luxor ** Has. Street Abel Moumen, 2-4.: Such: 07-229.16/64.
- Bouregreg ** Has. Street of Nador, 1. Such: 07-72.41.10/73.40.02.
- Gran Hôtel ** Has. Street Patrice Lumumba, 19. Such: 07-72.72.85/86.
- The Peace ** Has. Street of Ghazzah, 2. Such: 07-73.20.31/72.29.26.
- Royal Hotel ** Has. Street Amman, 1. Such: 07-72.11.71/72.
- Splendid ** Has. Street Ghazzah, 24. Such: 07-72.32.83.
- Velleda ** B. Avenue Allal Ben Abdellah, 106. Such: 07-76.95.31/32.
- Capitol*A. Avenue Allal Ben Abdellah, 34. Such: 07-73.12.36/37.
- Central*A. Al Basra's street, 2. Such: 07-76.73.56.
- Dahir*A. Avenue Hassan II, 429. Such: 07-72.20.96/73.30.73.
- Dakar*A. Street of Dakar, 26. Such: 07-72.16.71.
- Gaulois*A. Street of Hims, 1. Such: 07-72.30.22/73.05.73.
- Majestic*B. Avenue Hassan II, 121. Such: 07-72.29.97.
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Restaurants:
All the restaurants of Rabat close at 10:00 pm, as well as number of cafes!
- Dinarjat
6, rue Belgnaoui avenue. El Alou Médina Tel: 037.70.42.39 / 037.72.23.42
Gourmet restaurant. You will taste the splendors of the Moroccan life in an Arabian-Andalusian atmosphere.
- Goëland (closed on Sundays)
9, rue Moulay-Ali-Cherif Tel : 037.76.88.85
Magnificent card(map), fishes and shellfishes are for the honor.
- Restaurant of the beach
Beach Oudayah-Complexe touristique of Rabat Tel: 037.70.75.86
Well-kept frame(executive) and beautiful terrace overhanging the beach. Specialities: fishes and spiny lobsters.
- The courteous Green
District Agdal (very excentré), towards the place(square) of Unesco Such: 037.77.42.47
Very beautiful card(map). Specialities: meats and products of the sea.
- The Rib steak
District Agdal, 74 avenue. Amir Fal Ould Oumeir Tel: 037.67.11.08 Faxes:, 37.77.13.62
Excellent international cooking(kitchen). Specialities: meats in the campfire.
- Mamma
6, rue de Tanta Tel : 037.70.73.29
Pizzeria very frequented in the pleasant frame(executive).
Card(Map):
