Rabat

The rest of the group arrived on September 28 and we were off to Rabat, meaning fortress or monastery. Activities have really picked up now. Aziz has gone into tour leader mode with the main group here. Our room in Hotel Le Dawliz is huge. One couple in our group even has a sitting room. As soon as we put our bags away we went to the medina to see what this city has to offer. It was not as crowded as the one in Essouira but bustling just the same. This is a large city but is not as busy as Casablanca. We walked along the new part of the city to see some of the Moorish architecture. One drawback is that the hotel is in Sale across the river from Rabat, so we have to go in the bus wherever we go. Internet is very expensive in the hotel and we cannot go to an internet cafe like we did in Essouira, but the clerk at the desk let us use his computer for free for awhile. (We found out the password for that computer and have been able to log into the lobby computers the next day for free!!)
Our day has been completely filled. First to the Royal Palace with the various guards in colorful uniforms. The new king is more modern and open than his predecessors. He has only one wife and was instrumental in making some changes in the new "family code" that was first proposed in 1993 to give more rights to women. Changes were finally made in October 2003 (he came into power in 1999). He met his wife chatting on the internet. She is a computer engineer. What a surprise to her when she met him and found out he was the king! There is a parliament here, and generally the king does not interfere, but actually his decision in religious and government matters is the final one no matter what the parliament does. So if the parliament is doing something that might not be the best for the country, he steps in.
Then we went to the ancient Roman city Sala Colonia, built in the 14th century. It is mostly in ruins due to an earthquake in 1755 in Lisbon, but the minaret is still standing. The place has been taken over by storks, with nests high up all over the place. There are some people there who must love cats. Aziz made a calling sound and dozens of cats came running from around the buildings.
Next was the beautiful Mausoleum of Mohammed V and across the way the Le Tour Hassan. The mausoleum has the grandfather and father of the present king. The inside has very intricate patterns of mosaics from the floor to the ceiling. The tower of Hassan is a huge minaret begun in 1195 and was supposed to be part of the largest mosque in the world. Things did not work out and there remains the minaret and many Roman pillars that were supposed to have supported the roof.
From the intricately carved tower we could see the Kasbah Des Oudaias. When we went there we could see beautiful narrow streets with the walls colored blue and white and very interesting doorways. Now these areas are quite expensive places to live.
The Archaeology Museum was quite interesting with artifacts from 350,000 years to the Stone Age. Many of the artifacts came from Roman settlements at Volubilis, Lixus and Chellah, including stone and bronze busts.
If all that weren't enough we had a discussion and lecture by a young woman who gave us some insight into women's rights in Morocco. Morocco became independent in 1956 and changes have been happening ever since. Morocco has always been an open society and never did things some of the other African countries have done like honor killing or female circumcision. The interpretation of the Koran has been more modern and liberal and tries to go with the times. Women still don't have quite the rights as men, but changes are being made and things are much better than even the recent past with the new king in charge. And with satellite dishes on every house and hundreds of channels, people see what the rest of the world is like. Public education through college is free and women make the same as men in the same job. Wearing the traditional outfit, the jellaba, and scarf is a matter of individual tastes and not required at all.
The night was completed with a wonderful 5 course Moroccan dinner at a very fine restaurant. Wait staff in traditional outfits and a man pouring mint tea from a tea cup five feet above the glasses topped it all off. The bathroom was as red as you could get a room. Nearby we stopped in a home that had recently been sold so the caretaker let us in to see it. Walls were covered in intricate tiles, there were huge wooden doors and the roof in the main room was open to the sky (the restaurant had an open roof, too). The two rooms on each side of the main room were covered in sofas for visiting and/or sleeping. The house apparently sold for about $190,000, which was unbelieveable. Would have been many millions anywhere else.