Our next destination was Rabat via a local train with our tour group consisting of 16 people plus 1 guide whom we had met on the last day of Casablanca. Our group only had an afternoon here before jumping on another train to Meknes. It really is an interesting mix of emotions involving the excitement of being in another culture & tackling my shyness around a large group of people who became a mini family over the course of the adventure.
This group of wonderful people were like a fruit salad full of different personalities & up-beat energies.
Rabat (Arabic: الرباط, ar-Ribaaṭ, literally “Fortified Place”) is the Political capital and fifth largest city of Morocco. This city is relatively modern in comparison to Casablanca and actually reminds me of Limassol in Cyprus (or London on a sunny day) with it’s glistening contemporary buildings & pretty, modern streets. Rabat has not quite established itself as a tourist destination, however visitors who do go find a gem of a city. The colonial architecture is stunning, the palm-lined boulevards are well kept and relatively free of traffic, and the atmosphere has a cosmopolitan flair, even a lot of the locals walk around with a graceful & confident air wearing designer clothing, trendy accessories & driving stylish cars. All in all, life here is pleasant and civilised. Although at times Rabat can be rather dull in comparison to other Moroccan destinations because there are very few areas within the city that has that charm most tourists search for. Yet the city is more laid-back, pleasant and more provincial than Casablanca or Marrakesh, and far less grimy and frantic. This would be a good place to possibly live if you were considering living in Morocco because it would be an easier place to adjust & adapt to the lifestyle as oppose to the hustle and bustle of other Moroccan cities.
