Sheltered by the walls
Ocean, medina, Oudayas Kasbah are the pulse of the Moroccan capital.
A fabulous medina
Made of adobe in the 12th century, the Andalusian ramparts
protect the south side of the medina. The rectilinear layout of the old
city is impressive as it is very different from the traditional mazes
of streets. You can enter through the Bab El Had gate, scene of the
Sunday market. This is where Souika street begins, the biggest and
probably most animated in the medina. It leads to the Great Mosque and
ends up at the Souk Es Sebat, the shoe market covered with reed mats and
overflowing with hundreds of babouches, leather and handcraft goods and
gold and silver jewelry. Then, along Rue des Consuls, which is
partially covered by glass roofs, artisans work before your eyes on
their deep-pile carpets, fabrics and copper objects. Heading back north, you approach the gate of the Oudayas.
Oudayas Kasbah
This fortress quarter conserved its old cannons positioned on a
bulwark. Beautiful and massive, its door is carved from top to bottom,
and one of the towers houses three art galleries. The white and blue
facades create a very Mediterranean ambiance. Its cobblestone streets
lead to El Atiqa mosque, the city’s oldest, and then to the platform of
the ancient semaphore. From here, as from the terrace of café Maure just
nearby, the view of Rabat, its neighbour Salé, and the meeting of
Bouregreg river and the ocean is simply splendid. From up high, the
Oudayas Palace, which today houses the national museum, has conserved
its original ornementations, imprints of sobriety and equilibrium. The Andalusian garden at its feet is a haven of peacefulness full of fruit trees, rosebays and cascades of bougainvilleas.
