| Tips and photos of unusual, out-of-the-way Rabat attractions, posted by real travelers and locals. Rabat Map |
 | Rabat Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 33 |  |
 by JLBG
When in the souk you follow Souika street and instead of turning left into the Consuls street you go straight ahead, almost immediately you get a completely different view of the medina. There, no more shops. Second hand (or third if not more) things of every kind, in good condition or more often half broken are spread out, directly on the ground, for sale. After 30 meters, you arrive on a little place, with the same sight all around. If you walk towards the other side of the place, you will see a passage that leads to a yard where the sight is even more terrible. Rubbish and rubbles, stained scrapes of iron are piled to make shelters (are they really shelters ?) where people, including children live and try to sell scrapes of metals, bare feet in mud or in dust, according to the weather.
I thought you should know, but please, do not visit. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
Visiting Rabat?
Read reviews about Rabat Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
 WALLS OF RABAT (ON THE LEFT)
AND CHELLAH (RIGHT) by matcrazy1
HISTORY OF CHELLAH
1. Phoenicians and Carthaginians
Phoenicians established trading post at Chellah - no one knows when... They came from the land known then as Caanan in the Middle East (Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon). The Phoenicians were essentially a maritime people which established fish-salting factories. They were not interested in conquering, farming land or colonizing. Their succesors, more civilized Carthaginians (from Carthage, Tunisia), turned the Phoenician settlement into prosperous town and started to grow wheat.
2. Romans
The Third Punic War resulted in the end of Carthaginian power, Carthage was conquered by Romans in 146 BC. Since that time Romans moved westwards into the Berber kingdoms of Mauritania and Numidia(Algeria, Morocco now) which became part of the Roman Empire. Chellah grew up and was named as Sala Colonna by Romans. The city was inhabited by the Romnanised, part-Christian, Berber Mauritanians.
3. The Merinides
The Berber Merinides took control over the whole North Africa in 1296. The origin of the desert people, Berbers is still not known... Anyway, Merinides established burial grounds by the ruins of Roman Sala Colonna and surrounded it by walls in 13th and 14th century.
CONCLUSION: Chellah is a historical place on fascinating both co-existense and fights of different cultures and reflects mixed cultural heritage of Morocco. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 STORK'S NEST ON THE TOP
OF THE FUNERAL MOSQUE by matcrazy1
Generally I must underline that after busy and crowded Rabat, Chellah was a place of peace and quiet with almost no visitors but many singing loudly birds and colorful butterflies. Leave a Comment
|
 ROMAN RUINS OF SALA COLONNA,
CHELLAH, RABAT by matcrazy1
Anyway, the ruins were not the best preserved, just a set of stones put in some secret order, and looked far worse than ancient ruins of, say, Ephesos (Turkey) and Pompei (Italy). Additionally there were no explanations put by the ruins. OK, it maybe fascinating place for a fan of ancient archeology whom I am not. Leave a Comment
|
 OFF THE BEATEN PATH
MEDINA by matcrazy1
In Rabat, the medina is not as much fascinating as in, say, Fez. It's more difficult to observe authentic old-style local life, there are no donkeys used for transportation, there are few local craftsmen working on a street etc. But there are pretty narrow streets with little passages, white houses and doors painted in light blue colour. Leave a Comment
|
Visiting Rabat?
Read reviews about Rabat Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
 THE MEDINA OF SALE by matcrazy1
I visited city of Sale, twin city to Rabat just before arrival to Rabat. And I saw Sale again from the viewing platform in the Kasbah of the Oudaya; from the bottom: the river, Muslim cemetery (unseen on my picture), city walls, white housed of the medina with a skyline dominating by a minaret of the Grand Mosque. Leave a Comment
|
 CHELLAH - THE ENTRANCE GATE by matcrazy1
I easily parked a car on a large, surprisingly empty, unpaved parking lot in front of the impressive entrance gate called Bab Zaer. Massive brick edifice is designed in U shape and richly ornamented. I was asked to pay an entrance fee at the gate. There were no guided tours around the Chellah when I visited it. I simply could stroll around by myself. Leave a Comment
|
 THE TUARET ABOVE THE
ATLANTIC OCEAN by matcrazy1
Just one example on my picture - the tuaret fixed to a roof corner of a house on he Atlantic cliff looks strange with its Portuguese shape and islamic (?) roof. Leave a Comment
|
 TOMBS OF SULTANS by matcrazy1
The rich and famous of the past, like sultan families were burried in seperate tombs placed traditionally below the ground level. The white, stone graves, which luckily survived till now, are richly decorated in Arabic calighaphy and Islamic patterns. Leave a Comment
|
 URSZULA (matcrazy0) AT GARDENS
OF CHELLAH by matcrazy1Leave a Comment
|
|
Hotel Lodging
Up to 50% off Hotels at Expedia. No Expedia change or cancel fees! Sofitel Rabat Hotel
Book a 5-star hotel with savoir faire and French "art de vivre." Find Local Hotels
Let Switchboard Help Find Local Hotels in the New York Area. Rabat Hotels
Compare The Best Travel Sites Find Lower Hotel Rates Instantly! Hotels in Rabat
Book your hotel in Rabat online. All hotels with special offers. Sponsored Links
More Rabat Travel Deals Hotel Lodging
Save Up to 70% Don't Pay More! Newark NJ Hotel
Brand New Facility & Shuttle Bus 11 Minutes from the Newark Airport! Rooms & Suites Discounts
Hot Deals on Hotel Rooms & Suites. Travelocity Guarantees Low Prices. Sponsored Links - La Tour Hassan
26 Rue Chellah, Rabat - Sofitel Diwan Rabat
Place de l'Unite Africaine, Rabat - Hotel Rabat
21 Avenue Chellah, Rabat - Villa Mandarine
19 Rue Ouled Bousbaa Souissi, Rabat - Farah Hotel
Place Sidi Makhlouf, Rabat - Rabat-Chellah Hotel
2 Rue D'Ifni, Rabat - Hotel Balima
283 Ave Mohammed V, Rabat - Ourida
Rue El Achari Agadal 14, Rabat - Ibis Moussafir Rabat
32-34 Rue Abderrahmanne El Ghafiki Place de la Gare, Rabat - Mercure Rabat Sheherazade
21 Rue de Tunis Quartier Hassan, Rabat - Kenzi Belere Rabat
Cl 33 Avenue Moulay Youssef, Rabat
|
