Ideas for your free time

Dominating the skyline of the walled medina, La Tour Hassan is a monument to the ambition of the Almohad sultan Yacoub Al-Mansour. He planned a mosque that would have been the second-largest in the world at the time, but construction ceased on his death in 1199; the resulting mosque was then largely destroyed in an 18^th Century earthquake, leaving only the forest of pillars and the huge, iconic minaret: Le Tour Hassan. As well as a classic Rabat photo opportunity, the open space around the tower is one of the many pleasant open spaces which makes Rabat so pleasurable to visit.

The oldest bit of Rabat, the Chellah is the site of the original Phoenician and then Roman settlements; the Classical remains decayed rapidly after the site was abandoned in the 12^th Century. So it was probably already an atmospheric spot when the Merinid dynasty turned it into a walled necropolis in the 14^th Century. Today it is Rabat’s premier attraction in our opinion, the funerary monuments combining with the cliff-top location and stork nests, to create a peaceful, engaging place to pass an hour or two.

Easily the most attractive area of the walled medina, the Kasbah Les Oudaias sits on a promontory overlooking the confluence of the Bou Regreg river and Atlantic Ocean. The views are wonderful as is much of the architecture, including the imposing Bab Oudaia gate. There are some museums and craft shops, and as with all of Rabat the pace is unhurried and hassle is absolutely minimal.

Across the Bou Regreg river from Rabat is the town of Salé, It’s very much the poor relation to the capital, being smaller and less sophisticated than its neighbour; but it wasn’t always this way – flourishing piracy in the 16^th Century produced the infamous “Sallee Rovers”, and it was only the taming of the pirates and the rise of Rabat to capital city that pushed Salé into obscurity. Now it makes for an interesting short trip from Rabat, to admire the mosques, medersas and souqs of this provincial town.