While in Rabat, I visited many landmarks, including the Hassan Tower, a mosque that was started in the 12th century but never finished due to earthquakes, leaving just the tower on one side, and the mausoleum for Muhammad V, the first king of Morocco, on the other. The mausoleum holds the coffins of the first king, his wife and his family. It is a very nice way of honoring a previous king and his family, as well as honoring history. Another European influence in Morocco is having a king as primary leader and a parliament as the operating system for its government.
I also visited Chellah, which are old Roman ruins and ruins of a 14th century Islamic city. They have the big old stork birds all around, as storks are the primary birds that live in that area. They make a fun clicking sound to communicate, and their nests are huge!
I visited an area called Oudayas, or the Andalusian castle area. It has a history of being a fortified city. There were many fortified cities all over Rabat, and you can see in its high walls all around the city. Some local dishes I ate were pastilla, seffa, msemmen, rfissa and various tajines. Additionally, I had mint tea, a staple in Morocco made of gunpowder green tea, fresh mint leaves and sugar.
I visited my friend’s professor’s house to get henna done. There, I experienced Arab hospitality. They fed us lunch because if someone comes over, the family feeds them like they are a part of the family. We were also asked to take our shoes off in order to enter the house but asked to put on bath shoes for entering the bathroom as well. Many different cultures have varying views on shoes in the house.
