Rabat Rouser

I arrived in Morocco with a lump in my throat, after leaving Kate and Cecily behind for a few days. It didn't help that when I got to the gate, the agent informed me that I probably wouldn't be let in to the country, because my departure and return tickets were too far apart to travel without a visa (we planned to leave the country in the middle somewhere). Daunted, I decided that I should just focus on getting some sleep on my 9 hour flight to Paris. 5 movies later, I hadn't slept at all, and soon I was boarding the flight from Paris to Rabat.

Landing in Rabat, I was struck by the green airfield, complete with the moss-covered planes parked in corners that clearly hadn't flown in decades. After our trips to Ghana and Uganda, these derelict planes seem to be a regular feature of African airports. Reaching customs, everything went better than I could have hoped. They let me in the country, Said was there to pick me up as promised, and soon I was at the Hotel Mercure in the Diplomatic District of Rabat.

Rather than going to sleep at 12:30 in the afternoon, I started walking.

Horses! Palace! Hats! Holy Shit!

Just a block from my hotel (and feeling pretty tired and low at this point), I heard the call to prayer and walked right past the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the first ruler of an independent Morocco after colonization. Seeing this amazing cultural site, just a few blocks from the hotel, raised my spirits and gave me something really cool to check out while I counted down until I could reasonably go to sleep.

Inside the Mausoleum

I managed to make it until 6:30 PM, at which point I went downstairs to grab a quick bite of dinner and get some sleep. However, Moroccans eat so late that the restaurant wasn't even OPEN yet. I ate some granola and went to bed.

The next days were filled with explorations of the lovely, white, walled city of Rabat and meetings with the other Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, who were in Rabat in preparation for a trip to Jordan. I found time to explore some really neat spots in Rabat.

Rabat and Sale are separated by the Oued Bou Regreg River (or possibly the word "Regreg" means river). So that might have been like "ATM Machine." Unclear.

Oh yeah, no big deal. International Man of Mystery (who goes to bed at 7 PM and is mad because no one wants to eat dinner that early).

Finally, after one last meeting with my advisor, I spent the afternoon on Friday exploring The Chellah, which is a wonderful, thousands-year old structure. An Ancient Phoenician City, later a pre-Christ Mosque, The Chellah really put the timeline of human habitation in this area into perspective.

Looking towards the exterior walls.

Friday is a day of prayer, so students get out of school early. Today, though, this group was on a field trip. 

Old meets new.

The architecture has both Roman and Muslim influences.

Rabat has been wonderful, and there is much more to say about the friendly folks that I met, my experiences with language, and a weird bird that attacked me while I was walking. However, I'm already looking ahead to tomorrow, when I jump on the train bound for Tangier to see my wife and baby! Kate, Cecily and family arrived in Morocco this afternoon, and will surely have something to report from 24 hours of travel with a six-month old.

For now, it's nearly 8 PM, and I'm going to see if it would be too terribly embarrassing to order dinner.