Welcome to Morocco

Mystic of Holyhead (successor to Lynn Rival)
Rachel and Paul Chandler
Thu 1 Nov 2012 11:15
Rabat and Sale provide a gentle introduction to Morocco, despite having been home to the infamous Sallee Rovers.  Close to the marina, on the north side of the river, Sale has a fascinating and very old medina (walled town) where you can easily get lost but may also happen upon a grand mosque and madrassa dating back to the 14th century or shops and stalls selling the freshest of produce without any of the packaging, labeling and best before nonsense we have to put up with in Europe.


The walls of Sale medina - impressed by the pavements!


Marina - view from the breakfast cafe (in a rare dry moment)

From a stop just outside the marina a modern tram takes you over a brand new bridge to Rabat, on the south side of the river.  The new town centre is spacious and tidy, and the traffic surprisingly docile.  The (not very old) medina is a more orderly and easily navigable grid of narrow streets, lined with small shops of every kind.  There are monuments to explore but the rain put a dampener on our exploration... 


Rabat - the Kasbah (fortified enclosure)

With continuing rain forecast for northern Morocco we planned an expedition inland.