the M5 mausoleum

we sleep in (so to speak) because it is Sunday and the traffic to Rabat will be light according to Aziz.  and so on Sunday morning we head north out of Casablanca toward Rabat... these cities are fairly close so at some point in the future they will become a "metroplex"

we take the expressway for part and then get off and drive the coast road for the remainder into the city, the political capital of Morocco (commercial capital would be Casablanca) - our first stop is the Mausoleum of Mohamed V (M5 versus H2 of the mosque or H1 of the soon to be seen Tower)-

beautiful, spectacular, jewel-like  are all appropriate adjectives for the mausoleum - which is guarded by the horse guards outside and inside by rotating soldiers in full dress uniforms- 

the mausoleum is adjoined by a mosque and the minaret for the mosque is the Hassan Tower- a match for the Giralda in Seville and the Koutubia in Marrakech except that this one is 1. unfinished and 2. partially destroyed by an earth quake... still the area is quite impressive as the remains of the structural pillars of the original mosque show how enormous it was... but on to photos- 

the Moroccan flag with its five pointed star (we were told the five pointed stars on our flag were an acknowledgment of the the fact that Morocco was the first country to recognize the United State of America diplomatically) 

inside the M5 Mausoleum- incredibly beautiful tile and stained glass-

outside - stalwart guards

ritual fountains at the mosque next to the mausoleum-

the plaza with the Hassan Tower-

one of two lights that line the stairs up to the mausoleum-

a view of the mausoleum across the plaza-

part of the original wall of the giant mosque- the holes are to allow air to circulate and keep the adobe-like building materials dry- especially important along the ocean in Rabat-

next on to the Rabat kasbah! another gem! 

"everybody goes to Rick's"

and so do we- for lunch on our first day in Morocco... in Casablanca... our lunch was a combo of continental and local... GA had chicken tagine and I have a pasta dish with fish...

and here are the photos - all very atmospheric...

of course homage is paid to the movie-

and it runs on an endless loop in the bar/casino room upstairs...

the parking out front- and yeah, tourists go here all the time- but how many times in your life to do you get to imagine Bogey upstairs with the letters of transit in his dinner jacket- waiting to help someone get the late night flight to Lisbon?  so worth it!

we take a driving tour of other city neighborhoods and Aziz asks Mustafa to stop at Place Mohamed V but I am falling asleep in the back and my two hours for last night and the quick nap this morning have made it imperative that I find a bed pretty much immediately- so we pass on a walk around Place M5 and head back to the Hotel Doge - where I am asleep before my head hits the pillow... we meet up for dinner later that evening (early 7:30 reservation for Saturday night at the Relais et Chateaux place in the hotel) no real recollection of dinner- I think I had fish...LOL - up early tomorrow for a full day of Rabat touring and a drive on to Fes (our next hotel stop for three nights)- onward.... come back and join in the fun....

to market, to market

so we left the mosque and headed to the Corniche (known as the Malecon in Havana LOL) or to those of us who live in Chicago - Lake Shore Drive... but of course here it is the road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean coast.  many bars and cafes have suffered horrible damage with repetitive storms this winter... we see some of the beach clubs (or what's left of them) as we walk along the ridge overlooking the ocean.

the surf is quite turbulent and agressive-

a menu from one of the still standing cafes-

from there we headed to the central market - lots of fresh fish and shellfish and seafood--- many olives - "mandarines" are also in season... and during the trip we eat many many of them along with lots of dates and tons of olives - and remark upon the idea of dates and olives for breakfast!

a general grocery store-

the oysters looked fabulous to an oyster lover like me!

and as night follows day - we were getting hungry and asked about a place to eat....Aziz tells us that Rick's is nearby and we know "everybody goes to Rick's" so we select it for our first lunch in Morocco.

But first one more photo-  of some of the cats in the markets - there were three in the Casablanca market and a few others showed up along the way- so I consolidated them into one big photo-