Rabat

And no, I'm afraid it’s not Rabbit :-) …. Was the next city that we visited. And probably the city I liked the most. The kingdom’s political and administrative capital, apparently Rabat, as compared to Casablanca, is a bit as Washington as compared to New York.

Calmer and wiser, a town in which the modern pleasantly combines with the old. And much, much cleaner than Casablanca, thank god! The town was built in 1150 by the Almohade sultan Abd al-Moumin, situated north of the antique Roman city of Sala Colonia (this site is, however, nowadays occupied by the Chellah necropolis).

On the first day we took long walks in the medina which resembles the other ones that we had visited before, and the Kashbah of Qudaia. Lots of false guides were lurking at the gate, as all over Morocco’s tourist places. One of the town’s first Arab constructions, the Kashbah was built in the 12th century on a site that had been occupied since Roman age. We paused to admire the luxurious plants and palm trees in the Jardin Andalou. Here, two cats in heat were living their little love story in public, totally ignoring the human presence all around them. After they closed the garden, we went to Café Maure for a coffee (and a mint tea) and some patisserie. This café was full of both locals (mostly couples that were dating) and some tourists. Very beautiful view of the beach and the ocean. This is where we met Cochi, a cat which fell in love with A the moment she set her eyes on him (Cochi from 'cochilie' which, in Romanian means 'shell' and was inspired by the form of the cat on A's lap). She just approached him while he was seated, occupied his lap and went to sleep carefree, showing total trust in him. She would have never left his lap, had we not been forced to leave the café by the cold. I tried to feed her patisserie, but she was not too impressed. I teased A forever, saying that he should have adopted her as his pet and that we should go back to the café and take her, etc.

On the second day we visited the Chellah Necropolis. The place is beautifully green, with lots of stork nests (where you can actually see the birds, in pairs), lots of cats, antique Roman ruins and tombs. The air is totally fresh and unpolluted, a little paradise.

The last place that is worth mentioning is Mohammed V’s Mausoleum. Tens of colonnades, beautiful construction, incredible view of the city and the port.

Lacking inspiration and other interesting spots, we popped in the archaeology museum but all that really impressed me there were two large, black tomcats. Beautiful specimens, brothers, incredibly huge, like two small panthers. Ah …. Why do I travel all the time! Why can’t I have a pet!