Rabat

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Rabat

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Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. Fortifications of the ancient Medina. © Joachim Hiltmann - age fotostock

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You will need one day to visit Rabat. It has been the capital city of Morocco since 1912; it had also nearly reached this status during the reign of Yacoub el Mansour. Within the medina, the ochre gate of the Oudaia casbah bears witness to the intentions of the time. The Atlantic Ocean is very close by. Take a break at the Cafe Maure for the view of the Bou Regreg estuary before setting off to Consul street where carpets are sold by auction. In the imperial city, Hassan II Tower stands high on an esplanade originally planned for the building of the world's largest mosque by Yacoub el Mansour. This unfinished minaret is 144 feet high. Very close by, King Mohammed V's Mausoleum, open to the non-Muslim, shelters the white onyx tomb of the king inside a funerary room, itself topped by a roof brightened up by stained glass. Then get to the Chellah necropolis at the end of the afternoon. A polychrome glazed ceramic minaret rises among the bushes of the terrace garden.