Christmas in the Kasbah

So after weeks of only seeing our house, work, and the local grocery store, we finally ventured out as a family along with some new friends of ours from work who graciously offered to show us around some of the sights and sounds of old Rabat.  Living in the modern quarter of Hay Riad sometimes makes us forget that this city has been around since the 12th century and has some cool stuff to show for it.

After wolfing down healthy portions of Christmas morning waffles (Thanks Aunt Jemima!) and being pleasantly surprised at Santa Claus finding his way all the way to Morocco, we piled in the car to meet our friends who would take us on a whirlwind tour of Rabat.  OK, so my interjections will be done is this fancy but fabulous color.  So, we drove and drove and drove for what felt like forever, but turns out to be less than ten miles away from our house but for some strange reason there is not a single actually straight road in the dang city.  Our adventure started with two men comfortably sitting in the front seats of a van and three women and a baby smooshed into the back seat. Knox was of course the entertainment for the agonizing and terrifying car ride.  And no offense to our awesome chauffeur, other drivers out there make me scream and cringe on a daily basis. 

Our first stop was the large plaza near the Bouregreg river featuring the mausoleum of King Mohammed V and his two sons, Hassan II and Prince Abdallah on one end and the Hassan Tower on the other.  The mausoleum was built in the 1970 and is beautiful on the outside and inside where there is always a high cleric sitting vigil reading from the Quran 24 hours a day.(I tried to offer a Ricola)  Across the plaza is the Hassan Tower and stone pillars which were all part of a incomplete mosque back in the the late 12th century meant to be the biggest in the world at the time.  As it stands at 144 ft, the tower is still pretty impressive and includes a series of ramps inside (instead of stairs) so the muezzin could ride a horse to the top for the call to prayer.

I thought the holes were for air conditioning, turns out its so
 the wall wont fall down when it gets too hot. I was close. 

We always put our kid on a pedestal.  Literally. 

The Roving Gang of Tourists and their trusty guides!  

After our stop as Hassan Tower, we headed to the Medina (the old town) full of narrow, winding alleyways and endless shops. Any many heart attack moments for me. I was aware that the Medina if anywhere in Rabat would be the place where our things would magically disappear from our bags or pockets I, as my mother has told me time and time again, had my over cross body bag with the many zippers under my jacket with Ryan's jacket over the top of it all. I looked like a crazed bag lady with the shifty eyes.  And at no time at all today was there even a threat.  Perhaps they could sense my Jedi Knight skills and backed off, or perhaps I was just well prepared and paranoid.  Make no mistake, this place is easy to get lost in even for the most seasoned veterans.  We were glad to have experienced guides with us to get us around. If you are ever in the Rabat area be sure to check out the fine offering from "Louis Vuitton" and "Michael Kors".  Or definitly pick up an 'authentic' New York Yankees jersey. Hey, from my many visits to Canal Street, these fakers are pretty damn good.  Lemme know what you want.  One thing I recommend is an energy drink made only from pure sugar cane and lemon which is ground and pressed in a machine right in front of you and tastes delicious.  No it doesn't.  Its thick sugar water, literally.  Bad KoolAid, and you all know how much I love my KoolAid.  It pained me to drink it.  

And what trip to old-town Rabat would be complete without a visit to the Kasbah des Odayas, located directed across from the Medina.  The Kasbah served as a sort of self-contained fortress city during the reign of the Almoshads in the mid 12th century.  The setting overlooking the river and architecture again were beautiful while the thrones of Kasbah cats gave the place a nice homey feel. Kasbah cats.  It was the most cats I have seen in one location besides the shelter or a great episode of Hoarders.  And they are all healthy and happy.  We even watched a security guard feeding them fried fish heads.  It is obvious that they are well taken care of, and probably for a reason.  Who doesn't love a kitten?! We know that security guard does!

I think Ryan was trying and failing to Rock the Casbah. 

Ooooooh!  Field Artillery that's wicked old!

Ittle Bittle Kitten

Don't mind the passed out bebe. 

Of course we got hungry after a long morning of walking around old stuff. Really old stuff.  The oldest stuff I have EVER seen!!  So our friends took us to what could be the best barbecue joint this side of the Atlantic in the town of Temara just south of Rabat.  But its not like American BBQ, its actually better! You get to pick out your own meat from a huge display case, by the kilo. You order this delish meat by weight. That is some serious business right there.  This, by far was the best meal I've had in Morocco so far.  Then they cook it all up together bring it to your table along with fries, Moroccan tea, salad, and anything else you want.  As you can see, we cleaned up well.....

Of course I pulled off a Moroccan faux pas while at lunch.  I was trying to clean up the table after the carnivorous smorgasbord and threw my uneaten bread on a plate and piled crap on it. I was corrected and told that bread is symbolic and respected by the Moroccan people as a symbol basic subsidence and it is disrespectful to not dispose of it correctly, or by puting it back in the bread basket.  Half eaten or not.  Well, lesson learned. And I felt like a huge idiot. 

Bread and meat is all this kid needs to stay so dang adorable

With our bellies full, we ended out our Christmas Day escapade on the beach (in short sleeves)  enjoying a coffee and good conversation at a seaside cafe in Temara.  Of course Knox made some friends who played a little football (he means futbol, silly American) with him.

Look, 'Murica is over there! 

One (uhh, we!) couldn't ask for a better Christmas Day in Rabat.  It was great to get out with new friends and discover more about this place that we call home.  Insha'Allah (God Willing to all of you non Arabic speaking folk out there....bc you know we know the lingo now)  we'll get to see and do more in the coming weeks as we get ready for our first family trip to Western Africa.  Stay tuned as the adventure continues.

(Also for your listening pleasure, a little of The Clash to get you in the holiday spirit)

And a big thanks to Mounir and his wife Amal for troopsing us all over Rabat and dealing with our many questions and translating everything and anything.  They might be some of the most patient people I know!  And I cant wait to show them the site of the states soon!  

And then there was "Griswald" waiting outside our house patiently for our return.