Our first-born had a one-week long carnival holiday at the end of February this year, and we thought we could go somewhere warmer than Belgium, so I started looking for (cheap) flights and ended up buying our tickets to Rabat. We knew we'd have fun there, but we didn't have any expectation. Two questions asked mostly when we told our friends about our plan were: "why would you go to Morocco with kids, isn't it unsafe there?" and "surely you'd be in some resort there?".
Soon, there we were in Morocco with the kids. No resort. We stayed in Riad el Idrissi, a typical Moroccan bed and breakfast inside a fortress (Kasbah des Oudaias) in Rabat. We enjoyed it so much! The kids loved Rabat, they liked it a lot that we cancelled our plan to go to Casablanca on the third day to basically stay in Rabat for our 5 days in Morocco. Here is the list of fun things we did in Rabat. And despite the fact that I lost my iPhone there (it was found and returned to me later -bless them!), I can be sure we're coming back to Morocco!
1. Explore the fortified town -Kasbah des Oudaias
Kasbah means fortress/citadel, and Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat is located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and Bouregreg River. It's built in the 12th century and was granted UNESCO World Heritage status. I booked a room in a bed and breakfast inside the Kasbah, so it was real fun for the kids. When we entered the main gate of the fortress, our first-born said it was like we were entering Agrabah, the world of Aladdin. Every structure inside the citadel is painted white and blue with pretty amazing doors, and so was our house. We liked wandering inside its small alleys, which usually end up in the back of the citadel with an amazing panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean. We'd follow the steps down toward the beach (Plage de Rabat) and spent most of our afternoon at the beach. Close to the main gate, there is this Andalusian Garden that we enjoyed a lot.
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| Porte de Kasbah, the main gate to enter the fortress |
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| Kasbah des Oudaias and it's white houses, seen from the marina |
2. Wander in Rabat Medina
Rabat Medina is a walled open market with traditional vendors. It's not as big as Medinas in other Moroccan cities like Casablanca or Marrakesh, so it is quite easy to navigate. You can just take a walk and enjoy the colorful sight, or you can do your shopping here. It's the place where you can buy literally anything, from Moroccan rugs, handmade lamp shades, leather shoes, spices, fresh fruits to hot lunch. The Medina is adjacent to Kasbah de Oudaias, so you can do both in one day. Our kids liked wandering around in here, so we visited every single afternoon.
3. Run around in Hassan Tower
Hassan Tower was intended to be the tallest minaret in the world, along with its mosque that was intended to be the world's largest. It started to be built 1195, but its construction commissioner Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur passed away in 1199 and the project was never completed. Today, the tower stands at around half of the intended height. The complex is full of unfinished columns which were intended to be the pillars of the mosque. This makes the complex a perfect place for our kids to freely run around while admiring the fountains. We walked all the way to Hassan Tower from the Kasbah, through the Medina. But if you don't prefer walking too much, you can take the modern tram that connect Rabat and neighboring city Sale and get off in Hassan Tower tram stop.
4. Learn more about history -medieval city Chellah
Not far from Rabat, there is a medieval fortified Muslim city called Chellah. Later it was also taken over by the Romans, but taken back by the locals (Marinids) and rebuilt in the 13th century. The fortress is still intact today. And from the ruins, we saw clearly the halls and rooms of the houses, the royal tomb, the mosque with a minaret, and the Turkish bath. The area is very nice to walk around in, with the reconstructed garden area, it offers a mini botanical garden which the kids enjoyed. We took a cab to get to Chellah and back to the city. One thing one should notice, most travel guide suggest travelers to take Petit Taxi, which is a trusted cheap taxi company with small cars. However, you should note that if you're traveling with two (or more!) kids like us, Petit Taxi will never take you! They are only allowed to take up to 3 passengers in their cars. So the four of us had to take/call the Grand Taxi all the time, which of course has higher fares.
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| The ruins of the mosque and its minaret |
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| Studying the city ruins |
5. Swim (or just dip) in the Atlantic Ocean
Our kids love beaches, so we spent most our time in Rabat in Plage de Rabat. It's probably not the most beautiful beach you'd ever seen in your life, but it has sand, salt water and sea shells, and when the sun is bright, it's basically heaven for them. The waves get really big, so it's not for swimming, but our kids had so much fun dipping their feet in the cold ocean water and running back to the beach playing in the sand. We also watched surfers ride the waves all day long.
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| Watching the surfers riding the waves |
6. Cruise the river in a rowing boat
Our kids love boats, and all kinds of things that float on the water. So we decided to spend one morning cruising the Bouregreg River to see Rabat from another point of view. The small rowing boats line up to take tourists at the marina, and for as little as €5 you can enjoy the ride on the calm river. After the ride, we enjoyed a long walk along the promenade. There are tandem or family bikes to rent along the promenade. We rented a little car toy with pedals which our first born happily rode along the river.
7. Let them get a "tattoo" :)
Introducing local culture to a child while satisfying personal curiosity? Yes, please! Our first born had been interested about her dad's tattoos, and she grabbed every chance to get herself painted -drawing on her legs, face painting, fake tattoo stickers and so on. So we decided to let her get the Moroccan henna on her hands -which Moroccan ladies traditionally get on their special days such as weddings. Henna is plant-based, made from the Old World shrub, and it usually stays around a week before becoming faded completely. She got her hand painted on the very last day in Morocco, because she wanted it to be there when we're back in Brussels since she wanted to show if off at school. Before doing this, please check that you or your child do not have any allergy to henna! I've heard terrible stories about tourists getting allergic reaction to henna on holidays!
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| The intensity of the color depends on how long the henna was left to dry out |
Not only were our days in Rabat packed with fun activities, they were also filled with delicious foods and beverages! We tried a lot of local delicacies, but our kids fell mostly for two drinks: the sugar cane juice and the Moroccan fresh mint tea! To this very day they still want me to make mint tea at home, and every single time they'd say "The one in Morocco was much better!" :)
