My third day in Morocco began in Rabat. I woke up around 8am and ate breakfast on the roof of the riad that I was staying at. I left around 8:30 and had to leave the medina to find a cab to the train station so I could take the 9am train to Meknes, one of the former capitals of Morocco. The train ride was just over two hours and I took a nap for most of it since I still had some jet lag. When I arrived at the train station in Meknes I had to get a cab into the medina since the train station is pretty far away. The cab driver dropped me off near my hotel and I walked to my hotel, Riad Atika. I was staying in a room called the “Amanda Room”, which amused the owner. “Amanda in the Amanda room!,” he exclaimed when I got there. Apparently his granddaughter was named Amanda, and so the room had been named after her. The riad was very big and incredibly beautiful, and he explained that it had previously been a palace for part of the royal family. I was actually the only guest staying there at the time, so I got the entire place to myself. The views from the top of the roof were especially nice, and there was an impressive terrace on the roof that was a good place to unwind when it wasn’t too hot out.
For lunch I went to a place called Sweet Sultana (Dar Sultana) that I’d read about in several places. I was the only person there, and I ordered couscous, one of the most popular dishes in Morocco. Like many of my other meals in Morocco, the portion was massive and could have easily been shared by at least 4–5 people. It was delicious, but there was no way that I could finish it all. I went back to the riad for what I intended to be a short rest, but I ended up falling asleep and waking up almost two hours later.
I decided to start my sightseeing at Medersa Bou Inania (Bu Inaniya المدرسة أبو عنانية بفاس), right down the street from my riad. There were only a few other people there, so I was able to wander mostly by myself. I really liked the tile designs and woodwork inside.
01 | The central room in the Medersa Bou Inania (click to see more)
02 | Arabesque designs on the walls of the Medersa Bou Inania (click to see more)
03 | The hammam of the Medersa Bou Inania (click to see more)
Next I went to Dar Jamai Museum (Musée Dar Eljamîi), an old riad that’s been converted into an ethnographic museum. The museum is located right on Place el Hedim (ساحة الهديم), the public square in the city where the Bab Mansour gate is.
04 | Dar Jamai Museum
05 | A zelij fountain in the medina
06 | Dar Jamai Museum
07 | Dar Jamai Museum
08 | Bab Mansour Gate (click to see more)
After seeing the museum I bought some comfortable shoes to get me through the rest of the trip, as well as a kessel mitt that’s used at hammams, and a Berber style bracelet that I found out later I’d paid entirely too much for.
09 | Olives for sale in the souks
After looking around the souks I stopped at a cafe in Place El Hedim for a drink and also got some corn on the cob for dinner before heading back to the riad for the night.
10 | Enjoying a Coca-Cola in Place el Hedim (click to see more)
11 | View over the city at sunset
The next day I woke up around 7am and wandered around the medina for a while. Everything was closed because it was early, so there wasn’t much to see, but it was a nice stroll. I went back to the riad and ate breakfast, then checked out and went to the area around Place El Hedim to get a cab to the train station.
12 | The medina early in the morning
13 | A doorway in the medina
14 | A doorway in the medina
15 | A beautiful zellige fountain in the medina
16 | Ornate carvings on a doorway in the medina
17 | A beautiful zellige fountain in the medina
18 | Ornate carvings on a doorway in the medina
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