Rabat, Morocco cover page. |
Map of Morocco with the star indicating Rabat. |
View of the Rabat City Hall. |
Minaret (a tower attached to a mosque, used for the call to prayer) of a mosque that I walked by in Rabat. |
A wall with three entrance gates surrounds the Royal Palace. |
View of the Royal Palace. It was built during the second half of the 19th century. |
Ahl-Fas mosque is where the King leads prayers on Fridays. It is located in the open space (the Mechouare) by the Royal Palace. |
Arched doorway at the entrance to the Royal Palace. |
Guards in front of the Royal Palace. There wasn't much to do since the president was away that day. |
Close-up of one of the Royal Guards at the Royal Palace. |
Entrance to the courtyard of the Hassan Mosque. |
Guards on horseback guarding the entrance to the Hassan Mosque. |
This guard and these people were at the right of the gate. |
View of the square in front of the Hassan Mosque with the minaret in the background. |
The massive minaret of the Hassan Mosque dates from 1195. It towers over Rabat. |
Each façade of the minaret is intricately patterned with different motifs. |
At the other end of the square is the mausoleum where King Mohammed V lies. |
This is where the late Mohammed V, returning from exile, gathered thousands of Moroccans to thank God for their independence. |
Front view of the mausoleum with people standing on the steps leading up to it. |
King Mohammed V (1909-1961) is regarded as a national hero in Morocco since he negotiated independence from France in 1956. |
Hundreds of Moroccans come every day to honor to the deceased king who lies entombed in the white onyx. |
These Muslim women were at the mosque in homage to King Mohammed V. |
Royal Guard at the entrance to the mausoleum where King Mohammed V is entombed. |
Here I am saluting Mohammed V while I was standing next to the Royal Guard at his mausoleum. |
Inside the mausoleum is the tomb of Mohammed V as seen below. |
View of the ornate golden ceiling, which is over the tomb. |
Close-up of the ceiling showing the intricate detail of its design. |
View of the square in front of the Hassan Mosque as I left the mausoleum. I took this photo with a wide-angle lens. |
Another view of the square with the arched entrance door of the mausoleum on the left. |
The square with a beautiful street light, the Hassan Mosque and a gorgeous sky that day. |
I passed this fruit and vegetable stand in one of the narrow passageways of Rabat's medina (old town section). |
An open market inside of Rabat's medina. |
Since it was late in the afternoon, there was lots of traffic in this medina market in Rabat. |
Medina cats in Rabat. |
I stayed in the 3-star Hotel Balima in Rabat. It is very centrally located on Avenue Mohammed V close to the medina. |
At the end of the day, I took this photo of the Rabat City Hall at night from my hotel window. |