Visiting the Tri-Strait Area

28-Oct-23 NB: Shokran means thank you in Arabic & it's pretty much the only Arabic word we remembered 😸 Our last day in Morocco was a whirlwind of a drive. We arrived in the capital city of Rabat for just a few hours to hit the highlights. It's only been the capital city since independence in 1955; before that it was a haven for 17th century Barbary pirates, which means it must have a crazy cool history...but sadly, no time for that.   Rabat's old city wall Our first view of the Moroccan coastline! We drove past its two modern icons: the brand new Mohammed VI Tower and the sinuous Grand Théâtre of Rabat, designed to either mimic the flow of the Bou Regreg River or the curvature of Arabic calligraphy. Or maybe both! Mohammed VI Tower  Grand Théâtre of Rabat Hassan Tower was our main reason for visiting. The 12th century minaret was constructed as the first part of a much larger planned mosque complex however, the only the support columns of the mosque were ...

27-Oct-23 Today was another big travel day from Chefchaouen in the northern Rif Mountains to Meknes, heading south towards the coast & our final stop in Morocco.  We had a few hours on a very cloudy, drizzly day to check out Chefchaouen on our own, so of course, as we do, we booked a free walking tour. 😉 For centuries Chefchaoen was just a sleepy agricultural/fishing town that, due to being so far north, doubled as a military outpost against invading Spanish & Portuguese. It started to grow in population during the Middle Ages when Muslim and Jewish refugees were fleeing the Reconquista on the Iberian Peninsula. Supposedly, this remained the case even after WWII, when Jewish people were fleeing Europe. Fortified city walls Entrance gate to the old city ...and thus begins the 'legend of the blue walls'. Nowadays, the big tourist draw in Chefchaouen is the color blue - all the walls and many streets are painted dazzling colors of blue. And it's beautiful! There are v...