the capital: rabat
part of the series “mahendra’s morocco“
© mahendra myshkin 2025
Normally I try to avoid large cities but I had to travel several times to Rabat to obtain marriage papers or permits. So I had enough chances to see two remarkable ancient beauties in the modern day Moroccan capital Rabat: The Chellah and the Kasbah des Oudayas.
At the Chellah some ruins of the original Phoenician and Roman settlements between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE have been excavated and preserved. In the 12th century the Almohads rebuilt and extended the Chellah as a kasbah with huge fortified walls. Later the Marinids transformed it into a necropolis.
Nowadays a sedentary colony of more 70 storks lives on top and around the old buildings and ruins. They leave for a short while in August and return in September.
Rabat’s second remarkable beauty is the Kasbah des Udayas which was built in the 11th century by the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu’min. It’s close to the Medina and the ocean, and it included a palace and a mosque. Nowadays the Medina is still inhabited while the old palace is used as a museum.
From the 17th century onward, Rabat and neighboring Salé became known as strongholds of corsairs, the so-called Sallee Rovers, who preyed on European shipping. Later, under French rule in 1912, Rabat was chosen as Morocco’s administrative capital, a role it still holds today as the seat of government and the official residence of the king. However, at the plage des contrebandiers (smugglers’ beach) the name reminds us of the adventurous past of the area, but there are no traces of smuggling or pirates. Nowadays it is just a relaxed beach where the elements may perform a wild dance at sunset.
