The most beautiful place at Rabat is the Kasbah des Oudaïas. In fact, it is a combination of two kasbahs created by two different Moroccan dynasties to protect the city from pirates and serving as a royal seat. Directly at the ocean you can discover the old kasbah which is today a residential area filled with restaurants and touristy shops. You can climb up between the houses to the bélvèdere giving you great views on the ocean and the river. It is easy to imagine how this was once a military facility to protect the city. You can enter and leave this place through the historic Bab des Oudaïas gate.
Some meters down the hill you can feel like being at Andalusia: the historic palace is connected to a large garden with lots of water and different species of plants, especially exotic fruit trees unexpected in this region. If you like you can walk to a terrace near the shore where you’ll find the Café Maure, a nice coffee bar with great views on the river. The name of the coffee bar also explains the reason for the wonderful garden: when the Arabs were defeated by the Spanish in Andalusia during the Reconquista, a lot of them fled to Rabat and were called Maures there.
You can find the Kasbah des Oudaïas north of the medina where the Bou-Regreg runs into the ocean. Don’t miss to leave the kasbah and walk to the harbor in the south: it is not only the collection of boats on the river Bou-Regreg which attracts visitors, it is also the best place to have a great picture of the kasbah fortification walls next to the water.
Kasbah des Oudaïas
Rabat
Morocco
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