Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
When people visit Morocco, they typically visit the four villes impériales: Fès, Meknès, Marrakech and Rabat. These four have been capital cities throughout time for different dynasties of rulers: Idrisids (Fès), Almoravids (Marrakech), Almohads (Marrakech), Marinids (Fès), Saadis (Marrakech, Fès) and Alaouites (Fès, Meknès, Rabat). They shaped their favorite cities, contributed new buildings to them and left their traces.
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Not far away from the Place Lahdim of Meknès you can find the Mausolée de Moulay Ismaïl, a large mausoleum integrated into a mosque. Typically, these religious places are not accessible for non-muslims, but in Meknès this is different: you can take off your shoes and have a look at the mosque and into the burial chamber. Both are lovely decorated in ceramics and marble with an Andalusian-style fountain as the centerpiece. The mosque itself is actually in use and the two open spaces inside the complex are used for open-air prayer as well.
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When visiting Meknès, the Riad Yacout is a good option for staying overnight. It is not only located directly between the mausoleum of Moulay Ismaïl and the Medina, it is also close to the Bab Mansour city gate and the place Lahdim. Furthermore its entrance is facing the Place Lalla Aouda, a large parking area that can be easily reached by taxi from the train station. What I absolutely enjoyed is the amazing roof terrace of the Riad, giving you great views on the city and the minaret of the mosque being part of the mausoleum.
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Once you reach the medina of Rabat you’ll see that it is entirely surrounded by an ancient city wall. The streets within are mostly traffic-free (with the exception of the Avenue Laalou passing between medina and necropolis), which gives you a nice experience while walking through the old town but also challenges you with the question of how to reach your guesthouse. The Riad Zyo is pretty easy to recht: after passing the Bab Laalou you only need to walk some meters on the Avenue Mohammad V and then turn right into the Rue Moreno. A small plaque at the wall will signal you that you’ve reached your destination.
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Casablanca is the economic powerhouse of Morocco and its medina has unfortunately been destroyed by the earthquake of Lisboa in 1755. It feels acceptable to in this case not aim for a classic guesthouse but to check-in at a plain vanilla hotel. The Hotel Kenzi Basma is located at the Boulevard Hassan I between the medina and the Place Mohammed V with its administrational buildings. From the hotel main entrance it is easy to reach the central Place des Nations-Unies and to access the tramway network.
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The international airport of Casablanca (CMN) is located 30 kilometers south of the city. It was built in 1943 during World War II by the United States (who used it until 1963) and has two runways. 7.6 million passengers use the Aéroport international de Mohammed V – Nouasseur Casablanca every year, making it one of the top 5 airports in Africa.
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In the 1970s the Deutsches Familienkaufhaus (DeFaKa, a shopping mall) at Hannover needed a temporary new home because their normal location at the Seilwinderstraße close to the Kröpcke was rebuilt. For that reason a flat building behind the main railway station of Hannover was constructed and surprisingly it is still there today: in 1977 it was not torn down but became the Kulturzentrum Pavillon, a socio-cultural center which serves as a public library, a concert venue and a bar.
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To protect the Kaiserpfalz at Goslar, emperor Henry IV initiated the construction of the Große Harzburg between 1065 and 1068 CE. The fortification is located on the Burgberg, a very good strategic position which was by that time easy to defend. Henry was at war with the Saxonians and had to flee to the Harzburg which he also used to safely store relics and as a crypt for his family. Few years later in 1074 he had to agree to slight the fortification which exposed the Harzburg to looting by local farmers.
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In 220 BCE Roman censor Gaius Flaminius ordered the creation of the Via Flaminia, a road connecting Roma with the Adriatic coast. It led all the way to Ariminium, todays Rimini. The endpoint of the Via Flaminia was the Arch of Augustus named after the first Roman emperor – and it is there still today, with its Roman inscriptions and images of Roman gods. But the Arco d’Augusto is not the only Roman trace at Rimini, there is more to discover: especially a beautiful bridge.
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San Marino was founded in 301 and is probably the oldest still existing republic with the oldest still used constitution (established in 1600). The country only has 30,000 inhabitants – much less then most European cities – and is fully surrounded by Italy. Official language is Italian, currency is the Euro; but the country is not part of the European Union (only of the United Nations). The legend says that quarryman Marinus fled from Rimini because Christians were prosecuted in the Roman Empire and went up to mount Titano to build a monastery there.
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