Rabat Capital of Morocco

Rabat is the capital and the second largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco. Situated in north-western Morocco, the region of Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer . The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg. Rabat is a home to all the Moroccan ministries, the Parliament, the Mohammed V University and some beautiful monuments. It is a cosmopolitan city, with a relaxed atmosphere and almost no hustlers at all, unlike Marrakech for example, because it has yet to become a tourist destination. It does not have many shopping districts  and it’s an easy going city by Moroccan standards. The tourism and the presence of all foreign embassies in Morocco make Rabat to be  one of the most important cities in the country. Rabat is famous for its many historical monuments, luxurious carpets and rich embroidered goods. A good thing about  this  city is that you can easily explore the city on your own without any help of a guide.
With the city centre of Rabat being very compact, all the points of interest are in walking distance. The city  has a number of wide boulevards and is full of interesting historical sites and monuments. The heart of the city consists of three parts: the Medina (old town), the Oudayas and Hassan.
Medina
One of the must-see attractions is the Medina of Rabat, which is in the older part of the city, it’s  a home to a few very good cafe-restaurants which  are  moderately priced and inexpensive. In the Ville Nouvelle you will find a fine selection of Moroccan and French restaurants for five-star cuisine and also a few Oriental Restaurants for a change in cuisine. In the medina of Rabat there are lots of traditional shops and cafes that you can visit and explore. Rabat's medina is a pleasure to walk around in . You can find here  a leather footwear bazaar where you will see interesting leather shoes, leather bags and wallets at a good price. There are lots of Moroccan craft shops that contain a variety of items, like the well-known Rabat and Berber carpets and embroidered fabrics. If  you  will enter  the  Green  Street in medina  you  will  find the  stalls  with the  meantha tea, this type  of tea  is  also called  Moroccan vodka  as it’s  the  cheapest  drink in Morocco. Tourists  can make  bargains  at Rabat's medina and so are assured of coming away with a couple of items to take home .

Transport
The Rabat International Airport is in the nearby town of Salé. The city has limited international connections, so the  better way to  get  to  Casablanca and then come to Rabat by train or coach.
Rabat is well served by train and you can get frequent connections to most places. There are two stations in Rabat - Centre Ville (Medina/Downtown) and Agdal. A tram and a taxi station are located just next to the downtown train station. It's possible to get a bus from almost any town in the country to Rabat. The buses often do not stop at the central bus station, but instead go through the city.

Eat and drink
Eating out in Rabat is easy and often affordable. Traditional food is mostly meat and pasta based, and while many restaurants serve alcohol because of the European influence in the city, Morocco is  a Muslim country and alcohol can be hard to come by. Green tea, the national beverage, can be found everywhere and is a cheap alternative.
In the centre there are often inexpensive food stalls around the medina, serving delicious fish and salad sandwiches. Especially found right around the perimeter of the Marche Centrale, these places also serve fresh and simple salads, hot bowls of beans or lentils, rotisserie chicken, and home-made tagines. There are also lots of stalls selling pancakes and pain au chocolat.
Cheap restaurants and snacks in medina can be found mostly on Avenue Mohammed V. Also, around lunchtime (between 12am and 3pm) makeshift food stalls are mounted and you can smell roasted meat, cooked snails, fried fish and such.
Make sure to try tajine kefta aux oeufs (meatballs in spicy tomato sauce with eggs) and brochettes el bahia (grilled lamb kebab) in Moroccan cuisines. The restaurants has fish on the menu  and  also  a  big  chose of  meat dishes.

What to Do
The Mausoleum of Mohammed V is one of the most important monuments in Morocco. It is here that the founder of modern and independent Morocco, the father of the nation, king Mohammed V is laid to rest. Next to the tomb of Mohammed V is the tomb of Hassan II, his son, and the father of the present king, Mohammed VI. The royal tomb is beautifully decorated in wood, stucco and zellij mosaic, inside an open chamber which can be seen (and photographed) by visitors from the gallery surrounding it.
The Kasbah des Oudaias is the fortification built on a hill, overlooking the ocean and Salé. The white  ochre walls surround it from all sides, while the small, winding streets inside it are really charming, with all the houses being painted in white and blue.
Inside the Kasbah, there are also Andalusian Gardens, filled with palms, orange trees, flowers and cats. During the warm part of the year, you will see many local students study here.
The Rue des Consuls is the most charming street in Rabat's medina. Only craft shops can be found here, and the colors of the rugs, pottery, leather goods, lamps and wooden furniture are really charming.
Chellah is the old necropolis situated at the end of Avenue John Kennedy, it  is a really great place to take a walk and enjoy the nature and the view over the Bou Regreg river valley. Here is possible to  see olive and orange trees  everywhere.
The Royal Palace in Rabat is the place  the King mostly resides . Any building inside this area is non-accessible, but you can take photos of the Palace building. There are royal palaces not only in every imperial city (Rabat, Marrakech, Fes and Meknes) but in other, smaller towns too, all over Morocco.
The unique Hassan Tower, begun at the end of the 12th century, was meant to have the world's largest minaret, but was never completed. It’s  situated  opposite  the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.


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Moroccan Cuisine... a primer holidays

Moroccan Cuisine... a primer holidays

All right we had a question thread earlier about Moroccan Food. Now I am not an expert on it by any means but I do my fair share of using their wonderful spices and flavor combinations, so lets try this thread again with a little added information and goodness.

Let's start with Wikipedia's description:

Moroccan cuisine is extremely diverse, thanks to Morocco's interaction with other cultures and nations over the centuries. Moroccan cuisine has been subject to Berber, Moorish, Mediterranean, and Arab influences. The cooks in the royal kitchens of Fez, Meknes, Marrakesh, Rabat and Tetouan refined it over the centuries and created the basis for what is known as Moroccan cuisine today.

Spices are used extensively in Moroccan food. While spices have been imported to Morocco for thousands of years, many ingredients, like saffron from Tiliouine, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from Fez, are home-grown. Common spices include karfa (cinnamon), kamoun (cumin), kharkoum (turmeric), skinjbir (ginger), libzar (pepper) , tahmira (paprika), anise seed, sesame seeds, qesbour (coriander), maadnous (parsley), zaafran beldi (saffron) and mint.

First let's talk about Morocco.

Morocco is in many ways a country apart. It nestles on the northwestern tip of Africa, separated from the rest of the continent by the towering Atlas Mountains and by the Sahara itself. Its climate, geography, and history are all more closely related to the Mediterranean than to the rest of Africa, and for this reason visitors are often struck by the odd sensation of having not quite reached Africa in Morocco. In the north, its fine beaches, lush highland valleys, and evocative old cities reinforce this impression. Yet, as one moves south and east, into and over the starkly beautiful ranges of the Atlases, Morocco's Mediterranean character melts away like a mirage. The Sahara stretches out to the horizon, and forbidding kasbahs stare.

http://www.geographia.com/morocco/

Nomads called Berbers were the first inhabitants of Morocco over two thousand years ago. They used local ingredients, such as olives, figs, and dates, to prepare lamb and poultry stews. Over time, traders and conquering nations introduced new food customs. Among them were the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans. However, the strongest influence on native cooking was the Arab invasion in the seventh century A.D.

The Arabs brought with them new breads and other foods made from grains. They introduced spices including cinnamon, ginger, saffron, cumin, and caraway. They also introduced sweet-and-sour cooking, which they had learned from the Persians. Moors from Andalusia in southern Spain also influenced Moroccan cooking. The pastilla, or bisteeya, a popular pigeon pie in Morocco, was originally a Moorish dish. In modern times, the French and the British made contributions to Moroccan cuisine.

Morocco, unlike most other African countries, produces all the food it needs to feed its people. Its many home-grown fruits and vegetables include oranges, melons, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, and potatoes. Five more native products that are especially important in Moroccan cooking are lemons, olives, figs, dates, and almonds. Located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the country is rich in fish and seafood. Beef is not plentiful, so meals are usually built around lamb or poultry.

Flat, round Moroccan bread is eaten at every meal. The Moroccan national dish is the tajine, a lamb or poultry stew. Other common ingredients may include almonds, hard-boiled eggs, prunes, lemons, tomatoes, and other vegetables. The tajine, like other Moroccan dishes, is known for its distinctive flavoring, which comes from spices including saffron, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, and ground red pepper. The tajine's name is taken from the distinctive earthenware dish with a cone-shaped top in which it is cooked and served. Another Moroccan dietary staple is couscous, made from fine grains of a wheat product called semolina. It is served many different ways, with vegetables, meat, or seafood.

Sweets play a very important role in the Moroccan diet. Every household has a supply of homemade sweet desserts made from almonds, honey, and other ingredients. Mint tea is served with every meal in Morocco. It is sweetened while it is still in the pot.

So let's talk about Moroccan Mint Tea.

The method of preparation of atai is relatively complex and varies from region to region. It is normally sweeter in the north of Morocco than in the south, and in some places, pine nuts are added. In the winter, if mint is rare, sometimes leaves of wormwood (chiba or sheeba in Moroccan Arabic) are substituted for (or used to complement) the mint, giving the tea a distinctly bitter flavor. Lemon Verbena (louiza in Moroccan) is also used to give it a lemony flavor.

Moroccan tea being served. It is poured from a distance to produce a foam on the tea.

The typical green tea used is a gunpowder tea variety imported from China. A simple and practical method runs as follows:

In a teapot, combine two teaspoons of tea-leaf with half a litre of boiling water. Allow it to steep for at least fifteen minutes. Without stirring, filter the mixture into a different stainless steel pot, so that the tea leaves and coarse powder are removed. Add sugar (about one teaspoon per decilitre).

Bring to boil over a medium heat. This important step in the preparation process allows the sugar to undergo hydrolysis, giving the tea its distinctive taste. If desired, add fresh mint leaves to the teapot or directly to the cup. Remember to remove the mint within two minutes, as it can give some people acid reflux.

Traditionally the tea is served three times, and the amount of time the tea has been steeping gives each of the three glasses of tea a unique flavor, described in this famous proverb:
Le premier verre est aussi amer que la vie,
le deuxième est aussi fort que l'amour,
le troisième est aussi doux que la mort.

The first glass is as bitter as life,
the second glass is as strong as love,
the third glass is as gentle as death.

Okay couscous. A staple. It seems like everything is served with couscous or Matlouh (more on that later). Coucous is made from flour usually. In fact it is a very small pasta technically. Couscous can be bought at most stores, preparing is as simple as placing it in a bowl, pouring really hot water on it and covering it then wandering off for 15 minutes. Uncover and fluff it witha fork and its ready. Mix in everything you want. I like dried apricots and mint leaves if I am just eating couscous. Or leave it plain and put it on a plate, ladle out your tagine wonderfulness on top of it.

Now the classic, Tagines. I have an Emile Henry Tagine in "flame red." It is wonderful. For those without more than 100 bucks to spend on one. All I can say is you should. morocco culture,moroccan food,morocco food,moroccan cuisine,morocco beaches,moroccan meal,beaches in morocco,moroccan culture,hercules cave,hercules cave morocco

Mint Tea, Morocco

Glasses filled to the rim with mint, and a healthy helping of sugar, stand ready for the preparation of Morocco’s distinctive green tea. The beverage refreshes the spirit on a hot day in Marrakech, but it’s far more than a thirst quencher. The tea’s preparation and enjoyment are an essential part of the Moroccan culture and a “must-try” experience for any visitor




Tea for two or two for tea, Moroccan tea can make love. It gathers people to sit together or a couple to provide a good decision about their love. To make it you need love from your senses translated into actions of hands. Its items are simple and love each other. You need only fresh mint leaves and green tea with a taste of sugar and hot water. All together in a nice tea-pot under the heat. The leaves of mint and green tea resist the hot water and enjoy the sweet taste of sugar.

       While cooking, the fresh mint leaves and the green tea start dancing harmoniously expressing their love. Sugar is the taste of love. The hot water is the warmth of hearts and feelings. The tea-pot is a romantic disco to reveal the spiritual devotion between green tea and the fresh mint leaves. They enjoy the music of the oven to produce a liquid of love.

       Moroccan tea is always for two to express love. Even when a person drinks it alone, it is tea for two. The taste of love drives to remember the beloved person of his or her life. Drink Moroccan tea to love peace and love. This liquid of love is curable for human senses.


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