Exploring the Sites in Rabat – Morocco’s Capital, Rabat, Morocco

Images of the picturesque oceanfront Kasbah is what drew us to Morocco’s capital city. In addition to this lovely spot, we found Roman ruins, historic tombs and impressive monuments. It’s not as flashy as some Moroccan cities, but this capital still has a lot of sites that are worth exploring.

Rabat is one of Morocco’s four Imperial Cities along with Fez, Marrakesh and Meknes. All were capital cities at some point in Morocco’s history. When Morocco was a French Protectorate, the capital city was moved from Fez to Rabat. After achieving independence in 1956, they kept the capital in place. As a result, the city has many 20th century French buildings that have a Moroccan flare.

The capital city is more liberal than the rest of the country. That is, liberal in a Muslim country. In all the other cities, you could easily tell the foreigners from the locals. It’s not as easy in Rabat. What we noticed were quite a few Moroccan women that did not wear head coverings and most wore Western attire, like jeans. They do wear long sleeves and long pants or skirts though, so keep this in mind when you visit. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).