Hassan tower & Mausoluem of Mohammed V in Rabat
On our way out of Rabat we visited two of its famous monuments. Hassan Tower and Mausoluem of Mohammed V was just two kilometers from our stay “Dar Mounia”. We drove passed the park where both monuments stood and turned left onto a side road where many nice houses were sited. There we parked by the side of the road where “parking” was indicated.
Entrance to the park where Hassan Tower and Mausoluem of Mohammed V sat was free. The weather was fine, sunny and cool which was great for a leisurely walk to explore the park. Hassan Tower was a minaret of an incomplete mosque. It was commissioned by Abu Yusuf Taqub al-Mansur the third caliph of the Almohad Caliphate near the end of the 12th century. When he died in 1999, construction on the mosque stopped.
The sandstone tower looked pretty impressive standing tall. It was planned for a height of 80m and was intended to to be the tallest minaret to be built then. The minaret was left standing at 44 meters and the incomplete mosque consisted of 348 columns no ceiling/roof and a incomplete wall. This incomplete minaret and mosque were now a landmark of Rabat.
Another significant landmark of Rabat was the Mausoleum of Mohammed V who died in 1961. Construction of his mausoleum was commissioned by Hassan II.
Walking around the park we saw two beautiful fountains. One larger one and a smaller star shape one.
Hassan Tower was not open for entry, but the mausoleum was. The exterior of the mausoleum was whitish and moorish in design.
We entered the mausoleum through a beautiful arch door guarded by a royal guard and walked into the dark interior. Once our eyes adjusted to the darkness we were greeted with beautifully tiled walls. There was a huge sunken floor taking up almost the entire floor area of the mausoleum. Looking down we saw three coffins. A larger white marble coffin in the center and two smaller ones in front of it.
The center coffin was the final resting place of Mohammed V. The smaller ones were the resting places of two of his sons, Prince Abdallah and King Hassan II. Above our head was a magnificent ceiling. The carving were intricate and full of gold.
Driving towards Asilah
Near to noon we were done with Hassan Tower and Mohammed IV Mausoleum we left the park and went back to our car. A guy came by to collect 10MAD. He did not wear any uniform so we were not sure if he was a authentic parking attendee anyway we just paid him in cash and left. From Rabat was a 2.5 hour drive to Asilah another seaside town.
The drive on the highway was pretty smooth and midway we detoured into a highway rest area for coffee break. The restarea was very nice and modern and the toilet new and clean.
At Asilah we booked an apartment just a short walking distance from the Asilah town. We parked our car on the road side by our apartment, checked in, took a short rest and were ready to explore Asilah. Asilah was a fortified town facing the Alantic Ocean. It was a short 400 meters walk from our stay and very quick we arrived at a thick stone arch gate into the medina of Asilah.
The old walled town/medina’s history dated back to 1500 B.C. It was well-preserved and the houses were built mostly from the Portuguese occupation (15th–16th centuries) and afterwards. The medina had been extensively restored and its buildings were typically painted white with blue cobalt doors and windows. The houses and streets were clean, pretty and quaint. This town/medina looked prettier than that of Rabat.
Asilah was a also known as the town of “artists”. Many of the white walls of the houses became the natural canvases of local and international artists. Besides the wall mural paintngs, there were many vendors selling art works by the streets. It was not high tourism season so the places was not crowded with tourists. We had a very pleasant time strolling leisurely through the streets looking at the colourful mural paintings.
Apparently the mural painting started in 1978 when two friends Mohammed Melehi and Mohamed Benaïssa invited some artists to paint the ruining walls of Asilah village. Now annually international artists re-painted the murals on the whitewashed houses in the medina during the Asilah Art Festival.
Nearing to sunset time we settled ourselves by the wall of the medina that faced the Atlantic Ocean. Patiently waiting for the golden hour. It was another beautiful sunset experience for us.
For dinner, we had already picked a famous restaurant. It was “Dar Al Maghrebia” ” which had many great reviews on the internet. When we reached the door of the restaurant we were sadden to find out that it was closed. A signed outside the restaurant indicated that it was closed for a couple of days due to Ramadan!
We looked for alternatives but was surprised that many of the restuarants that were opened earlier in the day were closed in the evening. We were in the midst of the Ramadan period (4 days to the end of Ramadan) and many restaurants closed early in the evening so that their staff could break their fast.
While we were looking a bit loss a young local man approached us and offered to help. I felt wary and did not want to engage him, but Yat Thong thought there was no harm talking to him. The young man told us that he could bring us to a nice restaurant and requested us to follow him.
After walking a short distance on then same street that we had passed earlier he pointed to a road side restaurant which was opened and blatantly requested for money just before we were about to part. We gave him some money and I showed him our displeasure. I knew it! He wasn’t genuine in wanting to help! It was all about getting some quick “$” from ignorant tourists! A important reminder to us not to engage with locals that approached us!
Dinner was not nice. The fish was over cooked and the dish looked messy. All in dinner costed 95MAD, which was very inexpensive and also unappetising.
Our Stay in Asilah
We booked an apartment “Puerto Marina Asilah” from Booking.com. We chosen this apartment because we wanted to have more space and to be able to cook our breakfast in the morning. Furthermore this apartment was just a short walking distance from the fortified old town, Asilah.
Our apartment came with free parking anda beach view. It had a large balcony, big kitchen and big living room. The cost was 64Euro for one night without meal.
Other accommodation in Asilah
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