It’s very easy to change plans without a fixed itinerary and zero sponsors, traveling suddenly begins to be mercurial once again. What should’ve been a straight ride from Rabat to Chefchaoen has been rerouted not once (see our Three Days in Asilah) but twice. The Spanish City of Tetouan reared its head as we were checking the bus route to the Blue City. Dubbed as the White City, Tetouan attracted us by a single thing, its medina’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
From the language alone, we knew that we’re now on a different part of Morocco. From French in Casablanca, Rabat, and Sale, the lingua franca changed to Spanish once we arrived in Asilah. And along with the language, we expected the food to somewhat change a bit as well.
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| ROASTED CHICKEN IS A STAPLE ALONG THE SPANISH-SPEAKING AREAS OF MOROCCO |
We had rice on our first meal in Asilah, so we’re definitely loving it here! We sat down at Ali Baba [35.463799, -6.037815], seeing their prices to be reasonable enough. We asked for turmeric fried rice paired with roasted chicken and fries (MAD 30.00 | USD 3.00)—a staple among the Spanish-speaking areas of Morocco. It was kinda strange since the menu was in French, but they were speaking to us in Spanish. Serving size is generous so we decided to scrimp and share. The roasted chicken is extremely flavorful, we decided to eat at the same restaurant the next day.
I cannot remember how Asilah got squeezed in into our itinerary—a benefit of traveling for a long period in Morocco. We were supposed to head to Chefchaouen after staying in Rabat for three days but here we were, walking the final two kilometers from the train station to town—the sparkling sea on our right, a field of wildflowers with a couple of camels grazing on our left. It all sounds very beautiful and all, except we’re hauling all our belongings with us in the middle of the warm/cold Moroccan afternoon. This town better be worth it.
After having an introductory taste of Moroccan food during our four days in Casablanca, we wanted to advance our taste buds to a few more local dishes. Rabat was our second city for our month-long trip around the country, and its bustling old medina was the perfect grounds for another round of food tasting, Moroccan style.
ADDRESS: AVENUE MOHAMMED V, RABAT MEDINA, RABAT | OPENING HOURS: 10:00AM TO 11:00PM | GPS MAP: 34.024861, -6.839653
To be honest, we didn’t really get all out adventurous during our three days in Rabat and our day trip to Sale. Our first meal, an early dinner on our first day, was at this popular local restaurant or more like an eatery, Inza. It’s an open-air affair with very tight al fresco seats along the Avenue Mohammed V—the medina’s main artery—and they mostly serve all sorts of pizzas, paninis, shawarma, and other local Moroccan meals. We liked the food we had so much that we went back again twice on our second and third day in Rabat.
Should we go? That was the question we were trying to answer as we dilly-dallied whether to cross the street onto the tram platform or go back the way we came. The town of Salé was only a few minutes away by tram, and why we were debating on whether we should visit or not, baffled even us. The deciding point was the tram fare, a measly MAD 6.00 (USD 0.60). We went.
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| ATYPICAL ALLEY IN SALE |
Salé literally sits right beside Rabat, separated only by the Bou Regreg River. It is more of a residential city than Rabat, in fact, most people who work in Rabat lives in Salé. But surprisingly, tourists who visit Rabat, hardly ever take a quick side trip to Salé. Being indecisive ourselves, I really can’t tell why. Besides being older and more historic than Rabat, it’s just there!
Having spent four days in Casablanca—three days too long, according to legit traveler standards—we thought of skipping Rabat, Morocco’s capital city, and instead, head straight to Chefchaouen, the country’s famous Blue City. We’ve been reading a bit before going, and Rabat, being one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco (the other three being Marrakech, Meknes, and Fes) and the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription attributed to its medina and surrounding sites decided it for us. We’re going.
Our Rabat three-day itinerary basically went like this. The first day, half of which was spent transferring from Casablanca to Rabat, was spent roaming the northern side of the Old Medina—the cliffside area, lighthouse, beach, the kasbah, and parts of the medina. The second day, we went to the farther places in Rabat, visiting the Hassan Tower, the neighboring town of Sale, and the Chellah. On the third day, we roamed the Old Medina again right after breakfast, then prepared for our next destination, Asilah.
We eat almost everything. And during our Moroccan four-day Casablanca opener, we wolfed down every new thing we see, from McDonald’s burgers we haven’t seen elsewhere but in Morocco, to mystery meats being grilled along the corners of the medina. We really don’t have much money, so we almost exclusively ate along the streets and alleys of Casablanca. No fancy restaurants for us—even if we really wanted to. But okay, no, we don’t like eating on fancy restaurants, lol. We like to eat what the locals eat, and that includes fast food, haha.
It was totally unexpected that we’d be scared of Casablanca. Isn’t it supposed to be all glorious beaches and syrupy romance? But that’s what we felt the moment we came out of the train that brought us from the airport to the Casa Port station. Without saying a word to C, she also sensed it. The guide books and blogs don’t mention it, but there’s something about this city that makes you keep your phone in your pocket and your cameras zipped tight inside your bag.
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| SUNSET AT CASABLANCA’S MEDINA |
We arrived at Morocco’s largest and one of its oldest cities after a grueling twenty three-hour flight from Singapore to Casablanca via Jeddah. Tired but elated that we’re finally in Morocco, we stepped out of the plane and got the shock of our lives. It’s cold. Like sixteen degrees cold. Like total ignoramuses, we expected Africa to be hot, especially during the summer months. The summer months in South East Asia, that is. We’re in Northern Africa, dufus, and we didn’t have a single winter clothes with us.
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