Rabat
“Rabat, modern capital and historic city, a shared heritage” shows different construction phases from the Almohad period (12th century) up to the present day.
The city was substantially modernized by the French from 1912 on, resulting in the Ville Nouvelle.
The site consists of:
- The New Town
- Jardin d’Essais
- The Medina of Rabat
- The Oudaïa Kasbah
- The Almohad ramparts and gates
- The archaeological site of Chellah
- Hassan Mosque and Mohammed V Mausoleum,
- Habous de Diour Jamaâ quarter
Map of Rabat
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Els Slots
The Moroccan capital Rabat is a pleasant and neat city, that is large and varied enough to warrant at least half a day’s visit. Its overall feel is fairly modern, but not as harsh as Casablanca, and – as stated in its OUV - the 20th-century French town planners handled it with respect for the existing heritage. I walked its streets in a loop of about 11km: railway station – Medina – Kasbah – city walls - Hassan Tower – railway station. I skipped the Chellah (much further away) which I knew was closed for renovations, and also the Habous neighbourhood which seemed not to be worth a detour being a normal residential area with modernist influences.
I arrived by train from Casablanca, and then immediately found myself in the early 20th-century Ville Nouvelle. Notable buildings along Boulevard Mohammed V include the Post Office (photo top left) and the Railway Station. There’s lots of greenery as well, the roads are lined with palm trees.
Because I visited on a Friday morning, the Medina was deserted. That was an excellent opportunity to get some unobstructed pictures of the wooden balconies of the shops (photo top right).
The Kasbah is a major landmark of the city, but I found it a bit disappointing. The gate Bab Oudaya is said to be one of Maghreb’s most outstanding, however, the decorations did not hold my attention for long. I did enjoy the Andalusian gardens next door, hidden behind a wall (photo bottom left).
I then walked on southward. From the harbour parking lot, you have good views of the Kasbah and the Andalusian city walls. Across the street, they have put up an interesting collection of information cubes that highlight the various parts of the World Heritage nomination. I don’t think there is an official plaque.
A bit more uphill lies the Hassan Tower, which can be seen from afar but only photographed well when you’re inside its walled enclosure. The two main gates here are manned by two Royal Horse Guards each, as the unfinished 12th century Tower nowadays shares its space with the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V. The mausoleum was designed by a Vietnamese architect in the late 1960s and is a very fine piece of 20th-century architecture in my opinion (photo bottom right). In hindsight, this complex was my favourite part of Rabat because of its monumentality.
Finally, I walked back through the city center towards the railway station, passing also the slightly weird St. Peter’s Cathedral (some say it’s Art Deco).
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GabLabCebu
WHS#44
Rabat was one of the most memorable short city visits I made in my trip to Europe and Morocco in May 2017. My family and I took a side trip from Spain to see Marrakesh, so we made our way to Tarifa, took the ferry to Tangier, and managed to strike a deal with a taxi driver to take us to Rabat. After driving by the "King's palace" and the famous Hassan Tower, he dropped us at a hotel, where we decided, due to our very small time budget, to take the night train to Marrakesh instead of staying the night. My family was content to laze around at the train station while waiting for the time, but I sure wasn't. I wasn't gonna have this WHS slip completely through my fingers. With the very little time I had, I decided to visit the one place I had wanted to the most: the Kasbah of the Udayas. Before the tight schedule had been implemented on Morocco, I had planned to visit Chefchaouen, so when I saw pictures of the Kasbah in Rabat, I figured it would be quite similar, with its picturesque old lanes covered in blue. Obviously, I can't say if it actually was similar, but it was a great experience. Just riding that taxi was a great experience in itself, with our talkative taxi driver pointing out another, much less convincing "King's palace."
While I imagined Chefchaouen to be like an idyllic fantasy, the Kasbah was more like a walk through history. Its characteristically Islamic monumental gates welcome you grandly, its castle-like walls towering majestically and lined with rich gardens. Walking in, I could instantly feel the history around me. All the buildings are quite old and blocky, but they have their charm in colors. Everything you see is blue and white paint or brown brick, which makes the streets extra atmospheric. Of course, this is a living district of the city, and people are clearly still going about with their daily lives here, but it's strangely peaceful. The crowds disappear when you step into the pretty blue alleys that twist and climb around the Kasbah. Eventually, we emerged from the streets to the lookout towards the mouth of the Bou Regreg river. It was an incredibly scenic spot, most especially thanks to the clean bright blue of the river down below. The cool salty wind and the seagulls really helped the atmosphere to sink in. Despite being in the bustling capital city of Morocco, the Kasbah has managed to maintain its atmosphere of coastal cliffside calm, and I think that's what separates it from any other place in Morocco. While I don't have a whole lot to judge it on, I'd say the Kasbah of the Udayas has a unique OUV all by itself.
Of course, the Kasbah is not all that Rabat has to offer. The medina looked to be quite interesting from the road, and the French colonial buildings were everywhere. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to visit the Chellah, which is another very interesting historic site in Rabat. I know that a few hours wasn't at all enough to judge Rabat by, but alas, that is all I had. While I don't think Rabat would be the biggest highlight on a trip to Morocco, it's definitely worth seeing for its unique and interesting historic sites. As a whole, it might just be the most historically diverse city in Morocco. You aren't limited to a medina here, but a whole city with a long story, a cultural crossroads of its own. I think Rabat definitely has OUV in its historic sites, and I'd love to return to see the rest of them.
Clyde
I visited this WHS in April 2018. I used it as my base to cover another 2 WHS along the Atlantic Coast together with Casablanca tWHS before heading towards Tetouan.
I felt that unlike the other medina WHS in Morocco, Rabat's OUV lies more in a series of separate outstanding buildings which help to understand the evolution of Rabat from "historic times" to nowadays. My hotel was situated right next to the Oudaias Kasbah which is best enjoyed at sunset. Sunrise over the neverending hills of tombs leading down to the coast, just behind the kasbah, is very worthwhile if you have time. After sunrise another view worth your time is the view of the kasbah and medina from the right bank of the Bou Regreg river in Salé.
Apart from the medina itself, the true highlights during my visit were the unfinished Hassan Tower juxtaposed with the modern Mausoleum of Mohammad V with its splendid fountains and the interesting Chellah. Sunset is the best time to visit both sites. The Chellah is quite far away from the medina so its best to visit on your way in or out of Rabat. It is a medieval fortified Muslim necropolis with Phoenician, Roman and Muslim elements. The recently restored entrance gate to the Chellah necropolis is already an impressive sight to behold from outside the remparts. Inside the walled necropolis, the ruins of the Chellah sanctuary stand side by side with the Roman ruins of a basilica, walls, traces of mosaics and a funerary stele.
The highlight of the Chellah necropolis ruins is the 13th century minaret with colourful zellig which has been completely 'dominated' by several storks which built their nest on top of it and on top of the crumbling remains of the Mausoleum of Abu Al Hassan (1351) and the adjacent medersa. In 1755, the Lisbon earthquake caused considerable damage to these remains. Behind the medersa most locals head to the Bassin aux Anguiles which was previously used as the mosque's ablution hall. Locals believe that the eels that now reside in it come from a miraculous source which they believe cures infertility. That is why locals feed the eels by throwing boiled eggs in the water. Besides the rather big eels, there's a turtle and a large fish too.
All in all I enjoyed my 3 nights in the Moroccan capital and it can also be used as an alternative hotspot to Meknes/Fes if you hire a car.
Michael Turtle
I don't think Rabat is one the usual tourist trail but it is worth a day or two. There's a good mix of places here that are part of the official WHS listing.
The mosque that was never finished is fascinating - it looks like it could be ruins but the tower is complete, which should be a clue that actually it is just unfinished.
The Kasbah is beautiful and great to explore. I would recommend going at sunset because it's at its prettiest then.
And the old fortress of Chellah is also really interesting. There's not much left standing but you can get a good sense of what it was like.
I would recommend staying in the medina and there are some really nice riads here. It is much quieter than the big medinas in places like Fez or Marrakech and you can easily spend some time exploring what it has to offer.
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John booth
I travelled to Rabat by one of the frequent trains from Casablanca Port.
The contrast between the old and new was most pronounced here, with the ancient Kasbah des Oudiadas on its rocky promontory only a short tram ride from the stark white structure of the Cathedral of St Pierre.
Ian Cade
Rabat may not be everyone's cup of tea but we ended up really enjoying our trip there. The official title of the WHS is a little cumbersome but does actually reflect the qualities of the site, highlighting the continuation of the urban landscape from the roman period to the present day.
While some new towns in North African cities can seem sterile or lacking character, the one in Rabat doesn't just fall into being this sort of dead, commercial space - it is a living, essential part of the whole city. It was our introduction to the city, as we came in through the lovely train station being surprised by the cosmopolitan atmosphere and the hurry of bureaucrats heading off to their offices; it was almost like being back in London and I must admit this sense of home was welcome after a bit of time in the labyrinths of Fez. After admiring some of the architecture and some Italian food we headed off to see the more monumental sites.
The Chella was our first stop, and on reflection was our favourite spot in the city. The drive there gave us great sweeping views of the city walls and once inside the mixture of Roman and Islamic ruins proved to be very entertaining. Perhaps our favourite part though was the gardens at the bottom where we sat listening to the trickling fountains whilst watching the storks fly back and forth from their comically large nests.
A shared taxi took us to the Tour Hassan; the remains of a massive, uncompleted mosque. The tower was originally meant to be the largest minaret in the world, but it now sits at the end of a large square of partially erected pillars, leading to the elaborate though somewhat sterile modern Mausoleum of Mohammed V. After this visit we headed up to the Kasbah which is chock-full of pleasant winding lanes, whitewashed walls and some pleasant Andalucian gardens. It also offers lovely views across the harbour to the Salé, showing what was once the feared home of the famous Barbary pirates. From the Kasbah we had a nice stroll through the medina, which was very active but not as intense as many of the other royal cities in the country.
Rabat showed a mix of many different influences but here especially the relationship between Islamic and French ideas really worked well, instead of being two separate entities. Rabat manages to incorporate the wide boulevards of the French Ville nouvelle into the overall plan of the city making one unique whole, and also it is home to some pretty impressive Islamic sights (Chella, Kasbah, Tour Hassan). Whilst it may be stretching it to suggest that many would find this to be a highlight of Morocco I still think it is well worth a visit to find a coherent mix of the many aspects that make up contemporary Morocco.
[Site 6: Experience 8]
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Site Info
- Full Name
- Rabat, modern capital and historic city: a shared heritage
- Unesco ID
- 1401
- Country
- Morocco
- Inscribed
- 2012
- Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
-
2 4
- Categories
- Urban landscape - Urban continuity
- Link
- By ID
Site History
2012 Revision
Includes former TWHS Kasbah of the Udayas (2006), Tour Hassan, Site de Chellah and Ville antique de Sala (partially, only Chellah) (1995)
2012 Inscribed
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