"God protects those who visit the King's Palace"

We head out today to visit the capital of Morocco which is the city of Rabat. We stop at the Kings Palace which is heavily guarded...so....no siting of the King. The grounds are adorned with gardens and are well tended. Of course, there is a mosque where one of the facts we learn is that the spire with the three orbs represent Judaism (top), Christianity (middle) and Muslim (bottom).

We continue on to visit Bab Rouah a.k.a. "Gate of the Winds" due to the battering of the Atlantic winds it has endured since its construction in 1197. It is the most majestic of the five gates located in Rabat and, at one time, served as the entrance to the city. It is now a gallery which is dedicated to displaying contemporary art created by local Moroccan artists.

Hassan Tower and the mausoleum of Mohammed V which contains the tombs of King Hassan II and his 2 sons are the two most visited sites in Morocco. Hassan Tower is an incomplete mosque due to sultan Yacoub al Mansour's death during construction. this brought everything to a halt. These two landmarks are heavily guarded by elaborately decorated Royal Moroccan guards ( white horses included). A reader of the Koran has an assigned seat and is often present.

Kasbah of the Udayas is another worthwhile fortress to explore. I've read about the blue and white streets of this well preserved fortress and I'm excited see it. It was built in the 12 th century and after the death of Yacoub al Mansour the kasbah was deserted after being destroyed during the capture of Rabat.

Along the way we stroll through the French-colonial Andalusian gardens which is beautiful beside the ruins of the fortress.

Chellah: the Muslim burial ground and ruins of an ancient Roman outpost. It was first established as a trading emporium and called Sale. Rick kept seeing signs that said Sale and was wondering what was being sold. Sale also became a Muslim burial ground. There actually was no operation out of Sale ( called old Sale) but operated out of the city center which is now known as Rabat (New Sale).

Mohammed asked us we on the way back to our Villa if we would like to get the feel of the medina in Rabat. We were game!

After a full day we decided to take advantage of the beautiful pool again which "wet" our appetites. During the swim we heard our first "call to prayer" (which Rick calls... 'the horn'). We experienced a "mall of restaurants" tonight where we enjoyed a bite to eat with a few new friends.