shave and a haircut

We finally made it to Rabat - the capitol city of Morocco.  Now why we finally made it to Rabat is kind of a funny story as it's not everyday someone travels over an hour north by train to get a haircut.  

I get my hair cut at a place here in Casablanca.  I like it and they do a good job - it's hard to do a bad job for the equivalent of $4.00; however, barbers here do not fade hair.  So a week after I get a haircut the back looks like I never went in the first place.  When discussing this fact with our friend Richard, he informed us that he always went to Rabat to get his hair cut because he had found that elusive Moroccan barber who fades hair.  We asked if we could accompany him to his next haircut and he graciously consented.  And so last Saturday we set out for haircuts.

  

 

We left Casablanca from the port train station (the only station in town we hadn't been to yet) and took the train north to Rabat.  It was enjoyable to sit back and watch the ocean and the countryside and small talk on the way.  In Rabat we walked the few blocks to the barber and Becky and Richard sat back and practiced Arabic numbers while I got my haircut.  Then Becky and I watched while Richard got his summer cut.  We then got a cab and headed off to lunch at a restaurant Richard knew of (we were very lucky to have Richard as a guide as he'd lived in Rabat for several years).  After lunch we took a cab to the market in the medina.  After walking through the medina and souk we came out at the kasbah.  It was so peaceful looking out at the ocean from the top of the kasbah and looking back up the river towards the city.  We then walked through the tranquil streets of the kasbah to a tea and cookie shop that Richard knew of that looked out over the river.  How delicious!

We then took a cab to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Hassan Tower.  Though the mausoleum was built in the early 1970's, the half completed Hassan Tower, and the surrounding pillars are part of an unfinished mosque that was abandoned in 1199.  Richard then took us to some old sites he knew of which was a lot of fun and allowed us to see so much of the city we wouldn't normally see.  Near the end of our trip we took a ride on the Rabat tram which was an enjoyable first for all of us. 

 

We then caught the train back to Casablanca and headed home thoroughly exhausted, but very happy and content.

For all our Rabat pictures click HERE.