A day of celebrations

November 18th 2014 is Morocco's national day of independence, it's also the week before Thanksgiving. As many of you may know I like any excuse to celebrate, especially festivals of thanks and gratitude. Really every day we should be thankful for the things we have, the people we meet and the memories we are able to commit to our minds. However it is good to have a day where special thanks is given, involving food, friends and fun. In many cultures around the world there are events and celebrations to this effect. This November 18th I am thankful for so many things but especially the opportunity to explore a new country and the amazing welcome I have had here.

The day started off with a brunch inspired by this yummaliscious recipe. I went shopping for the ingredients the day before but was unable to find brown sugar. I also got distracted by the most juicy looking prickly pears. So my version was Prickly Pear and Apple Pie French Toast :-) and it tasted great. This is what the brunch table looked like:

I must say it looks a bit sloshy on the plate and yes that is a tyre! I'll do a post in the next few weeks about the décor in this flat! It's fab!!

After brunch it was time to enjoy the fantastic exploratory adventure L and K brought me on! First we went down by the riverside. It seems that half of Rabat also went here to celebrate the public holiday. The most interesting thing was that today the walkway was littered by many electronic cars, brought here to be hired out for kids to enjoy - a most fantastic concept.

   

As we walked along a large part of the river was taken up with a digger digging up sand. This sand is then sold onto construction companies and used in different industries.

I thought this was a lovely view of the Oudaya to the right is a ship restaurant. I think I would like to try it sometime :-) I coulsn't resist taking lots of photos as we got closer to the old walled town.

  

Inside the Oudaya we first walked through the beautiful gardens, still full of colour and life. This cute little cat was sunning himself peacefully when I interrupted him to take a picture for my sister. There are many cats in Rabat. I must say I prefer these to the stray dogs in Athens. I think this is because the cats are just there in the background and not as intimidating as the dogs.

These gardens provide a small haven, from the hubbub of the Mdina, for cats, children, everyone. 

From the café next to the walled garden there are stunning views of the white and blue houses which make up the Oudaya. I could have stayed here sipping a mint tea all afternoon but the exploration beckoned.

The narrow streets and high walls make the Oudaya cool even in the midday sun. I love how the blue of the walls almost matches the sky. Here the sky is so often blue you are never bogged down for too long by a grey sky. Regardless of the temperature of the sun, this is definitely a major perk of the weather here.

        

After walking through the streets we took a short rest overlooking the sea. It was blissfully calm and such a peaceful place to contemplate.

               

I simply cannot get over the intricacies in the stone work here and the attention to detail. This was the entrance to one of the beach side buildings. 

The bright white lighthouse is so elegant against the sky, this side of the beach the waves were a tad choppier.

           

I like this picture, the other side of the wall are many many graves. when I saw this I felt it was like the souls are reaching up to heaven.

 

After all the walking it was time for some fresh pomegranate juice. It was a great flavour which I will definitely have again, both sweet and tart and most refreshing.

I ruined this shot by forgetting about my shadow but I feel it adequately captures the crowd in the Mdina. This was a necessary route despite the masses who had descended on this beautiful day in order to reach the "potato sandwich" place.

Finally the resplendent fried potatoes...and a photo of me, about to try them. (This is important as it is the first photo I publish of myself on here - I am no longer anonymous!). These sandwiches fulfilled all their promises and the expectations. I had mine with aubergine, salad, fried potatoes and sauce.

 

I feel that the cats in the city are either loved or hated. These cats were fed tit-bits from one of the food stalls. However I have heard that systematically the cats are fed poison in order to keep the numbers of cats under control. If you are a cat lover this city is most definitely for you. Following the late lunch break in a secluded park right in the middle of the Mdina the day took us to Chellah.

 

Chellah boasts some beautiful ruins and I went snap-happy, These pictures were taken in the old mosque. One of the graves belongs to Abu al-Hasan a sultan who died in 1351.

         

There are an amazing amount of stork nesting at the historic site, their nests are huge. In Moroccan Arabic they are called (phonetically) lack-lack. If you listen out this is what their call sounds like!

          

One thing which has been playing on my mind a lot recently is the interplay between nature and modernisation. This tree represents this is in a way - which came first the wall or the tree?

At the edge of the site you can look out onto the countryside which borders the city of Rabat. This image captured my attention because of all the wonderful things I have seen here in Rabat, this view reminds me of home - the slight slopes of Bedfordshire, dotted with grazing sheep.

As the sun set and the day came to an end the obligatory sunset scape pictures were taken. The bird populations here were plentiful.

             

On the walk home we had  brilliant experience to finish off the day - we got to go into the forbidden city. In Rabat there is a walled city where people who work for the Royal family live. This is in part a forbidden city as you cannot enter without permission. However as we needed a pharmacy and it was late we had to go to the late night emergency one, which just happened to be located within these walls. Therefore we didn't technically see much and we were intently questioned as to our intentions and where we were going. In the end they believed us and let us through but we had some beady eyes watching us until we left :-)