This Wed was vaccinations, a visit from the U.S. ambassador to Morocco, and a trip to the medina (market). Will skip to the medina. After a day of lock down in the hotel, we were allowed to leave for 2 hrs that evening before our curfew at 8 PM. Rabat’s medina when we entered during the rush in the evening probably had between 50-100k people packed tightly. It covered several miles in each direction and was like a labyrinth. To my understanding, this maze like quality was built into their construction centuries ago. If invaders (like the Moors, French, and Babri pirates did in Morocco) entered a medina (where many people also live in relation to their shops), residents could scramble and hide.
The medina is the economic bloodline for much of the city’s populace. Next to Rabat’s medina was a Casbah, another market/residency that is enclosed inside a fortress. This one was just off the Atlantic and I’ll talk about our visit their later.
NOTE: the photo above is not of the Rabat medina. It's typical one story buildings are packed tightly together, it's strictly for pedestrians (although some motorcycles came roaring through), and much more decorative. Photos of medinas can probably be found online. For my own safety, I thought it wouldn't be wise to take a picture of a crowd shopping when candid photos are normally frowned upon in Muslim culture. Of note, when one person in my group asked if he could take a Moroccans pic, the woman asked for money. I've heard this happens often in sub-Saharan Africa too. In my opinion, those that are being photographed aren't to blame, but that its a product of our materialist cultural where everything's equated to money. The idea of asking for money for services rendered is foreign to many cultures; it was intro by capitalist states.
The above photo is another from the hotel rooftop. Notice all the antennaes on the right side. I actually see more satellite dishes- they're everywhere.
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