The Rabat Medina

Bonjour,

I like to call the Rabat Medina the "Beginners' Medina".

That's not because it is small. It's a fairly big medina, it has some pretty architecture and features, and it seems to have most of the stuff you can buy in Fes and Marrakech.

But it is much more relaxed and low-pressure than either of those two. And it is not really targeted to tourists at all but to regular Moroccans, which makes it feel very "real".

While going to the medina takes energy -- it's a fairly long bus ride there for us, the medina can be crowded, and you can walk for hours -- there's always something to see. It's been easy to familiarize ourselves with most of the streets and alleys, and we've met many friendly shopkeepers. But best of all, we can find nearly everything we need in one large area.

For example, in our last few visits to the medina, we bought the following items:

candles
computer cord
prickly pears (peeled and gobbled down on the spot by Anna and Tommy)
basil plant
sweaters
ceramics
a soccer jersey
warm, fresh donuts (eaten right before the prickly pears)
woven purses (made from cactus fibers)
silver charms
freshly-pressed sugar cane juice (mixed with lime and drunk after the prickly pears)
hair barrettes
a DVD
gourmet coffee (really good stuff)
mejdool dates
hamster food
leather slippers
pomegranates
an embroidered shirt
guitar strings

Of course, you could buy some of these items at the Marjane (Morocco's answer to Target). But at the Marjane, you can't arrange to have an upholstered pillow repaired, pick up a new skirt for Anna (you give the shop some fabric and a skirt she already has and tell them to make a "photocopie"), or drop off a watch for repairs -- all things we also did on our last couple of trips to the Rabat medina. You also can't bring in a painting to have it matted and framed (for much, much less than in the States).

Besides you can also check out and reject the opportunity to buy quite a variety of other interesting things: From black lace teddies...

to calves (and goats?) feet....

and from low-riding men's jeans (and we're talking low)...

to roasted cow's head.

While we certainly haven't had a chance to check out every medina in Morocco, the Rabat medina, the Fes medina (with its mystical, middle-eastern feel), and the Essaouira medina (so small and charming) are my favorites so far.

But if you drive, beware where you park, or you can come back to this:

Although even the experience of being booted can be kind of a cool here...

My friend Marie and I called the number on the ticket, and we were assured that someone would be there within 5 minutes to take the boot off. It was more like 10-15 minutes, but in the meantime, several really nice Moroccans, on their way to the Friday afternoon prayers at the mosques, came up and assured us that they too had called on our behalf to make sure that the traffic folks were coming to "release" us.

And, in the end, the fine was less than $5.

A bientot,

Kim