What is inside those windows?
Windows in the Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat, Morocco
Whenever we travel, whether that be here in Australia, or in exotic places like Spain or Morocco, I am fascinated by the amazing variety of architectural styles. In many cases I am moved to take photos – if time permits. In addition to the general style of each building, I also take an interest in the various embellishments people make to their homes or other forms of buildings.
On our visit to Rabat in Morocco we were on a guided tour through the twisted lanes and narrow streets of the Kasbah de Oudaias. This pair of windows made me stop and take a photo.
Immediately the writer in me checked in: who lived behind these windows? What was their story? What tales of love, loss or delight could they tell? I guess I’ll never know; I’ll just have to write my own story.
Musician in the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
Musician in the Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat, Morocco
As we were wandering through the meandering streets and twisting lanes of the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco, we came across this local musician entertaining the passing pedestrians. I think this three-stringed lute is called a guinbri or santir and is common and popular throughout western Africa.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop long to listen to him, but I am pleased I took this photo of him resplendent in his colourful traditional clothes.
Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
In the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
The Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco was our first introduction to some of the amazing and intriguing small lanes and narrow streets in so many of the country’s cities and towns. This area is primarily a living area with little in the way of shops and bazaars and street vendors so typical of the medinas throughout the country. This was a quiet area, with little lanes going off in all directions. I was pleased that we had a guide to take us through, and the show us the way back to our bus.
On the other hand, I would have been quite content to have had several hours to just wander the streets at leisure, taking in the sights, clicking away with my camera and soaking up the atmosphere of this exotic place. This is what I did by myself when in Kathmandu some years ago; it was an excellent way of discovering some wonderful spots.
More photos coming in the next few days.
In the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
In the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
In the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
One of the first long walks we did on our visit to Morocco was through the area known as the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, the capital city. This walk took us through the meandering maze of streets, lanes, apparent dead-ends and old structures like that shown above. The locals living there maintain their properties in colourful ways, as shown below.
I was intrigued by the colourfully decorated walls, windows and doorways. These are typical to the magic and mystery that is Morocco. I could have happily kept wandering for hours, taking in the exotic and exciting sights. Little did I know that in the following two weeks of our visit we would be doing just that. More photos in the coming days and weeks.
In the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
In the Kasbah des Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco
Scenes of Rabat in Morocco
Railway station in Rabat, Morocco
During our visit to Morocco most of our travel was done in a mini-bus with our tour group – except for two camel rides in the desert. I’ll write about that experience in the coming weeks.
After we left our touring group we took the train from Marrakech to Casablanca and then another train to the north coast before crossing over to Spain. We enjoyed our limited train travel in Morocco. Compared to Spanish trains, those in Morocco were what we are used to here in Australia, nowhere near the speeds of Spanish trains. The steady pace of the trains in Morocco meant we were able to take in the wonderful scenery along the way.
The above photo shows the railway station in the capital city, Rabat. We didn’t catch a train here but show this photo to illustrate the fact that the stations we did see in Morocco were clean, modern, well-appointed and welcoming buildings.
A little further on we saw a large group of protesters; I can’t recall now what they were protesting about. This was the only instance we saw of protests or of any civil unrest anywhere in Morocco during our visit.
Protesters in Rabat, Morocco
Rabat, Morocco