Lazy Days in Rabat

 Today has already been a lazy, perfect Sunday.  I woke up late (which is rare for me here) and enjoyed a nice breakfast of toast, jam and delicious coffee (delicious because it was ¾ whole milk, ¼ coffee) with my host family.  The weather has been sunny these last few days after the few days of torrential downpour that struck Morocco, so we ate outside in the courtyard.  Afterwards, I went for the first time to the Catholic Church here in Rabat.  Normally I try and attend the Protestant service, but today I felt the urge to check out a different type of service.  Here is a photo of the exterior of the church.

The interior is simple but very well maintained.  The entire church was packed, and as I arrived a little late, there was only room in the very back on some benches.  As most services here, it was in French so I did my best to try and understand what the service was about.  My favorite part of the service though was the music.  The choir was hands down the best I had ever heard.  Church is a nice way for me to maintain some normalcy in my life here.  Although the service is in French, the actions and motions are the same as in America.  As I am exposed to some many new and great experiences here, it is nice to feel that I have some sort of connection to the culture and religion I have left behind.

After the service ended, I decided to continue my leisure afternoon by visiting the Tour Hassan and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.  These two sites are directly next to my new house.  Le Tour Hassan (Hassan Tower) overlooks the Oued Bou Regreg (a river that separates Rabat from Sale and leads to the ocean) and was started by the Almohads.  Their goal was to build the second largest mosque of its time (only second to Samarra in Iraq).  The Sultan of that time (al-Mansour) wanted to build a 60meter tall minaret, but unfortunately he died before it could be completed and the minaret reached only the height of 44 meters. The mosque that went along with the minaret was destroyed in 1755 when an earthquake struck.  As you can see in my photos, all that remains now are various pillars surrounding the tower.  An interesting architectural note for anyone who has visited either Seville or Marrakech, this tower was built with the Giralda (Seville) and the Koutoubia (Marrakech) in mind. 

Right next to the tower is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.  Mohammed V was King of Morocco years ago (he is grandfather of the current King) and his body, along with his son and previous King Hassan II, are buried here.  

Although this is the area I run in every day, this was my first time visiting the sights.  My neighborhood is home to a lot of embassies so I feel safe running because there’s security everywhere.  Although I do miss running on the beach with the fresh ocean air, there was so much traffic that sometimes it became impossible to breathe.