The city and the sea (and the lost things inbetween)

This post is an observation of the city. It is a description of a place that you will not find in a common travel guide because common travel guides cannnot convey feelings, smells, and dynamics. This is a post about culture and subculture as well as structure and chaos. 

Rabat (though often perceived as conservative and boring) is a city of controversial's to me. Controversial enough at least that even though I haven't lived here for such a long time I can notice this easily on my way to work. Let me take you on my daily taxi ride from El Youssoufia to the center and through my lunch break to the sea. Let me take you to the crowded Medina with tiny stores and endless turning ways. 

1. The Origin : El Youssoufia 

When I leave the house at 8 o'clock in the morning, El Youssoufia awakes. The street right in front of my house lies still. Although the street remains empty you can hear the noises of boiling tea kettles, screaming children and sizzling frying pans from nearby houses when you walk. As soon as you reach the main road however you are no longer alone . The market Street is filled with mothers walking their children to school. Along the way you can see store owners unpacking fruits, vegetables, fish and bread. You can already hear people bargaining for better prices and coworkers shouting instructions across the street. The women are dressed in Jillabah and most of them wear headscarves for hijab. I am recognized as foreign by most people and therefore greeted in french instead of darija. El Youssoufia reproduces the image off on the rock him village that I had in mind before arriving.

2. The Stream: a Taxi to La Garre

On the edge of Youssoufia lies the taxi station. About 20 people are silently waiting in line to get a taxi. Therefore they are lined up on the sidewalk facing the street. On top of the line there is a man who distributes the people to the taxis. It is hard to calculate how long you will have to wait for a taxi because sometimes there just aren't enough cabs and other times it's hard to gather three people (needed for the cheaper sharing taxis) who can share a cab. The people in line are very different. Since the destination, "La Garre", is incidentally also very close to governmental ministries, many of them wear suits and formal shirts. Others are university students and some look like workers. We drive along the walls of the city, the ancient walls of ancient castles. Then we turn left and enter the center of Rabat. On the main road to the center there are countless government institutions, all decorated with Moroccan flags. One by one the government employees leave, at the ministry of economics, at the tribunal and finally with me at La Garre which is close to the Parlament. In this area you can see newer buildings and cleaner streets. The sidewalks are broad and here and there you find people selling books, cloths or smartphones. To me, this isn't a beautiful area but Moroccans seam to like it because of its wealthy flair. 

3. The Barrage: Medina 

To get to the sea (where I often spend my lunch breaks) I have to walk through Medina. I belief every cities' Medina is similar and only differ in the products that are offered and the quantity of the zuks (though I can not verify that information yet). Medina is always crowded, no matter the time and zuk. Like in Youssoufia Medina fulfills the cliche expectations of morrocan markets, only here they don't primarily sell food, but cloths, leather products, handmade ceramics and carpets. You can find almost everything here really. Often you have to watch out for men carrying wooden carts through the narrow streets. You are forced to walk slowly along the other people which is enjoying and calming at once. In the anonymous hum you can find calm and slow down your thoughts. To the sea I walk along my favorite street:the artesania zuk. This street is wider than the others and not as crowded which gives you time to admire the handcrafted goods in the tiny shops. 

4. The Waterfall: Oudaya 

The artesania street opens up in front of me and there lie the steps of the Kasbah. The Kasbah is the entrance to the immense wall surrounded district of Oudaya. It takes at least five minutes to climb the broad steps. On the small garden next to the staircase are sitting women offering to do Henna for tourists. When you make it to the top, you can turn right to walk to the ancient looking entrance. An entirely new style of architecture appears. The houses look like they grew out of the earth and were shaped by the wind. They are all painted in blue and white, the colors of Andalusia. The doors are heavy and decorated with Moroccan patterns and tiles. The people who live here seem to be a bit younger and more open minded than the average population of Rabat. There is a lot of beauty in Oudaya as well in the houses as in the people. 

5. The Sea

When you walk around Kasbah a stunning view over the shore of Rabat appears. And an unconventional one too. Separated from the beach only by a white wall lie miles and miles of gravestones. It is an impressive picture with a morbid beauty to it. There may be more dead people in Rabat than there are alive ones. The alive people by the beach resemble the most European people. Especially the surfers don't live the Moroccan life. They speak English fluently, listen to pop music and have no concerns for how much of a women's body is showing whatsoever. They even die the tips of their hair blond. When I'm at the beach, I don't like to sit on the sand with all the tourists and football playing teenagers. I climb some rocks close to the shore where no one else seems to go. Only on top of the rocks, leaning against the castle walls there is an improvised little hut made of rugs and corrugated iron. I sit on the rocks and read a book when suddenly an old man is standing behind me. He offers me tea, smiling, then turns around and climbs back into his tiny home.