🇲🇦 We had an awesome day in Rabat, capital of Morocco. Five of us were picked up at Casablanca cruise port in a comfy minivan and driven on a modern 3 lane toll road ~1 hour to Rabat where we met our knowledgeable personable guide Mohammed. He showed us the sights on this beautiful day, including the Royal Palace, the Mohammed V Mausoleum, and the highlight, Chellah, a UNESCO site containing extensive Roman ruins and the remains of a medieval Muslim necropolis, where nesting storks perched atop each pillar, looking down at the visitors like sentries, a very cool experience. We also wandered around UNESCO site Kasbah des Oudaias, now a residential village, and Mohammed pointed out the differences between houses once occupied by Jews vs Arabs. After a yummy break of Moroccan mint tea and pastries we said goodbye to Mohammed and walked across the street to Rabat’s Medina, its old city, with narrow alleys lined with vendors and eateries. He recommended Dar el Medina for authentic tagine and couscous, and we really enjoyed it with new friend Andrea, during our one hour on-our-own time. Then the return drive was much fun as we joked about how things transpired today. 

A hundred riot police lined the port entry upon our return in anticipation of an anti-American late afternoon rally since a ship with supplies bound for Israel was to refuel here. Many stayed on board due to the threat of civil unrest here, but most like us ventured out. The planned demonstrations turned out to be a non event. 

Casablanca is huge and gritty, with many interesting areas and many areas to avoid, but Rabat was clean, peaceful and delightful with lots to see, a great choice for an excursion, and ours ($91 by Premium Transfers & Tours via Viator) was a fraction of what Princess charged for their big group tour there. Back at the ship we played pickleball “in Morocco.”