Morocco's royal capital — a UNESCO medina the crowds haven't reached, a Kasbah above the Atlantic, and the country's best government cheese market
Rabat is the capital that visitors skip on the way to Marrakech or Fez, which is precisely what makes it the most rewarding Moroccan city for independent travellers. The medina is UNESCO-listed but genuinely uncrowded, the souks are priced for residents rather than tourists, and the Kasbah of the Udayas — a 12th-century Almohad fortress above the Atlantic mouth of the Bou Regreg river — is perhaps the most beautiful spot in Morocco that most visitors have never seen. The city has a different pace from Marrakech: Rabat is a government and university city, cosmopolitan and educated, with excell…
The Almohad dynasty founded Rabat ('ribat' meaning fortified monastery) in the 12th century as a base for Iberian campaigns. The incomplete Hassan Mosque tower (begun 1195, abandoned at the sultan's death) was intended to be the tallest minaret in the world. Rabat and its twin city Salé across the river became a haven for Morisco refugees expelled from Spain after 1609, who established the independent Salé Republic (the 'Barbary Pirates' base) and raided European shipping until the 18th century. The French protectorate (1912–1956) chose Rabat over Fez as the capital because Fez had an establi…