Rabat

In Rabat, everything is blue. From the intense blue of the sky and the sea to nestling within the protection of the ochre-colored ramparts, a gleaming white city and a minaret (tower) that reaches up to lick the clouds: this is Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Rabat has a long history as a capital city. In the XIIth century, Yacoub el-Mansour, the great Almohades conqueror, chose it to be the symbol of his splendor. But history had already been made at Rabat. The Marinades (XIIIth and XIVth century) honored the city by making it the site of the Chellah necropolis, building on the ruins of the ancient Roman town of Sale. History has left its mark upon Rabat, and Rabat honors those who made it. Yacoub el-Mansour was honored with the Hassan tower, dominating what should have been one of the greatest mosques in the Muslim world, or the mausoleum of the late King Mohammed V, architect of Moroccan independence in 1956 and the imposing Royal Palace, residence of the king and seat of the government since 1912.