Visiting Casablanca and Rabat

Casablanca and Rabat, separated by scarcely an hour's drive along the beautiful Atlantic coast, are Morocco's twin cities of misconception.

Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, the wealthiest, the economic driver: the largest port in Morocco, immortalized by Hollywood and home to the country's principal international airport.

Rabat is the country's capital, an imperial city, full of grand boulevards, parks and beaches. In a country full of royal palaces, this is the one where the King actually lives most of the time.

And yet, they are the two major cities often passed over by travellers, or at best given an hour or two before heading out towards Chefchaouen, Fès or Marrakech.

Azdean and Sam chat today about that reality, as it does often feature on Destination Morocco tours. It comes down to how much time you have, and what your priorities are.

Casablanca has a historic Jewish Quarter, great public squares for people-watching, art galleries, restaurants and the best night life in the country.

Rabat has beautiful museums, reflecting its stature as national capital and a stately city. It offers a more calm, quiet ambience than Morocco's other big cities, and that alone is a nice change of pace.

Our episode today is an overview of things to see and do in these two cities, whether you have a short amount of time or can add an extra day or two to your itinerary. You won't regret it.

Sights Mentioned in this episode:

CASABLANCA:
Hassan II Mosque

Sacred Heart Cathedral

Royal Palace of Casablanca

Mohammed V Square

Villa des Arts museum and cultural centre

Rick's Café

Jewish Quarter

RABAT:
Medina

Royal Palace of Rabat

Mohammed V Mausoleum/Hassan Tower

Kasbah of the Udayas/Andalusian Gardens

Amazing viewpoint

Bab Rouah Gate and Art Gallery

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Transcript

AZDEAN: 0:50

 Welcome to the Destination Morocco podcast, the show that takes you way to the beautiful country of Morocco. I am your host, azadeen Al-Mustakim. In each episode, we explore Moroccan culture, history, attractions and activities real and practical information coming from experienced travelers and native Moroccans like myself. Our goal is to help travelers that are struggling with planning any type of trip to Morocco. Our company, destination Morocco, builds personalized tour packages that will ensure you enjoy our country just like local. Follow us at DestinationMoroccoco and now let's go exploring. 

Welcome back to Destination Morocco podcast. In this episode, we have Sam again. We're going to be discussing Kazablanca and robot Sam. Welcome back to the podcast. So glad to have you.

SAM: 2:00

 Thank you very much, mr Azadeen, for the invitation. Thank you so much.

AZDEAN: 2:03

 You're very welcome. So the question that I have for you I know we've thought quite a bit last episode and was a lot of fun and a lot of people have really enjoyed it. It's got a lot of good content, valuable content, and so we'll try to do the same in this episode. So somebody's going to Kazablanca or they land in Kazablanca and they want to do a few things. What can you tell us about the highlights for just a typical Kazablanca tour, If you would please? Sam?

SAM: 2:30

 Kazablanca is the largest city of Morocco and the economic capital. We can call it small New York or Morocco, because it's always busy and people just running around and running around. So when you land in Kazablanca, I recommend highly first to visit the Hassan's second mosque. This Muslim architecture is a masterpiece of Arabic world and the second largest mosque in Africa and the fifth in the world. To enjoy it, you have to hire a guide or local guide. There are so many guys that is speaking different languages At the place. When you buy ticket, there is a place near the mosque where you hire a guide. The tour it takes like between 40 minutes, 50 minutes to an hour depends on your city tour. If you want to see inside and outside and take some amazing photos of the mosque from outside and inside, it takes like an hour. As I said, kazablanca is a coastal Atlantic city and it's very beautiful. When you visit the mosque, I recommend highly to have a walk on the Cornish of India, which is a beautiful coastal line just starting from the mosque along the Atlantic coast.

AZDEAN: 3:46

 Okay, so for the people that are going to start their tour, for example, within the mosque the mosque is the outside, which is free to everybody. They can just walk around and take pictures, beautiful, beautiful pictures, and then if they want to go inside, they can, but they have to buy tickets at the kiosk and then they can pay for a local guide, just for the mosque, not for the city tour, just for the mosque, and they can go in and explore the masterpiece of the Hassan II mosque. Is that correct?

SAM: 4:14

 Absolutely, that's correct, okay, yeah. So after the mosque and the Cornish, there is many restaurants where you can enjoy lunch, or enjoy a mint tea or a drink, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. They provide Moroccan food, international food, mediterranean food, european food everything for everyone in Casablanca.

AZDEAN: 4:37

 That's amazing.

SAM: 4:38

 Yeah, in Casablanca as well. If you want to expand your city tour of Casablanca, you may visit the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Lourdes, which is one of the iconic cathedrals in Morocco. It's amazing. It's beautifully decorated by a French architect, paul Tomot, and it's built in 1930 of the last century.

AZDEAN: 5:01

 Oh, wow. So the question that I have, Sam, please if you would. So now we've talked about the local guide for the mosque. Only Now, if we're doing the typical Casablanca tour, where can you hire a local guide for the rest of the city versus just the mosque? Can you ask the tour guide that you're going to meet at the mosque to do a city tour with you, or can you hire them on your own somewhere else?

SAM: 5:24

 Yeah, this is a very good question. So all the guides doing the visit of the mosque are local guides in Kazablanca, so they can do both the mosque and the city tour of Kazablanca.

AZDEAN: 5:35

 Okay, makes sense.

SAM: 5:36

 As well. There is an association of the local guides in Kazablanca where you can hire a local guide to do all the highlights and the city tour of Kazablanca.

AZDEAN: 5:45

 Okay, perfect. What else can we see in a typical tour in Kazablanca, please?

SAM: 5:50

 So we can see the Royal Palace of Kazablanca and the Habu district. It's the old quarter of Kazablanca. It's not the old Medina. By the way, Kazablanca doesn't have old Medina like, for example, Marrakech or Fez or Isauera or Rabat. Even Kazablanca is just a small old town. If you see Kazablanca, you can just see the impact of Portugal, Portugal, especially when we're talking about architecture in Kazablanca. We can see the impact on Kazablanca's buildings and architecture and, by the way, the name comes from Kazablanca and it's Portugal name, by the way.

AZDEAN: 6:29

 I see. What does it mean?

SAM: 6:31

 La Maison Blanche is White House. Okay, yes, in English.

AZDEAN: 6:37

 Now any specific quarters that people can visit or specific areas besides what you have just mentioned in Kazablanca, please?

SAM: 6:44

 Kazablanca as well. We can see the place Mohamed V or the United Nations Square. It's a busy square. It's one of the best places for locals and for tourists as well in Kazablanca, so you can just see you walk and see the gardens and enjoy moments there, just walking around the United Nations Square. Besides that, one of the things that you can see in Kazablanca is Villa Dizar.

AZDEAN: 7:10

 Okay.

SAM: 7:11

 Yeah, Villa Dizar is a museum of contemporary art that you can visit in Kazablanca. It's gathering the modern and ancient art of the city.

AZDEAN: 7:21

 Oh, I see Okay.

SAM: 7:22

 Yeah, you have the city of Kazablanca, starting from the past and modern one.

AZDEAN: 7:27

 Okay, that's great. I want to ask you I get this question quite a bit and it's about Riggs Cafe Can you tell us about Riggs Cafe and would you recommend it for somebody to go see it? What are your thoughts on it, since that place has become really famous because of the movie Kazablanca back in 1942, I believe. So what can you tell us about that place? Is it worth it, is it not worth it, or just what are the thoughts, please?

SAM: 7:53

 Yeah, for the Riggs Cafe that is apparently in the Kazablanca movie. I highly recommend it. But if you want to have lunch or dinner in Riggs Cafe you have to book in advance because it's mostly fully booked. So you have to book it in advance in order to enjoy they provide. By the way, they serve Moroccan and international dishes. Yeah, of course, with drinks, soft drinks and alcohol drinks.

AZDEAN: 8:18

 Okay, perfect. What about the Jewish history of Kazablanca? Any sites that should be included in a typical tour of Kazablanca? Yes, some.

SAM: 8:26

 Yes, there is the old Jewish quarry in Casablanca is not as big as the other Milah or Jewish quarries and the other cities like Marrakech or Chlorifes, but you can see it on the old media. You can see the same architecture, for example, especially the balconies, the houses, okay yeah, of the city. It takes half an hour to explore the Jewish quarry.

AZDEAN: 8:48

 Okay, yeah, okay.

SAM: 8:49

 That's it, it's interesting. It's kind of small but it's not yeah, it's not like the big Milah or Jewish quarries on the other cities of Marrakech.

AZDEAN: 8:57

 Okay, what about for guests that want to do exact same thing that you have just said, but they want to go to a restaurant and have kosher food and Jewish food? What are places that you would recommend in a tour like this in Casablanca?

SAM: 9:10

 For the kosher food. There is a famous restaurant near the rick's coffee, just in front of the rick's coffee, where you can enjoy Jewish food or kosher food in Casablanca. It is a famous one which provides a very good quality of kosher food.

AZDEAN: 9:24

 That's excellent. What else can you add, please, sam?

SAM: 9:27

 Casablanca is worth visit when you are in Morocco, when you land in Morocco, and especially, don't miss visiting the Hassan's second mosque. It's amazing. It's the only mosque that you can visit in Morocco and it's very interesting. The architecture inside is just amazing the ceilings, the marble, the decoration and Wood carving and so on and so forth. It's just a masterpiece of that mixing the Andalusian, the Arabic, berber and Muslim. The mosque is just amazing.

AZDEAN: 9:58

 Okay, the next question that I have. So in this tour that you have just described to us, starting, for example, at Hassan mosque, going all the way to these different sites, how many hours typically does he take to cover a really, really good portion of the Attractions and the must-see things in Casablanca, please, sam?

SAM: 10:17

 to explore Casablanca. Casablanca city tour may takes between two hours to four hours, okay, yeah. So, yeah, if you are. If you are, for example, if you have only short time in Casablanca, like two hours, I recommend to visit Hassan's second mosque and have a walk into Cornish. Okay, so if you have like a half day, you can do it on half day. It's more than enough to explore Casablanca in a half day, and the Transporation is mandatory in Casablanca because it's so busy and you have to be careful when you are discovering Casablanca.

AZDEAN: 10:50

 I can just imagine. Now the other question that I have, please. I'm just thinking. You know a lot of people when they travel to Casablanca Obviously it is the biggest airport. Some come from Europe, some come from the US and they come in different time zones. So somebody who comes in from Europe, they land in Morocco, for example, at 8 30 am, they have no issue, you know, staying up, no jet lag, nothing, so they can start the tour really really right away. However, for somebody else who's coming from the US you know whether Miami, washington, you know New York it's it's gonna take them some time to adjust. So would you recommend for the long flights, if they arrive to Morocco in the morning, to take a little break in a few hours, then come back, maybe early afternoon and start with the mosque visit and do the rest of the city? And also, I forgot to ask earlier about the times, the opening and closure of the visits for the mosque of Casablanca. I know that the time changes from summertime to winter time. If you can clarify and explain that to us, please? Sam?

SAM: 11:51

 Sure, when you come from Europe, short flights so you can just land in Casablanca after three hours or two hours. So it's easy for you just to check into your hotel and Relax for half an hour and get out to visit the mosque, as you say. It is very interesting to know the people to know about the visits of the hasn't taken the mosque in Casablanca. So there is two times winter time. In winter time, starting from September 16 to March 14, the visits in the morning starts from 9, the second one is 10 and the third one is 11 and the fourth one is 12. Then in the afternoon there is only one visit, which is 3 pm, but this is from Saturday to Thursday. Fridays there is only two visits because people praying on Friday and at the mosque. So there is only two visits, one starting from 9 and another one at 10 and the second one is 3 pm. So for yeah, for the summertime is starting from March 15 to September 15, there is four visits. For visits during the morning and two visits in the afternoon, the first one nine, second one ten am, eleven am and twelve am 12 pm. Yeah, so in the afternoon they add another visit first. One start at three pm and the second one is four pm.

AZDEAN: 13:09

 Oh, I see, yeah, okay, those are really good hours. Okay, yeah, excellent. Thank you for sharing that.

SAM: 13:15

 Yeah, and during Ramadan. During Ramadan there is only from Saturday to Thursday there is four visits one at nine am, one at ten, one at eleven am and another one at two pm.

AZDEAN: 13:29

 Okay, yeah, I see. Okay, this is really good. So we got a lot of information about cuz a blanka. There's a lot more to see in cuz a blanka than just the mask, as a lot of people might think. Now it takes me to my next question how does the culture of cuz a blanka Differ or different from the other cities? I visited cuz a blanka, my cousin, my family. It is different, but how can you explain it to people who are just visiting Morocco, maybe for the first time? They don't know that there's a different culture in cuz a blanka versus Marrakech, versus Mcnash, sheffshaw and so forth and so forth. Can you elaborate on that Please?

SAM: 14:05

 Yes, this is a very good question. Cuz a blanka is unlike Marrakech, unlike face, unlike, for example, robot or 10 year, because they are not familiar with tourists. So the people, yeah, the people, it's not like, for example, marrakech every, everyone will come in you when you come to the city, to the Meeting I especially, or to Jamal Knaz Square, we want to say hello, hello, hello, hello, you know, welcome, blah, blah blah. So in cuz a blanka, no, the people are via, as I say that the beginning is like New York, it's people are a business mentality, so they don't have time to talk to you. You know, it's just busy, just keep running and going and so on. You know, yeah, the culture is different from the other cities of Morocco.

AZDEAN: 14:46

 You're a hundred percent right, yes, but what I love about cuz a blanka really is the nightlife. It is very different and I think, in my opinion, it's really one of the best in Morocco. I'm not talking about clubbing, but I'm talking about, for example, live music. I'm talking about local music. It's just like you know, if you're talking about Austin, austin, texas, it's, it has that vibe, you know, kind of a hippie at night, which is really really nice and I really enjoy it.

SAM: 15:11

 Absolutely yes, cuz a blanka by night is also different because of my baby. Yeah, I like it by my baby way, especially during summertime there is many music festivals and so on. Yeah, yeah.

AZDEAN: 15:24

 What are some of the common misconceptions that tourists to have about cuz a blanka?

SAM: 15:29

 most of the people. They think that Casablanca is not a touristic city.

AZDEAN: 15:33

 I'm the same way. I'm guilty of that.

SAM: 15:35

 Yes, yes, most of them. They say the only cuz a blanka is a business. Our economy capital of Morocco is only a city for business. But it's not true, cuz a blanka has, as we said, many sightseeing and landmarks that you can visit. You can enjoy a full day or a half day in Casablanca.

AZDEAN: 15:52

 Yeah, okay, cool. What are some of the good ways for tourists or travelers to interact with the locals while they are touring Casablanca or while they are staying in Casablanca?

SAM: 16:02

 When you visit Casablanca, they have shops like Marrakech, but few of them, so you can enjoy coffee or mint tea in Casablanca and just you can talk to the people. They are, by the way, if I say that they are busy, but they are safe, friendly. So they are friendly and you can discuss with people and you ask them for directions. I like Casablanca when you ask for directions. Yes, yes, absolutely. When you ask for directions in Casablanca, when you don't have a guide, the people will take your hand and show you the place where you are going for. Yes, yes, I like this thing because of Casablanca.

AZDEAN: 16:37

 That's amazing, you know, for me, really, one of the best ways to interact with the locals definitely the coffee shops, you know, just make small talks and also the beach. You see a lot of people playing soccer or volleyball, and those are all good opportunities to interact with the locals. And if you see somebody kicking a soccer ball on the street, just jump in, kick it back and play with them. They like it, they love it, so, and soccer is really popular in Morocco, especially nowadays, so that's one of the cool ways to really interact with the locals.

SAM: 17:03

 Yeah, absolutely. We have two local teams. It's with Adam Roger of Casablanca, and all of most of Morocco is there when they support them.

AZDEAN: 17:12

 Yeah, it's crazy. Oh, I know.

SAM: 17:14

 It's crazy. Yeah, it's really cool. It's soccer. Casablanca is just crazy.

AZDEAN: 17:19

 It is. It is. It's a totally different vibe. So, anyways, this has been really amazing. There's a lot of information that I did not really know about Casablanca, but thank you, sam, for that. Now we're going to make a transition. It's going to be a quick transition. Since we're talking about Casablanca, we might as well talk about Robot City, which is the capital, which is also one of the imperial cities. The difference between Casablanca and a robot, in terms of driving, is about 45 minutes. So now the question that I have for you, sam if you would please again, we'll start with the culture of robot versus Casablanca, how different is the robot culture? I know what it feels like to me because it's the capital. How can you describe the culture of robot?

SAM: 17:58

 as a start, the culture of robot is different from the other cities because the people there are just handsome and wearing like uniform. Yeah, they just when you ask, they just answer in your respond, in your, briefly. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's a different culture from the other cities, like in Marrakech or Fez. As I said, they are familiar with tourists, same every day and every night, every moment. Robot know they are not familiar with tourists, especially when you go to the old Medina and the illusion Medina of robot. Yes, you see, like interaction with the tourists, I can ask you questions and answer your questions and so on. But most of the robot know like most of the administrations big administrations, including ministry buildings and so on and so forth, are in robot.

AZDEAN: 18:46

 I've been to robot a few times and I love it. I love it because it's quiet. I love the airport in a robot. It is my personal favorite in Morocco, even though I've never landed in it or traveled through it. The reason is because nobody messes with you, because it's the capital. That's where the king is, so nobody knows who's coming, so they'll treat you the way you're supposed to be treated, versus just somebody you know try to scam you on stuff like that. So you're not going to lose your luggage, nobody's going to harass you, nobody's going to hustler for a few dollars. So that's what I really like about robot. It's very clean, very nice. But I also like the old Medina. I visited it some 20 something years ago, maybe 30 years ago, and it was so much fun for me. We had so many good memories in the robot. It's a really, really nice spot. The last time I visited it was in 2019 and I went to a bar with a friend of mine. It looked like we were in uptown somewhere in a modern city in the US. I mean a really diverse crowd. The food was incredible, the atmosphere was unbelievable, everybody seemed to have really good time and it was a lot of fun and I really, really, really enjoyed it. So those are the memories that I have for robot. I can't wait to see it again when we do tours in a robot. All the attractions are next to each other, except few exceptions. But what I would like for you, sam, if you would please tell us the top attractions in a robot and also what a typical tour in robot looks like, please.

SAM: 20:11

 So Rabat city tour is different from Kazablanca, as we said, absolutely because there are many historical sites that you can visit. As you mentioned, it's one of the imperial cities of Morocco. The top attraction we can say the Royal Palace, the King's Palace, is what's called in the past Dar-e-Makhzen or the Upper Palace is one of the palaces that you can visit inside in Morocco.

AZDEAN: 20:34

 Oh, wow.

SAM: 20:35

 Yeah, in fast or Marrakech you can just visit the walls or the beautiful gates of the palaces. Rabat, you get inside to visit the palace from inside as well, the main attraction of Rabat. We can see the Mohammed V, moslem and Hassan Tower Tower okay. Yeah, hassan Tower is the old mosque which is well in the 12th century, by the Al-Mu'ah dynasty. It's the same as the one in Marrakech Kutubiyah in Marrakech and the Khiralda in Seviyah. Yes, they are both in the same era. If you see this, they have the same architecture. When you see the minarets, it's the same. Kutubiyah it's the same in Khiralda in Seviyah. It's the same in Hassan and Rabat. Unfortunately, the one in Rabat falls during the earthquake of Lisbon. Right, yeah, the other thing that you can see in Rabat is the Kasbah of Odeya. This is an amazing military Kasbah with an amazing view from the river of Abourgrag and the Atlantic Ocean. Then, when it comes to Medina, the Medina of Rabat is different from the other Medina's of Morocco, of the imperial cities, because the style is more indelujian than Berber, than Arabic or Islamic architecture inside the Medina's of the imperial cities of Morocco.

AZDEAN: 21:53

 Wow. Now the question that I have how long would it take for a tour like this? Is it an hour, two hours, three hours? Especially if we connect Kazablanqa to Rabat and somebody is traveling from Kazablanqa to Rabat and then going north To Fass, maybe going to Shavu, maybe going to Tanjir or Asila. So if they have spent a few hours in Kazablanqa and they just want to plan their ride, how much time is it going to take them to do the Rabat tour? And also, can they spend the night in Rabat, for example, and then the next day go on with their next destination, or they can just keep going up north?

SAM: 22:26

 Very good question. So when it comes to Rabat, the city tour of Rabat, you can make it short and we can make it two days. I see, yeah, between two hours to two days, because there is many museums and galleries and beautiful gates that you can visit in Rabat. But, as you said, for example, when you are traveling from Kazablanqa, you visit the Hassan's second mosque at 9, and you want to visit Rabat, then go to Asila or Tanjir. There are three main attractions in Rabat, which is the Hassan Tower, the Mohammed V Mosulium and the Odaya Kasbah. There are three attractions next to each other, so you can just make it short. Like two hours is more than enough to explore all these sites and visit these historical landmarks.

AZDEAN: 23:10

 Okay, the next question that I have, sam, please. I know you said that these attractions are right next to each other. Now can you do the visit by yourself, or do you need a local guide from Rabat to do the visit with you?

SAM: 23:24

 If it's your first time in Rabat, I recommend to take a local guide to hire a local guide to explore these sites.

AZDEAN: 23:31

 And when can they find a local guide?

SAM: 23:33

 The local guides. They exist. If you go to the Hassan Tower, there is always a guide in front of the gates the entrance to the Mohammed V Mosulium just next to the Hassan Tower, or you can book it through the associations of the local guides of Rabat. There is always associations for the guides everywhere.

AZDEAN: 23:52

 Okay now the question that I have, Sam, is Mohammed V Mosulium is not open to the public throughout the year, I know because it's the capital city. Sometimes there's dignitaries, there's people from different states, different countries visiting Rabat, so they close it to the public. Can you tell us a little bit about that, please?

SAM: 24:11

 Yes, the Mohammed V Mosulium, by the way, is masterpiece. The architecture inside is like the mosque of Hassan II, dinka Zablanka, in terms of architecture and design and tiles and so on. Yeah, it's a new building which is boiled in 1962. It's considered a symbol of the liberation of the nation of the kingdom of Morocco. So inside there is the Thames of Mohammed V, the founder of modern Morocco, the grandfather of the king Mohammed VI and the last king, hassan II, and his brother, who was the prince Muleyatullah. So, as you said, as Rabat, the political capital of Morocco, there is always visits to this iconic site. So most of the times when there is a visit, it's closed, but when you go there, you will not go without seeing anything, because there is the Hassan Tower just next to the Mosulium. So if you find it closed, you can still visit the Hassan Tower.

AZDEAN: 25:09

 OK, now, people have been touring all day so I know they're hungry right now. So any recommendations for any good restaurants close by where they can have a bite to eat, or street food, or anything that you would recommend for visitors when they're traveling through Rabat or stay in the road for a couple of days?

SAM: 25:27

 Yes, for the street food. I highly recommend to go to the Medina or to the Mallah, to the Mallah of Rabat. There is many fast foods, moroccan food, street food there. You can enjoy it along the small alleys of the old Medina, no-transcript, the best restaurants of the country. One of them is la villa, la villa mandara. La villa mandara. It's amazing, delicious food, moroccan and international food.

AZDEAN: 25:55

 Oh, nice, nice. I remember my visit. My first visit to Robati was actually Ramadan. We were traveling with the local Marrakesh team, the handball team so we had to break our fast in the old Medina. So I know exactly what you're talking about and I remember I mean it seems like yesterday I remember the, the bowl of soup, and I remember the chickpeas and they were so big and the spoon it was just. It was magical experience for me as a, as a teenager. So I know exactly what you're talking about, sam. That's really, really, really good. What are some of your favorite places in Robati, or some of your favorite places in in Kazablanca, or things that you would do that a lot of people or tourists may not have a chance to do? Sam?

SAM: 26:36

 I lived in Robati for a year, 2004, so I like Robati than Kazablanca. Yeah, this is my personal choice. I like. Yeah, robati is clean, as you said, and it's very easy to explore, especially when it comes to touristic attractions yes yeah, I prefer Robati rather than Kazablanca. Kazablanca makes me crazy because the traffic is just crazy.

AZDEAN: 27:00

 You know the traffic is intense, yeah, for sure yeah.

SAM: 27:04

 So yeah, robati, because if you are a major of history and culture heritage, I prefer Robati rather than Kazablanca, because it seems modern than Robati yeah, you know, I think I feel the same way.

AZDEAN: 27:18

 Kazablanca is just too big for me. It's too big. Every time that I went I went to see my cousin and luckily he knew the ins and outs about the city, so that made it so much easy. But I could just see the red taxis everywhere. You know they don't have as much bicycles and motorcycles in Marrakesh, but it's still the freeways, just the big city. It's so spread out. No but robot for me. I enjoyed, I had really a lot of fun and I can't wait to go back and visit the city again. So, sam, anything else you'd like to add that we have not talked about or mentioned?

SAM: 27:51

 yes, I want just to tell the audience. If you want to discover the museums or the art galleries, I recommend to stay in Rabat for a full day. I see because there is so amazing galleries, including like Babarwah women's museum yeah, museums and art galleries. There is so many, many of them, including the best one, which is the Mohammed sex museum of art contemporary of Rabat. There is a gallery in Babarwah which is open to the public and have exhibitions the whole year. Every time you go to Rabat, you can visit Babarwah now these museums, in these attractions, sam?

AZDEAN: 28:34

 do they have any entrance fees, or are they free, or certain times are free and the other times are you have to pay, or how does it normally work?

SAM: 28:41

 yeah, some of them are free and some of them you pay the fees, but the fees is like between one dollar to two dollars okay, that's not bad.

AZDEAN: 28:48

 Now, the one dollar, two dollars, is it for the locals or is it for tourists as well?

SAM: 28:52

 no for tourists for tourists.

AZDEAN: 28:54

 Okay, that's a really good price okay.

SAM: 28:57

 I highly recommend to explore Rabat and Kazablanca during your trip to Morocco excellent, sam.

AZDEAN: 29:04

 It's always a pleasure to have you back with us. The next episode or episodes will include the series up north fast, and we can ask for the bilish of show and, obviously, but we just want to put everything in one episode to make it seem too long. So this has been really really good. I really appreciate your input, I appreciate your knowledge and I appreciate you sharing all the information with the audience also welcome. Thank you so much and stay tuned. Thank you thanks for joining us this week on the destination Morocco podcast. Our dedicated show website, destination morocco podcastcom, is where you can find all of our episodes, leave a review, find our social media links and even register as a guest. If you have you to Morocco yourself and would love to share a story, advice or recommendations, you're welcome to participate in our podcast. Whether it's a five-minute story or a full conversation, we will guide you through the steps so that you can share your experience with our listeners. We will be back soon enough with new episode for you as we continue our exploration of the beautiful country of Morocco. See you then.