The forecast for today said mix of sun and clouds, with a 60% chance of rain. So when I woke up this morning to beautiful sunshine, I knew I had better get moving while I could. I threw on my sneaks and baseball cap and headed out to check out Rabat. I visited three major tourist sights in the city.

First of all, the Chellah. This site contains more Roman ruins. It was abandoned in 1154 and then served as an Islamic burial ground. This is about a 30 minute walk from my hotel - just outside Rabat city walls. As you can see, it's pretty overgrown - palms and fruit trees everywhere, but still makes for a beautiful scene. Check out the storks on the tower - they are everywhere here! They are seen as a sign of good fortune. I've been told that they return to the same nest every year. Pretty cool. I also grabbed a pic of the sweet three-legged cat that apparently lives at the Chellah. One of the kids at church last week told me they had seen a three-legged cat during their field trip to the Chellah. Sure enough, there he was today, enjoying the sunshine!


Another 30 minute walk, and I found myself at Le Tour Hassan, and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. The Mausoleum holds the tomb of King Mohammed V - the grandfather of the current king of Morocco. King Mohammed V can be likened to our George Washington - he is known for his role in helping Morocco gain its independence in the 1950's. The Mausoleum sits at the site of the Hassan Tower. This tower was supposed to be the minaret of a grand mosque, but the mosque was never completed. It was partially built, but then flattened by an earthquake in 1755. The columns were brought in from Volubilis to be part of the mosque that never happened.


While walking to the Hassan Tower, I was able to spot below in the distance, the Marjane. I've heard others from the embassy mention it - Morocco's version of WalMart. It seemed close enough - 10 or 15 minute walk, so I decided to head that way before walking home. I was quite hungry, and was so happy to see that Pizza Hut was next door to the Marjane!!! While I typically hate sitting alone in a restaurant, I was happy to do so here. One personal pan pepperoni lovers and a diet coke - I was a happy girl! No one noticed me there anyway - Africa's Cup 'football', or as we know it - soccer, has been going on, and everyone everywhere is glued to their televisions.

After lunch, I walked next door to shop. Because it was a long walk home, I didn't buy much. I picked up some bread, jam, and was also happy to find mint green tea! I will definitely be enjoying that, as I have an electric tea pot in my hotel room.
All in all, I walked for about 4 hours today. The wind was very harsh, which only helped me burn more calories walking against it (seemingly uphill all day??). I stopped by my "hanook" and bought more fresh fruit for the week. Seriously - fresh - the oranges still have branches attached to them! About 10 minutes after arriving home, the skies unleashed. It's been raining ever since.