RAKEN Travel  >  Morocco  > The Imperial Cities  > Rabat

The Imperial Cities  :   Fez   Marrakesh   Rabat   Meknes

Originally created in the 7th century BC, Rabat has known the influence of many civilisations, Berbers, Carthaginians, Romans and finally the Muslim Arabs, who converted it in the 12th century and used it as a hub, from where they launched their conquest of Spain.

Nowadays, Rabat has become the political and administrative capital of Morocco and the principal residence of H.M. king Mohamed VI.

The union of the infinite variety of Maghreb, an amalgamation of all the contradictions of Morocco, surrounded by the diverse scents linking traditions and modernity, Rabat tells its history through the relics contained in its museums.

The archaeological museum, which was founded in 1932, houses the archaeological findings of Volubilis, Bannasse, Thamusida and other sites. The famous museum traces Moroccan history from prehistory to the Islamic reigns.

Through its galleries, the visitor travels through time, starting with the tools of the prehistoric man, through the Neolithic period witnessed by the first Berber inscriptions, and on to the Phoenician and Carthaginian bronze or marble statues, the splendid collection on Roman deities to end with the ceramics and mosaics of the first Islamic cities. Among the famous pieces gathered in the collections are bronze busts from Juba II, Cato and masterpieces about the crowned Ephebe.

Moulay Ismail founded the Oudaias museum in his vast palace during the 17th century. Its garden is considered among the subtlest pieces of Andalusian heritage. In the museum halls you will find representations of old Moroccan aristocrats decorations, magnificent collections of traditional jewellery, Korans, potteries and music instruments.

Rabat also offers philatelists a rich collection of old stamps from many countries in its Museum of the Stamps, built in 1970. Passionate of geology or palaeontology, you will find a specialised museum, which hosts the reconstituted remains of a 150 years old dinosaur. 

Rabat is all, the modern capital of a popular monarchy, a historic town with thousands of relics, charming and instructive, generous and administrative ...