Our Gate 1 Tour officially starts today. After a practically inedible breakfast at the hotel,  we headed to Chellah which is a World Heritage site. It is the ruins of a Roman acropolis and a Muslim Necropolis. It is believed to have been settled by the Romans in 40AD but possibly the Phoenicians and/or Carthaginians as early as the 3rd Century BC. While walking the grounds, the senses are treated to lush vegetation, peaceful quiet and a colony of storks nesting on many of the columns and the minaret of the mosque.

Next stop was the Oudaya Kasbah, overlooking the Bou Regreg River, which was built in the 12th century as a fortification in a strategic location. Many peoples occupied the walled village  over the centuries but it now houses 2000 citizens with its own mosque, hamman (which is the Islamic version of a Roman hot steam bath), and communal bread oven. Even though I have not been to Greece, it really had the feel of a little town in Greece, which was confirmed by people who have been to Greece. The buildings were all painted blue which was supposed to cut down on flies.

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V is a magnificent building erected by his son in tribute. Guards on horseback guard both entrances to the compound. The Hassan Tower sits right next to the Mausoleum.  Built in 1199, the plans called for the largest mosque in the Muslim West. But, alas, the building went unfinshed when the builder died and the site fell into disrepair. Then the earthquake of 1755 (which they think was followed by a tsunami) destroyed all but the 21 columns of the huge prayer hall.

Lunch was in the medina at a place I found on Trip Advisor called Dar Ziki and it was fabulous. We had to knock to be let in and were a little hesitant until we saw the bright airy interior and tasted the pastilla which is a sweet and savory meat pie made with phyllo dough fried to a beautifully crisp texture and stuffed with chicken and nuts dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon on the outside. So amazing!!!!

We had walked to the medina and wandered around a bit yesterday but I wanted to go to the “main street” of the shopping center. We got there only to discover that on Friday afternoons almost all of the shops close right after lunch due to it being the Muslim day of worship. So we consoled ourselves by having pastries (I sent Buzz in to get A pastry and he came pout with 3!!) and chocolate coffee that seemed to be a mix between coffee and hot chocolate with chocolate syrup lining the sides and the bottom inch of the cup!!

We dined at a Syrian restaurant one of our tour buddies found and it was really good. Thank goodness the menu had pictures! I savored the best hummus I have ever had. Buzz had a chicken and rice dish. The chicken was a little dry but he raved about the rice….possibly flavored with saffron. A quick ride on their very high tech trolley car landed us back at the hotel. We were a bit tired; we walked over 13,000 steps today!!