Chellah, complex of ruins of Roman town 'Sala':
Chellah, is a necropolis and complex of ancient and medieval ruins that lie on the outskirts of Rabat. This site is the most ancient human settlement on the mouth of the Bou Regreg River.
The Phoenicians and the Carthaginians, who founded several colonies in Morocco, probably inhabited the banks of the Bou Regreg. Chellah contains the ruins of a Roman town known as Sala Colonia and referred to as Sala by Ptolemy. Extant are ruined Roman architectural elements including a Decumanus Maximus, as well as those of a forum and a triumphal arch.
The site was abandoned in 1154 AD in favour of nearby Salé. The Almohad dynasty used the ghost town as a necropolis. In the mid-14th century, a Merinid sultan, Abu l-Hasan, built several monuments and the main gate (dated to 1339). These later Merinid additions included a mosque, a zawiya, and royal tombs, including that of Abu l-Hasan.
Many of the structures in Chella were damaged by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake
the 'Hassan Tower' in Rabat:
Begun in the late 12th century, the Hassan tower was designed to be the minaret of what became the world's second largest mosque (second to the one in Samarra, Iraq).
The Almohad ruler, Yaqub al-Mansur, designed the minaret to become 80 metres tall, with a unique design for each of its facades. When he died in 1199, somehow the whole building process came to a dramatic halt. The minaret was then 50 metres high, the same size as it has today.
The mosque came into use, having its columns completed, and with cedar roof. The gigantic earthquake of 1755, which also destroyed central Lisbon, destroyed the structure to the condition that it now is in.
The size of the mosque appears to have been quite out of proportions to the size of its city. Since it could receive up to 20,000 worshippers at a time, the city ought to have been one of 100,000 or more. Only in very modern times did Rabat climb to such a level. A few centuries after the building came to a halt, Rabat was merely a village.
The Kasbah of The Oudaïa (Rabat):
The Oudaïa gate dates back to the Almohad period, and was erected in the same period as the Hassan tower (around 1200).
It is believed that the purpose of this gate, was ceremonial. Its style is one of great simplicity and effective contrasts. The gate expands through three levels, before the circular shape is broken, and the squareness of the gate takes control. It is generally believed that that shapes of this, and other, gates is there to take control over your eyes and your total experience, but there is little of symbolical value to find here.
This gate was more than just a huge door, it also has served in the function of official building. It has been both a courthouse and staterooms.
As you enter the gate, you will find yourself in one of Rabat's most picturesque quarters.
Golf:
the 'Dar-es-Salam' Royal Golf Course, a golf course so close and yet a world apart
Designed by Robert Trent Jones, the Royal Golf of Dar Es Salam is only fifteen minutes from the center of Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco.
The domain is spread over 440 hectares of trees, flowers, water and has courses appreciated by real experts.
Ideally placed in the heart of a cork oak forest, the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam is a wonder of its kind: technicality, quality of the courses, a landscape of incomparable beauty... The golfers and the art lovers will undeniably find in this place the magic of the most beautiful golf courses in the world. To come to play or to relax, to practice or to win is a privilege for real epicureans.
The 'Dar-es-Salam' Royla Golf Course is at about 20 minutes car-drive distance from villa Yasmine.
More information about the Golf course is to be found at: http://www.royalgolfdaressalam.com/english/parcours.cfm
Other Activities:
site-seeing
Learn more about this vacation rental at the owner's website:
