On Friday, we woke up early and crossed the river from Rabat to the neighboring town of Salé. There we visited a new non-profit community center/socio-cultural space dedicated to preparing young people for employment. The center focuses on the training and qualification of youth in Tabriquet neighborhoods, providing support and mentoring in finding employment and promoting volunteering and volunteerism among youth in the city.

On the way through Sale, we passed by one of two shanty-towns we would see during the trip. The story of Morocco’s shanty-towns begins in the early 20th century, when poor migrants flocked from the countryside to cities expanding under French colonial rule. Most never intended to stay, but the slums have remained: along railway lines, around many towns and scattered throughout the suburbs. Some residents have shops nearby, and many hawk cigarettes, shine shoes and scrabble for odd day jobs. With most families earning around 2,000 Moroccan dirhams a month, they’re living in terrible conditions. In very visible places, a mere stone’s throw from people in nice apartments. It’s difficult to even comprehend such a life. The government is working to eradicate these shanty-towns and urban slums by relocating residents into temporary housing. However, many residents complain the temporary housing is often just as bad feel the government ought to help provide better, safer, lasting housing opportunities.

After our conversation with the local students, we headed to Chellah to visit the Roman ruins. Chellah is considered to be the oldest known human settlement along the banks of the Oued Bou Regreg (Bou Regreg River). The site is perched dramatically above the fertile river plain of the estuarine portion of Oued Bou Regreg, two kilometres from its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean. The site is thought to have been originally a colony of Phoenician and Carthaginian exploration as early as the third century BC, but the earliest recognisable architecture dates from Roman occupation circa 40 AD. In any case, the site is one of the earliest clearly identifiable settlements of man in Morocco. The gardens spread throughout the area were a refreshing site from Barcelona’s city streets. The area is beautifully landscaped with hundreds of flowers coming into bloom during springtime and the result of this is fresh air and the most amazing variety of scents.

                                                        Exploring Rabat