Walk in Rabat, Morocco

Hello Hive community!

I hope you're all well! Today I'd like to share with you a little walk I recently took in Rabat.

The walk began at AGDAL station, a place that impresses me every time I visit with its modern architecture and dynamic atmosphere. As soon as I stepped outside, I let myself be guided by my curiosity and my desire to walk. The area around the station gives you the immediate impression that you're in a beautiful city.

Rabat's Agdal station is one of Morocco's most modern railway infrastructures. Located in the AGDAL district, it links Rabat to the country's major cities such as Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech and Tangiers.

The station was inaugurated in 1923 during the French protectorate, at a time when Morocco was developing its rail network to support the economy and facilitate the transport of goods and people. In its early days, the station was a modest building serving local journeys, but its importance grew with the expansion of the national rail network. In 2018, Agdal station was completely renovated and modernised to meet the needs of a growing population and to accompany the launch of the TGV (French acronym for high-speed train). This transformation is part of an ambitious national project to modernise transport infrastructure.

Walking along the road, I passed by the railway administration building. A small historic locomotive caught my eye.

I read in a notice board that this locomotive (LOCOMOTIVE VAPOR 030 TX1 HISTORIQUE) built by Henschel in Kassel, Germany in 1942 under no. 26.549 was part of a series of 10 locomotives destined for China. When German troops withdrew from France, these locomotives, which had been dismantled and packed in crates, were abandoned on the quays of the port of Bordeaux in France. They were all recovered by the SNCF (the French national railway company) and reassembled in the SNCF workshop in Bordeaux. They were numbered 030 TX 1 to 9 and assigned to the depots at Paris-Sud-Ouest, Vierzon, Bordeaux, Coutras, Limoges Brive, Périgueux and Ussel, where they were used for shunting service in these workshops.

Afterwards, I resumed my walk towards the boulevard Fal-Ould-Oumeir. This boulevard is one of the busiest in the district. Between the cafés, restaurants and shops, the place is bursting with energy and is famous for the beautiful BADR mosque in the heart of the district.

After finishing my walk in the AGDAL district, I decided to head for the city centre to take in the lively atmosphere of this part of town. On the way, I passed by the church of Saint Francis of Assisi, also known as the ‘Spanish church’, and its distinctive architecture immediately catches the eye. It is located on rue Soékarno, just opposite the Rabat maternity hospital.

I walked back to the Nouzhat-Hassan garden. As I walked, I couldn't help noticing the activity around me: the hurried passers-by, the cafés that were gradually filling up, and that energy that is so particular to the city centre.

The best part of my walk was when I arrived at the Nouzha-Hassan garden. As an unconditional fan of nature and greenery, this place is a real haven of peace for me. From the moment I set foot in the garden, I was greeted by an impressive variety of trees.

In the centre of the garden, there's a lake, small but so charming, with ducks swimming peacefully in it, and some of them came to say hello and welcome me as if they knew I was a visitor to Rabat 😍

The Nouzhat-Hassan garden is located between the medina (old town) and the new town. Created in 1924, this 11-hectare park was designed by Marcel Zaborsky, a landscape architect from the Versailles School of Horticulture, at the instigation of Marshal Lyautey, the first resident general of the French protectorate in Morocco.

The garden was designed as a buffer zone between the modern districts of the new town and the traditional habitat of the medina. It is home to a wide variety of plant species, some of which are rare and endangered.

Over the decades, the garden has suffered from the vagaries of time and periods of inadequate maintenance, affecting its reputation. However, restoration work has been undertaken to restore the park to its former glory. The redevelopment work aimed to preserve the garden's historic appearance while improving its infrastructure, in particular by rebuilding the main pathways and renovating the entrances.

This garden is truly a heritage site to discover, with its lush vegetation inviting you to stroll and marvel. Perfect for a family outing, it offers a safe, well-supervised area where young and old alike can relax in peace. What I also liked is that it's located close to the main local attractions, so it's easy to get to, making it an ideal destination for everyone. I also found that there are specially equipped outdoor reading areas for book lovers!

It was here, in fact, that I was able to rest on a bench after a long walk, and I stayed until 7pm when the garden closed, after which I went to the city station to catch the train back home to Meknes!