The Rbati secrets
Off the beaten paths, discover the Moroccan capital's impressive ceremonies.
The Candles Festival
Every year in the month of May, the city of Salé celebrates Sidi Abdallah Ben Hassoune, the city's saint, during the Candles Festival. Accompanied by musiciens and flag bearers, a long parade of men in colourful attire and carrying huge wax lamps comprised of thousands of sculpted and dyed pieces, moves through the city's main streets to arrive at the holy man marabout.
Auctions
An ancestral tradition persists on rue des Consuls in the medina in the area covered by glass ceilings. Every Monday and Thursday morning, a rug auction takes place. A guaranteed spectacle.
Military ceremonies
Every day at exactly 10:45 AM, you can enter the court of the barracks of the royal guard to attend the ceremony of the hoisting of the colours- that is, the hoisting of the national flag. Also spectacular is the changing of the mounted guard, which takes place every day at 7:00 AM before Hassan Tower. From the esplanade of this tower, cannon shots are fired the evening before the main religious festivals.
To remember
To better understand a country, one must get involved in its most wondrous traditions. Rabat is an ideal city for this.
