Rabat is an extraordinary city in an extraordinary country. It is Morocco's second largest inhabited area, with a population of nearly a million; it is also the administrative capital, the seat of government, and the focus of royal authority. It is the best maintained of all Moroccan cities, the greenest, and the most prosperous; in some places it looks almost wealthy, particularly the Avenue Mohamed V between the Great Mosque and the ministry district, near the Royal Palace.

There is a strong European influence, but this does not detract at all from the charm of Rabat. The five main features that together constituted the entire city at the beginning of the century have been well preserved: the medina, winding its way along between the ocean and the Bou Regreg river; the Kasbah des Oudaia; the Royal Palace; the royal burial ground of Chellah; and the old town of Sak on the other side of the river.

 The Kasbah des Oudaia dates back to the period during which the Almohad sultan Yacoub el-Mansour made the city his capital. In the twelfth century, he built this fortress above the port to protect the estuary from possible attack. It went on to become a powerful military and administrative area, and the magnificent Porte des Oudaia (the Oudaia being the descendants of the redoubtable Arab warriors who rebelled against the sherif sultans) is one of the finest of all examples of Almohad art. Rabat's medina is smaller and more modern than those of Marrakech and Fes.

 But it has the same narrow, meandering streets, the same frenetic bustle, and the same smells that the French resident-general, General Lyautey, would have experienced in 1912, when he decided to make Rabat the administrative center of the French protectorate and banned any further building within the walls of the medina.

 Since then, nestling between the Almohad and Andalusian walls, it has provided a means of access from the estuary to the port. Rabat's two most famous monuments, the Tour Hassan and the mausoleum of Mohammed V, are in the "new" part of the city, along an esplanade that symbolizes Morocco's pride in its independence. The 44-meter (145-ft) Tour Hassan stands silhouetted against the city when viewed from the west, and was once the minaret of the minaret of the great mosque built by Yacoub el-Mansour. Its lozenge-shaped tracery and trefoil arches are typical of Almohad architecture, recalling the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech and creating the same feeling of solidity and majesty. Opposite this important structure is the mausoleum of Mohamed V, the great Alawi sultan who died five years after obtaining his country's independence in 1956. It is a masterpiece of Moroccan craftsmanship. Reflecting the respect in which the figure of the king is still held, all of the buildings housing the mausoleum are richly decorated. Their sculpted wood and marble, the bright red, black, and green mosaic friezes known as zelliges, and the carved bronze and stained-glass windows create an atmosphere of contemplation and repose.

 But the real architectural focus of Rabat lies to the south. The Royal Palace is a veritable city within a city, built at the end of an impressive mechouar, a large square that was a traditional tribal meeting-place during festivals. When the king is in residence in Rabat, it is sometimes possible to see him and his retinue crossing the esplanade to the El- Faeh Mosque at prayer time on Friday at 12.30. It is a solemn and majestic procession, evoking the power of tradition, the intense faith of the believers, and the important role, which the king still plays in their lives.

 The Country's only major highway links Rabat, Morocco's administrative and diplomatic capital, with Casablanca, the busy trading port which acts as a magnet for the richest and poorest people in the country.