Chellah, Rabat, Morocco

Chellah is a ruin that is very near Rabat and a gorgeous place.  Do not miss it when you are in the neighborhood.
Chellah was the site of ancient Roman city named Sala Colonia, as evidenced by a few key Roman architectural elements. Before the Romans took reign of the area in 40 AD, the Phoenicians were believed to have inhabited the banks above Bou Regreg river.

In the 12th century, the Romans left the city and moved to Salé.   But Chellah was resettled and re purposed as an Islamic site in the 14th century by Abu I-Hasan, a Merinid.  In order to get it into shape for Muslims, they needed to build a mosque, a zawiya, and a sacred burial area.
The site was badly damaged in the Lisbon earthquake.  The site is home to not just tourists and gardens, but to an entire rookery of storks, many of whom were rearing young in nests atop the ruins.

There are two things that I learned early on in my trip to Morocco (and Chellah was one of my first stops)--the building style has lasted 1000 years and is still quite beautiful, even when in ruins.  The Moorish arches are ubiquitous and quite attractive,a nd the tile work is phenomenal--all of that can be seen in Southern Spain as well, although not with the density that Morocco accomplished.  The addition to the landscape that I love is the painted woodwork.  I love the designs and I love the whole "no inch left untouched by an artist's hand' approach to decorating.