Course Excursions

There are two local excursions included every week for all Arabic courses taken at Qalam Center. These excursions are led by an Arabic speaking tutor and include relavent vocabulary lists and a site tour.

Chellah Souks of Rabat
Mausoleum Mohammed V

Hassan Tower Royal Palace Kasbah of Oudaya

Villa Des Arts Oulja/Sale National Archeological Museum

The Beach

Chellah

Believed to be the earliest human settlement on the Bou Regreg, Chellah was established in Pheonecian times before eventually becoming a Roman city. At the fall of the Roman empire, it was abandoned until aproximately 900CE when the Arabs repopulated the area. The city was finally abandoned in the late 12th century.

Kasbah of Oudaya

Sometimes reffered to as Chellah's "sister" fortress, the Kasbah of Oudaya was built by Moulay Yacoub Al Mansoor, an Almohad Caliph. Inside the walls students visit an ancient military prison, gardens, museum, and the famous blue and white rues of Oudaya.

Hassan Tower/Mausoleum Mohammed V

When construction began in 1195 CE, Hassan tower was intended to be the tallest minaret in the world. However, the project was never completed. While the massive structure is amazing by itself, the site also provides amazing views of both Rabat and Sale. The tower is also located about 100m from the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.

Royal Palace

Rabat's royal palace is an impressive site. It was built in 1864. It is surrounded by huge walls and the compound includes many buildings like the Masjid Ahl-Fas, where the King leads Friday prayers.

Souks of Rabat

Rabat's central souks are located in the Madina kadeema (old city) and are a great place to interact with true Moroccans and also a great place to shop. The wide rues of the Rabat madina make it a comfortable and hassle free place to do this type of visiting.

Villa Des Arts

"The Villa of the Arts," maintained by the organization ONA, exhibits an extensive collection of contemporary pieces created by Moroccan artists from around the world.

Oulja/Sale

Oulja is a traditional artisan exhibition and pottery factory located in Rabat's sister city of Sale. While visiting Oulja, students have a unique opportunity to watch traditional masters as they display their methods and crafts.

The National Archeological Museum

Built in 1932 and enlarged a few years later to display the finds resulting from intense archaeological research, this museum has housed the National Museum collections since 1986. The prehistoric section brings together human remains from the middle palaeolithic period (probably Neanderthals) to the neolithic (4000 B.C.), proving the continuity and size of the population at this time. The Islamic archaeology section is constantly growing with finds coming from the excavations of VIIIth and IXth century sites.