Casablanca to Rabat

We had agreed to meet at 8 for breakfast so we could leave by 830 having been told you have to get to the mosque before the tour starts at 9 to get tickets. Needless to say we had to forgo the tour as the next one was at 10 and it would last an hour- lots of discussion as to whether we were trying to do too much- we explained to Ali, our driver/guide, as he loaded our bags onto the roof rack, that we did not want to arrive in Fez very late...the mosque- the 2nd largest in the world holds 25,000 inside and another 80,000 in the courtyards. It was finished in 1994 and is built overlooking the water- from the Koran "God's throne is built upon the water". Apparently there is a glass floor on the lower level where you can see the sea, and the floor of the main level is heated- nice since everyone is on the floor for prayer. Back to our car and Julian nicely has been reading the history to us (Casablanca was settled by first pirates, then the Portuguese and then the French- current population 4million) from the rear 2 jump seats. Next stop Rabat, the capital with population 2.5 million. While only an hour away, from the highway into the city center was heavy traffic adding another 1/2 hour... First stop with Le Tour Hassan where the remains of the second largest mosque of the time remain- destroyed by an earthquake in 175. Today only hundreds of partial pillars remain in addition to the 44 meter tower. At the far end is the mausoleum of Mohammed V. You can look down into the tomb from a Gallery above where the current king's father and grandfather lie. I asked about taking photos, as the guards had attractive outfits and quickly learned that while it was ok to take pictures of the front of someone, it was definitely verboten to shoot the backside. I was actually forced to delete a photo...Ali out guide could not explain his to me... I perhaps should realize that his English is not as good as I think it is.... Next stop was Chellah- the old roman city of Sala Colinia, also along the water (river not sea). Apparently first settled by the Phoenicians and then the Romans took control about AD 40. The city was abandoned in 1154 and then in the 14rh century the Merenid sultan Abou al Hassan Ali built a necropolis on top of the Roman site and surrounded it with a massive defensive wall and tours which still stand today. Massive pelicans sit atop each of the towers.