Looking comparatively at Rabat and Fez, the differences seem obvious. Where Fez is a small, intimate city, Rabat seems much larger and more disconnected. Fez is full of color and culture where Rabat feels like a remake of Tampa, Florida (minus the multitude of confederate flags).
Looking deeper into the intricacies of the two cities, I’ve noticed that the individuals in Fez seem to interact with each other more than they do in Rabat. There seems to be more smiling faces and less of a stressed out demeanor. With that, Rabat seems to ooze western influence, specifically French. Even our host family prefers to speak with us in French rather than allow us to practice our Darija (or maybe we are so bad at the language that they gave up in the first few days). In light of Western influence, people in Rabat don’t dress as conservatively as those in Fez. While they aren’t as liberal with their clothes as many other westerners are, the modern style has clearly swept up Rabat and left Fez behind. Perhaps, clothing exposes the differences between the religious influence in Fez and the political influence in Rabat. Last but not least the old style architecture of Fez made me feel like I was walking through Medieval North Africa and was alive during the construction of the Ville Novell. However in Rabat, everything seems modern and new aged.
Both cities are wonderful, but traveling between the two can make one feel like they have gone to a completely different country. However, it is easy to regain the feeling of being in Morocco. All you have to do is talk to the people around you. You will quickly feel that sense of warmth and kindness that is unique to Morocco. While our homestay families are different, Mikayla and I still feel like we are cared for and like we are slowly integrating into their families. Maybe that’s what makes Morocco so special: the idea that you can experience such drastically different lifestyles while under the umbrella of the overarching culture and kindness of the Moroccan people.
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