Chellah - Phoenician Trading Post to Royal Necropolis

A fortified necropolis spanning Morocco's Phoenician, Roman, and Islamic past. Phoenician traders established an emporium here in the first millennium BC, later becoming the Roman colony of Sala Colonia. The Marinid dynasty transformed it into a royal burial ground in the 14th century. Recently renovated with the beautiful Ciconia cafe. UNESCO World Heritage as part of Rabat.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Read the Gate That Calls Itself a Fortress of God History · Free

   This gate was completed in July 1339 — and the sultan who built it, Abu al-Hasan, had his craftsmen carve his decree into it in Kufic script. The monumental main gate of Chellah (Bab Chellah, on Avenue Moussa Ibn Nusair in southern Rabat) calls itself a ribat — a fortress of faith, not a necropolis or ruin. The inscription reads: 'The construction of the ramparts of this blessed ribat was ordered by our Master, the Sultan, the Emir of the Muslims, Abu El Hassan, son of Abu Saïd...' The gate stands 9.95 meters tall. The muqarnas frieze at the top took craftsmen months of geometric calculation to execute. Take the tram to Bab Chellah stop (line 1, 6 MAD) and stand directly below the central arch. Count the layers of muqarnas above you — there are three tiers. Then look left for the Kufic band wrapping around the entire gate.

   Backup: If the tram is delayed, any taxi driver in Rabat knows 'Chellah' — it's a 10-minute, 20-MAD ride from the medina.

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2. 2 Walk the Forum That Rome Built at the End of Its World History · Price: low

   In 40 CE, Rome absorbed this Atlantic outpost and built a proper city here — complete with a forum paved in blue limestone slabs (still visible underfoot), a capitolium temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva (funded by cavalry prefect C. Hosidius Severus in 120 CE), and a triumphal arch with a 14-foot central span. Inside Chellah (entry: 70 MAD self-guided, the Roman quarter is to your LEFT after entering the main gate), archaeologists from the Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine excavated Morocco's FIRST known Roman-era port district in 2023. A life-sized headless statue of a female deity came up from the soil. The site is still actively being revealed. From the gate, follow the stone path left and descend into the Roman quarter. Find the blue limestone forum slabs — they're still locked in their original positions from 120 CE. Walk to the triumphal arch: only the bases of three of four pillars survive, but you can reconstruct the whole arch from those footprints.

   Backup: If the site is crowded for a festival (Mawazine uses Chellah in June), visit early morning — gates open at 9AM and the first hour is almost private.

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3. 3 Find the Eel Pool Where Moroccan Women Still Make the Ancient Ask Adventure · Free

   The eels have been here for as long as anyone remembers. Deep inside the Marinid enclosure (past the ruined mosque and minaret), the rectangular Bassin aux Anguilles holds a legend still practiced: women who want to conceive feed hard-boiled eggs to the eels. Girls seeking a husband toss coins into the pool. Look down: you'll see coins glinting at the bottom among the dark shapes moving below the surface. A woman named Fatima keeps this courtyard alive — she feeds 33 cats by name every single day, tracking every cat that lives near the tombs. Above them, on the 15-meter minaret and every high wall, white storks (Ciconia ciconia, wingspan two meters) have colonized the ruins. From one spot near the eel pool you can count 22 stork nests simultaneously — each nest the size of a king-sized mattress. Find a bench near the eel pool. Sit quietly for 10 minutes. The storks forget you're there and begin landing on the walls above you.

   Backup: Spring (March–June) is peak stork season. Winter visitors will find the nests but fewer birds. The eels and cats are year-round.

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4. 4 Drink the Wine Appellation Named for These Very Ruins Wine · Price: moderate

   Order a glass of Moroccan Gris — specifically ask for a Gris de Boulaouane or any Chellah AOG white if it's on the menu. Ciconia cafe-restaurant (inside the Chellah walls, named after the white stork that nests on the ruins above your table) serves wine from the actual 'Chellah' appellation. The AOG Chellah designation covers vineyards between Rabat and Casablanca grown on granite-rich Atlantic soils. The Phoenicians who camped on this hill in 600 BC traded wine across the Mediterranean in sealed amphorae. Rome taxed it, the Marinids buried their kings above it, and today Morocco's vineyards grow Grenache in the same Atlantic-cooled gradient. The Gris is pale, dry, floral — raspberry, honeysuckle, citrus. The cafe has two terraces — request the upper terrace for panoramic Bou Regreg Valley views. Budget 150–300 MAD per person for drinks and a light meal.

   Backup: If Ciconia is closed or full, the ruins themselves are the experience — bring your own Moroccan wine from a cave (wine shop) in Rabat city and drink it on the esplanade overlooking the valley.

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5. 5 Touch the Stone That Was Roman, Then Andalusian, Then Moroccan — In That Order History · Free · Optional

   The sultan Abu Ya'qub Yusuf died in 1307 and was buried here. For his tombstone, the Marinids used a piece of white marble that had been carved in Roman Spain as a Roman funerary monument, then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Cordoba where Umayyad craftsmen repurposed it as a fountain basin, then crossed the sea again to North Africa where Marinid craftsmen flipped it over and carved Abu Ya'qub Yusuf's Islamic inscription in Arabic on the back. One slab of marble: Roman, Umayyad Andalusian, Marinid Moroccan. The Marinid mausoleum complex (adjacent to the ruined mosque inside the necropolis enclosure, look for the cluster of qubba structures near the minaret) is where three empires converged in a single object. From the gate of the necropolis enclosure, walk straight to the mausoleum cluster. The ruined qubba structures retain fragments of carved stone, zellige tilework, and Quranic epigraphy. The gateway leading to the madrasa has a horseshoe arch with geometric star zellige patterns.

   Backup: The actual tombstone is at the Museum of History and Civilizations (Musée Mohammed VI) in Rabat's Agdal district — 20 min by taxi. Free entry with student ID.

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Insider tips

• Recently renovated with new gate and cafe (Ciconia)

• Storks nest in the Islamic ruins - photogenic in spring

• 2023 excavations discovered Roman port district and goddess statue