Fodor's Expert Review Moulay Abdellah Quarter

Some highlights of this historic district include the vertically green-striped Moulay Abdellah Mosque and the Great Mosque Abu Haq, built in 1276. The neighborhood was designed by the Merenids as a government seat and a stronghold against their subjects, but the area lost its purpose when Rabat became the Moroccan capital under the French protectorate in 1912. Subsequently filled with brothels and dance halls, the quarter was closed to foreigners for years.