Museums

OUDAYAS MUSEUM, Rabat 
The museum is situated in the opulent lodge built by Moulay Ismail in the XVIIth century as his Rabat residence. The garden is the first of its masterpieces. The exuberance of the vegetation softens the strict geometry of its paths. Flower beds, fountains and ramparts make it the very finest of all Andalusia gardens.

At the far end is a room reproducing an ancient Moroccan interior with a vast bay opening onto this glorious spectacle. Cushions in brocade, silk and gold cover the divans all around the room. A little further on, in a cool marble room, stand rows of very old illuminated Korans, jeweler, pottery and musical instruments.


ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, Rabat
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. It is one of the most sumptuous in Morocco and should certainly not be missed!

The prehistoric section brings together human remains from the middle Paleolithic 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. A good omen for the archaeological future!


NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM, Rabat 
Apart from the history of the earth's geological origins, this museum also has an impressive sauropod dinosaur on display. Its skeleton, all parts of which are completely authentic, was discovered in 1979 in the Azilal region of the High Atlas, where it lived 150 million years ago.
A reconstruction of this harmless herbivore some 15 meters long makes it easier for us to imagine how it looked when it was actually roaming the earth.