Our first experience

The weather was not bright and sunny, but still our enthusiasm to explore Rabat was not going to be let down by the grey cloudy winter sky. We arrived in Rabat at about nine in the morning and we were craving coffee by that time. We decided to go to this traditional little bar, opposite the parking lot, known as "Serkin" with the villagers. As we entered, we were greeted by a loud atmosphere, many rushing in for a quick tea or coffee and a cheesecake while others spending the morning there discussing local affairs. A quick breakfast was enough to keep us going till lunch, so we set down and got 2 pea-cakes and two black coffees, which were served in the small typical glasses. Something that  we got to know from a local was that the parking area opposite the bar used to be a field, and in 1972, when a small earthquake hit the island people got out of their houses carrying all their money and televisions thinking that another earthquake was going to happen.

We then walked up the street and a small shop on the side of the road caught our attention. We went inside and found an old man wearing a vintage grey cardigan over a rolled up shirt. We asked him about his business and about that area in Rabat. He explained that this old ironmonger shop is 150 years old. He is the fourth generation in his family business, having his great grand father as the first ironmonger in Rabat. He showed us a vintage scale complete with its original measurements, which he still owns, although he now uses metric weights. He also mentioned that the streets opposite his shop are the oldest streets in Rabat.