On 24 June Rabat moved to Zone 1 so we are now able to move around most of Morocco. The family I am staying with has a farm at Amsa on the Mediterranean coast a little east of Tetouan which is run by two of Assia’s brothers. We are going there tomorrow for a couple of weeks or so.

On 10 June Morocco was divided into 2 zones with different rules regarding Covid19. I have now found a website in French giving precise details of the Moroccan lockdown rules, so I no longer depend on third hand interpretations of them.

Recently the Government spokesman on the TV stated that only 4 towns / cities in Morocco still had cases of the virus, and Rabat wasn’t one of them. Since then the police have stopped their regular patrols in the Medina, though all the exits have checkpoints, and one can only leave with permission.

Ramadan has ended and yesterday was the first day of Eid.

Ramadan is normally a time for families and friends to get together, but this year it is rather different, as the mosques are closed and there is a curfew from 7 pm to 5 am.

As promised this post will include some tourist sights as well as the lead up to Ramadan, which started in Morocco today, though it started yesterday in some other countries.

I have changed my mind about the subject of this post, as yesterday I left the house for a couple of hours, so can report on the local situation outside. There are also some preparations for Ramadan that may be of interest.

The Jardin d’Essais is a Botanic Garden next door to an Institute of Agriculture, and was originally intended as an experimental garden for the Institute. It has been extensively renovated in recent years, and is now a Botanic Garden. I was there in early March, when it was unfortunately not looking its best.

Early on in my stay in Rabat, I visited the Zoo. Though I am not, in general, very keen on the idea of zoos, this one is impressive. Also included are a few more observations on life under lockdown.

For the first couple of weeks I was able to get out and about, and will document what I visited over several posts. I will also record a few impressions of life under lock down here. It will make a change from endless news about the virus.