After 11 weeks in Amman in the summer of 2007 and 9 weeks in Cairo in the summer of 2009, I was completely in love with Rabat after less than a week. Below are 3 among many reasons…
1. Rabat is completely walkable. Although it’s a bit unfair to compare Rabat (pop. 2 million, 5321/km2 (13781.3/sq mi)) to Cairo (pop. 17 million, 31582/km2 (81797/sq mi)), it beats Amman (pop. 2.5 million, 1680 km2 (648.7 sq mi)) despite its smaller size because it is flat and paved. Amman started on 7 hills and now includes 19 hills, and few of the neighborhoods have serviceable pedestrian paths. Even in a hurry, transportation in Rabat is a dream.
2. Taxi drivers in Rabat not only turn on the meter without prompting (almost always), they give change without bitching! In Cairo, meters, when not broken, are based on gas prices at 1960s values. Thus negotiating is standard, and there is no guarantee that a wily driver won’t spit on a savvy, insistent foreign passenger when it comes to paying the appropriate fare. Amman taxi rides often require a request for the meter and require the passenger to know which hill or circle or major hotel is in the vicinity of the desired destination.
3. The Rabat bus system was very practical (before the strike in October 2009 leading up to the French company takeover—it is less so now, all in the name of progress) and the bus numbers are large and intelligible. Amman buses are nightmarishly complicated for foreigners (there are no route maps). Cairo buses do have the bus numbers posted, but in Eastern Arabic numerals. For all cities, bus routes are available only in guidebooks and by word-of-mouth.
To be continued…
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