Naval Air StationPort Lyautey, Morocco

The following photographs are from the personal collection of Jerry (Gerald J.) Zimmerman who served at NAS Port Lyautey between 8/2/47 to 4/15/48. Copies of these photographs may be obtained in a larger format by contacting Jerry at Jerdadzim@cs.com. Former shipmates of Jerry may also contact him at the same e-mail address.

More Photographs of Rabat

Many horse drawn carriages (Cusheys) and .............................

.............................bicycle traffic on wide boulevards but few automobiles

This sharp looking Military Band were part of the Sultan's garrison.

A shoe store in the Medina.............

.............and a tailor.

Hard to believe, but if that child is still alive today (2007) he/she is 70 years old with children and possibly grand-children.

How many American servicemen came home with kettles, candlesticks and other works purchased from street vendors.

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The South wall of the Old Sultan's Palace. The tower on the right overlooks the Palace's beautiful, inside garden and had ancient cannons on its top level. The far tower had a walkway to its roof top that presented a beautiful view of Rabat to the east and the Atlantic Ocean immediately at its base and to the West.

I have no idea why this Arab woman was scrubbing a section of the walkway. Across the street is the entry to the Old Sultan's Palace Gardens which are behind and within the walls. Both a car taxi and a horse carriage wait for tourists taking the tour. Besides the beautiful manicured gardens there was a modest museum, a mule driven water wheel to water the gardens, and an out door, outside patio tea garden overlooking the Bou Regreg River with a view of the City of Salé. Arab mint tea was the favorite choice which, today, remains my favorite tea.

A view of the Old Sultan's Palace gardens. Although difficult to see, in the lower left corner of the picture two Arabs are in the process of taking off the working harness of the donkey at the garden's water wheel. The garden received its water from a large stone reservoir that was filled by the labor of the donkey. The water was released as needed to and by many narrow and shallow irrigation ditches that wandered throughout the garden.

A view of Rabat looking south from the top of the seaside and highest tower of the Old Sultan's Palace. The Bou Regreg River winds it way past the north banks of Rabat and bends at the base of the Hassan Tower's steep hill site.

A view from the top level of the Old Sultan's Palace's southeast tower looking northeast and across the gardens. The donkey driven water wheel is at the base of the roofed tower left of center.

While workers care for the garden visitors walk and relax in the peaceful park.

Before I could find my way from the top of the Old Palace's walls to the garden below I missed the opportunity to photograph the donkey at work on this ancient water, lifting system.

A close view of the water wheel and the clay vases that dip into the well's water to carry it back to the top and, then, empty the contents into the wooden tray below. The tray directed the water to a reservoir and, from there, the water was sent by gravity to the gardens below.

Visitors relax in the Old Sultan Palace's outdoor, outside, river view tea garden.

.I have never researched the history of the Old Sultan's Palace to learn if the many ancient, iron cannons were ever used in the defense of the Rabat Medina. To have built the fortified Palace grounds on what was the highest point of Rabat and its coastline made perfect sense to me.