Rue des Consuls

Until the nineteenth century foreign consuls in Rabat were required to live on one street, which was easier to watch and to protect, and that street kept the name after the requirement lapsed. It runs north through the medina towards the kasbah, partly arcaded and partly covered, and it is now the craft street of Rabat: carpets above all, with a carpet auction held on some mornings where dealers bid on pieces brought in from the countryside, along with leather, babouches, brass, embroidery from Rabat's own tradition and jewellery. Compared with the equivalent streets in Fes and Marrakech the pressure is low - Rabat is a working capital rather than a tourist city, prices are more often stated than invented, and it is possible to look without being followed. The kasbah of the Udayas is at the top of the street and the Andalusian wall crosses it partway along.

What you actually see

• A required address - the street foreign consuls were once obliged to live on.
• A carpet market - including a dealers' auction on some mornings.
• Rabat embroidery - the city's own tradition sold alongside the imported crafts.
• Low pressure - a working capital's craft street rather than a tourist gauntlet.

When to go

October to April; mornings for the carpet auction. Two hours.

Honest expectations

Prices are still negotiable and starting figures are high for visitors. The auction happens on some mornings and is not a scheduled event for tourists. Much of the carpet stock is recent production. Shops close Friday midday.

Nearby

The kasbah of the Udayas is at the top; the Hassan Tower is east.