Casablanca...The White House!, Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca, located on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, is the largest city in Morocco. Serving as Morocco’s chief port, it is one of the largest financial centers on the African continent. I didn’t know much about Casablanca before arriving, and had only associated it with the romantic movie “Casablanca”. Boy was I surprised by this city of over five million people!

The Movenpick Casablanca Hotel is a five-star hotel located between the Habous area and the corniche, where we spent most of our tour. The hotel has a great rooftop bar and pool!

Now that we have been in Morocco a week, we have learned a few Arabic/Berber words. I think the ones we’ve heard the most are “Marhaba” – “Hello” and “Yallah” – “Let’s Go”. We were ready to go today. It was time for a tour of Casablanca. We started the day at Hassan II Mosque, which is only one of two mosques in Morocco that non-muslims are allowed to enter. Tourists may visit the mosque at 9, 10, 11 and 2.

The mosque, the third largest in the world, was publicly funded, designed by a French architect and took 35,000 Moroccans to construct over seven years between 1987 and 1993. Its minaret is 650 ft high. The main hall holds 25,000 people; 20,000 men on the main floor and 5,000 women in the upstairs mezzanine. I would have never guessed the intricately decorated 200 ft high ceiling opens. The mosque, located partly on land and partly on water, has a retractable roof! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).