Casablanca & Rabat, Colorful Cities

Morocco is nice.  Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport is a long, long way from Casablanca and even farther from our beachside Airbnb near Mohammedia.  But our place is a great place to relax.  Temperatures by the beach are warm but not too hot, the pool in our apartment complex is fantastic, and the beach is only a walk away.  Very civilized! 

Surprisingly, some people don’t know where to find Morocco.  It is a Middle Eastern country, of course, but all the countries we’ve visited since leaving the UK three weeks ago are all considered Middle Eastern. Though they are neighbors, Egypt and Morocco are in the far north of the African continent, while Jordan, Israel, and Palestine are part of southwest Asia.

In our Casablanca walking tour, the guide took us to the main plazas, the new but old-looking market, and the truly old, traditional market in the Medina (old walled city).  Because of the country’s history, especially its occupation by the French Foreign Legion, there is a Catholic church and a Synagogue.  Both were once important, but no longer hold services because their populations no longer live here.  While the Catholic church, the Sacred Heart Church, is preserved, it is now an event venue and host to art exhibits.  The day we visited the church, a Shanghai art collection was exhibited.  

Casablanca was once only a small fishing village.  The Portuguese came here in 1515, used ruins of their conquest to build a military fortress, and named the place Casa Branca.  In WW I, the French occupied the place and were responsible for most of the city’s grand buildings and art deco architecture, as well as establishing French as the primary language used here.

At the grand seaside mosque, Hassan II Mosque, our guide quoted his thoughts about his city’s stunning mosque, “The ocean sings, and the walls whisper and geometry becomes poetry.” He told us this mosque was the most grand mosque in the Middle East, but he’s probably not investigated the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE.  Still, the Hassan II Mosque is an architecturally detailed marvel, and the spacious columned plaza outside the holy place is breathtaking. 

We truly like this part of Morocco.  But it is dirty. There are many low-income people here, which equates to low-priority rubbish collection and removal. It is germane not only to this country, though. We have seen littered streets, roadsides, and beaches, as well as trash dumps in ravines and rivers in many parts of the world. This area of Morocco also seems to be in flux, with a lot of construction, AKA, ripped-up streets and sidewalks. Picture all this in a hot and humid desert climate.

Moroccan food is delicious.  We find lamb, chicken, and beef, and plenty of fresh vegetables.  Moroccan foods seem much healthier than the fava bean and chickpea (falafel and hummus) based diet in Egypt and Jordan.  Many traditional Middle Eastern plates contain cucumbers. I love them, but Stan abhors them. Therefore, I eat a lot of cucumbers.  Meanwhile, Stan is longing for a pork chop.

Since arriving in Morocco, we have learned to navigate the bus and train system, including where to find coins for the bus fare, just 8 MAD, about $.90 per person per ride. Their coins are 1/2, 1, 2, 5, and 10 MAD, and bills are in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200. One hundred MAD equals about $11 USD. Moroccan people are incredibly friendly and helpful.  They almost look for a reason to help us.  Some speak Arabic, some speak Spanish, but most people here speak French.  While we do not flaunt phones, wallets, or jewelry, we feel no danger or insecurity here.  

We made a one-hour train trip to Rabat today. We met a wonderful family from Cadiz, Spain, on our walking tour there. Cadiz! We’ve been there. Of course, we became friends in the three hours we walked together. They have apartments in Cadiz and said if we visit there, we could stay for free, but only for three nights, not our usual three weeks or three months!