Casablanca, Morocco

My expectations of Casablanca were higher than what the city delivered, so I’ll focus on the best parts of our tour.

Our first stop was the Hassan II Mosque, a truly impressive site. It is the second-largest functioning mosque in Africa and the 14th largest in the world. Its minaret, at 210 meters, is the tallest in Morocco and the second tallest in the world. Completed in 1993 at a cost of $800 million, the mosque is built on reclaimed land. It can accommodate up to 105,000 worshippers—25,000 inside the prayer hall and another 80,000 on the surrounding grounds.

After visiting the mosque, we stopped at a local church. With less than 1% of Morocco’s population being Christian, the church was nearly empty.

The tour continued through some wealthy neighborhoods, though it was difficult to fully appreciate them from the bus. We also stopped at a bazaar, though much of what was sold felt repetitive across the vendors.

Finally, we returned to the shuttle area and headed back to the ship. The day ended on a high note with a very good dinner at Toscana, shared with a lovely couple we met—perfect way to conclude the day.Read more