Day 76: Casablanca & Hassan II Mosque

We arrived in Morocco the previous evening and jumped on a train to downtown Casablanca. We sat across from a fellow Canadian traveler who was just in Dakar for 5 weeks and both admitted it was nice to speak fully fluent English after weeks of broken French.

Our hotel was awesome and greeted guests with hot tea, even at 11:30 at night. We woke up refreshed and enjoyed a carb heavy breakfast with Mimi, the hotel cat who likes cuddles and pets.

We were running late so we power walked 37 minutes to get to the Hassan II mosque which only offered tours until 11am. It’s the third largest mosque in the world and they built designs with references to Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism because they wanted the mosque to be a place for everyone. It was an incredible building and the ocean waves crashing added to the ambiance.

We walked through the Casablanca Medina and saw more market stands with fresh fish, fruit, and olives. Compared to Tunisia, Casablanca cafes and restaurants were just not open until 6pm. We took a nap and then strolled down to an amazing traditional Moroccan restaurant with a live singer and sintar.

Finally, Mary really needed to see Dune 2 again in IMAX so we found a mall with showings. The theater was surreal experience where you could grab popcorn off the wall and head up to the seats via escalators.Read more