Casablanca

I was warned about Casablanca being a pretty boring place, and the warnings were correct. Not a lot to do there. The main attraction is the huge mosque, Hassan II, which is one of only two in all of Morocco that non-Muslims may enter. The only way to see inside it is to pay for the guided tour, which is fair enough, because there are a lot of facts and figures that are explained by the guide, without which, it wouldn’t be all that interesting. This is a new mosque built in the traditional style with some high tech inclusions, such as heated floor, 100 meters worth of re-tractable roof, and a laser beam which pierces the night sky, pointing in the direction of Mecca lest the faithful should have trouble figuring out where that is. It is the third largest mosque in the world, capable of housing 25,000 worshippers within and 80,000 outside on the surrounding marble terrace. In the basement of this mosque is the royal hamman (Roman/Turkish bath), which although is extensive and very luxurious, it is only for show. All this and much, much more for a cool one billion dollars, or there abouts.

As for the rest of Casablanca, there were really only a few things to take in and the next best bet seemed to be just trying to negotiate the extremely close confines of the labyrinth of the medina. In this medina, I never ended up where I wanted to be. Invariably when I wanted to get across it to my hostel, I ended up going in a complete circle back to where I started from. Luckily it is a small medina so it was no big deal just to go around the perimeter to find my way back home. The medina was not touristy at all, which made it a little more interesting. For the most part I was ignored by vendors, which was a real treat! I was really just biding my time in Casa, anxiously awaiting my flight to Istanbul. Casablanca offered me a place to enjoy doing some reading, and catching up on this blog.

Would I recommend a trip there? Well, maybe - it depends! I would say go with one or two others and rent a car. Or rent a car to do excursions into the rural areas. You don’t want to drive in any of the big cities, that is for sure. But to get to the smaller

If you asked me “would I go back to Morocco?” I would likely say “no”. There are many other places that I haven’t been, which take priority over a return trip almost anywhere, including Morocco. centres and to the surrounding vicinities (especially in the mountains) a car would be very useful, just the way it is in Canada. Without a car you are pretty much at the mercy of Grand Taxi drivers and the local buses, and you just aren’t going to get to some of the recommended sights. If you have a hard time with ever present garbage and grime - don’t go to Morocco. If you cannot tolerate being harassed and hounded - don’t go to Morocco. If seeing desperately poor people and beggars upsets you - don’t go to Morocco. If you have a passion for big geography and beautiful landscapes - Morocco is a good choice. If you can prepare yourself before you get there, to be kitted up for hiking, surfing, mountain-biking, mountaineering, rock climbing, then Morocco could be a real playground. So, you see - it depends!