I arrived in Casablanca the other night too late to do much of anything, so I got an early start the following morning. Even though Casablanca is Morocco's most important commercial center and a bustling port, there is surprisingly little there of interest to tourists. Casa has no museums (although a few kilometers outside the city is the only Jewish museum in the Arab world), no ancient ruins, no unique medina. But it does have a world-class mosque, and its mosque is one of only a tiny handful in Morocco that are open to non-Muslims. I figured that I'd see the mosque in the morning, have a nice lunch, and then walk around the city to enjoy the art deco architecture in the afternoon. And since there's so little else to see and do, I'd catch an early evening train south to a city called El Jadida.
So first thing in the morning, after packing up my stuff, I walked around the port area of Casa and then took a cab to Mosque Hassan II. It is an impressive place of worship. In the past couple of years, I've visited Egypt and Turkey, where most mosques are open to the public except during designated prayer times. That's not the case in Morocco, which is totally disappointing because I really like Islamic and Moorish architecture. And even apart from the architectural interest, it's always a nice insight into another faith when you can spend time in one of its houses of worship.
The Mosque Hassan II is fairly new, built from 1980 to 1993. As you may be able to tell from some of the pictures that I posted, it's an elaborately decorated, enormous building, and in order to complete it in such a short time, construction proceeded day and night seven days a week for more than a decade. Its 600 foot minaret dominates the Casablanca skyline as the tallest structure in the city and the tallest minaret in the world. A laser beam on top of the minaret shines towards Mecca. And it's not just tall: the interior of the mosque can hold 25,000 people for prayers, and the courtyard outside holds 80,000 more. According to our guide, the mosque is packed inside and out every day during the Islamic month of Ramadan each year. Wow.
When I approached the mosque that morning, a light wisp of fog still hung in the air near the ocean, obscuring the middle of the minaret, making its peak appear to grow out of a cloud. Pretty cool--you can make it out in a few of the pictures I posted, I think. I took a walk through the courtyard so that I could see as much of the exterior of the building as possible. I think my favorite elements of the mosque were the horseshoe-shaped titanium covered doors, which stand 20 feet tall and weigh ten tons each, and the tiles set in geometric patterns in the ablution fountains, where people wash before they pray.
I was able to take a guided tour of the mosque, and the interior was just as striking. Every surface that could possibly have been embellished was covered in more geometric patterns or other lovely architectural details. It was a treat for the eyes. The most amazing aspect of the building, though, is its retractable roof. It's like seeing St. Peter's open up to the sky. The roof is only opened a few times a year, so as to prevent the saltwater in the air from damaging the building, but it happened to be open when we visited. Cool!
After the mosque, I took a walk through the city to see its famous art deco architecture and to grab lunch and tea at Rick's Cafe (I know it's touristy, but I was in Casablanca, and it just seemed like the right thing to do). ;)
After my walk, I hopped the early evening train for El Jadida, and I'll describe that in a separate entry.
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