Cruise The World With Us

January 10, 2025 – Friday

Anyone who has seen Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Burgman in the movie “Casablanca” knows that much of the plot takes place in Rick’s Cafe. When we arrived in Casablanca that was the place we wanted to see most. I set it as the featured photo for this post. Our tour guide burst my bubble by explaining that there was no Rick’s Cafe when the movie was filmed – at least not in Casablanca. So sorry if you were hoping to see photos of memorabilia from that movie.

We began our tour with a long walk from the ship to our bus. The ship docked opposite a loading area for phosphate. The phosphate is exported to countries that can process it to make fertilizer. Morocco is working to be able to do that “in country” to reduce cost and time. Once the bus started rolling we noticed that the license plates are quite different from what we are used to at home. Photo 1 shows a random license plate. I have no idea what the Arabic symbol means but perhaps it is like our county identification.

First stop of the tour was a walk through a market. The market was in the process of opening so many of the stalls were still shuttered. The guide told us we would be going to see a fish market so I was hoping to get a photo of eels that I missed while in Marseille. No eels but there was another creature we didn’t expect to see – turtles (photo 2). We thought – “OK, maybe they use them for turtle soup.”. According to the guide later in the day the turtles are like what you used to be able to buy at a Woolworths or other store to keep as a pet. However, these turtles were 4-5 inches in size – considerably larger than the “pet” turtles I remember. If anyone discovers that turtle is a delicacy meal in Morocco, let me know. While in the market we were told that many of the shops prepare food that residents nearby come and eat “on-site” for lunch. The restaurants rely on stores within the market like the one in photo 3. I found a lady preparing couscous. She had a great mile (photo 4). Also in the market was a fruit and vegetable stand (photo 5). Most of the items we recognized and one was like what we recently had delivered with our daily fruit basket on board the ship – loquat.

Leaving the market we headed for an icon of Casablanca – the Hassan II Mosque (named after King Hassan II and completed in 1993). On the way we passed the “made for tourists” Rick’s Cafe (photo 6). You can see the people on the sidewalk who were anxious to get a snapshot. The mosque is very impressive. In terms of capacity it ranks 14th worldwide with a capacity of 25,000 inside (20,000 men and 5,000 women) and 80,000 outside. The minaret (tower from which Muslims are called to prayer) is the 2nd tallest in the world at a height of 200 meters. Photo 7 is a panorama of the mosque grounds. Please excuse the lady on the left – she moved as I was taking the panorama. In photo 8 we are all squinting because we were looking directly into the sun – and it was a bright day. The courtyard had many ceramic mosaic patterns. Photo 9 shows one of the patterns.

The mosque has a main floor and a basement. Main floor is 100 meters by 200 meters – enough space for 20,000 worshipers (1 square meter each). Women worship from balconies on either side of the largest uncovered section of the main floor. Photo 10 shows Jan and Kelsey just inside the door we entered (after removing our shoes and carrying them in a bag). Behind and above them you can see one of the two balconies for women. Photo 11 is a view looking toward Mecca and the pulpit (minbar) from which the Imam delivers his message. The roof is split in the middle so the two parts can be opened for ventilation, light and the sense of God’s presence. Photo 12 shows the intricate design on the columns which rise to the ceiling. Photo 13 shows the floor design in stone which resembles the rugs for which Morocco is famous. Photo 14 shows the mihrab and minbar (mentioned above). Looking at this wall you are facing toward Mecca. Muslims are to face Mecca when praying whenever possible. Before prayer a worshiper must be cleansed so they are pure before God. Photo 15 shows the cleansing area for men in the basement. Prior to prayer water is turned on for these fountains. There is a ritual cleansing which states the order in which the body must be cleansed and the number of times it must be repeated. A member of our group asked our guide if one must cleanse before each prayer (there are 5 designated times each day reserved for prayer). The guild indicated that a cleansing may be skipped as long as you had not used a bathroom or passed gas since the last cleansing. Photo 16 is a parting shot of the mosque and minaret. This mosque was most impressive in its construction. Our guide said the cost was estimated at $700 million but in today’s dollars would be around $2.5 billion.

Each month prayer times are published. Although one of the prayers is named “Noon prayer”, today it fell at 1:35 pm. The mosque was preparing for that prayer time so our tour group was one of the last to leave – around noon. I stayed in the bus while Kelsey and Jan did some shopping at a tourist trap – not junky product but some very expensive items. While they were inside I watched the traffic and noted the large number of taxis. The taxis in Casablanca are red (photo 17). There are also many scooters and buses to carry the 4,000,000 inhabitants of the area.

The majority of Morocco are Muslims. Our guide made a point of explaining their constitution guarantees freedom of religion. We drove by a Jewish synagogue and stopped at a Catholic Church named Notre-Dame de Lourdes (photo 18). This church had beautiful stained glass on the ground floor on each side and more stained glass between the vertical roof supports (photos 19 and 20).

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy. There are 2 houses similar to our Senate and House of Representatives. The former have 6 year terms and the latter have 5 year terms. Our guide said unlike Britain and other countries with monarchy, the King of Morocco does have and does wield much power. We drove by the King’s palace (he has one in each of the major cities – Rafah being the capital) but were not allowed to take any photos that might contain men in uniform. So no photos of this area.

Last stop of the tour was Mohammed V Square. This square contains the Casablanca administrative building, main courthouse, post office, former French consulate building and a performing arts center with a large outdoor area used for concerts and celebrations. Photo 21 is a selfie of Dick and Jan in the plaza of Mohammed V Square in front of the court house.

As we returned to the ship (photo 22) other tour groups were just leaving on their excursions. We were docked in Casablanca for nearly 12 hours so there were both morning and afternoon tour groups.

Our meal today had a couple items we liked – Quiche Lorraine (photo 23), steak au poivre (photo 24) and custard with cherries (photo 25).

Upon returning to our cabin we were able to see the laser on top of the Hassan II minerat (green line in center of photo 26). This laser points toward Mecca and is said to have a range of over 30 miles.

Goodbye, Casablanca. On our way to Mindelo, Cape Verde.