Casablanca, made famous by the film by the same name certainly has a romantic ring to it, but does not have much in the way of a tourist destination. Casablanca is Morocco’s chief port, on the Atlantic Ocean, and one of the largest financial centers on the continent, and is considered the economic and business centre of Morocco with main industrial facilities located here. It has a population of about 4 million.
A big focal point, and something I visited, in Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque, designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau. It is the third largest mosque in the world, accommodating 25,000 people on the inside and another 80,000 in the outside courtyard. Its minaret is 690 feet tall, the tallest in the world and faces Mecca. It was an amazing place to visit. One very interesting feature was a sliding roof that opened up to the sky above.
Hassan II mosque in Casablanca
Marrakech Medina
A highlight of the tour in Morocco was visiting the famed Marrakech, another city that has a romantic ring to it. It is a city with a great amount of hustle and bustle, horse-drawn carriages mixing with regular traffic, mosques, gardens and a very interesting medina. It is the fourth largest city in Morocco after Casablanca, Fes and Tangiers. The highlight of visiting Marrakech was a visit to its Medina, with its vendors, terrace-topped restaurants, souks lined along narrow walkways and snake charmers in an area outside the maze-like area.
