We almost didn’t get to see much of Casablanca as us Aussies were prepared to spend the better part of the day trying to get a visa for Senegal. Unbeknownst to us, the process here had also changed and we can no longer get visas to Senegal from Morocco – we have to get them in Mauritania.
This then meant we had a few hours to explore. Harry and I did a tour of Hassan II mosque, the third biggest in the world. The two biggest are in Saudi Arabia and I doubt I would be allowed to see either of them any time soon. This mosque was built in 6 years with workers doing shift work 24/7. It holds 25,000 people inside and 80,000 outside and the roof opens electrically when it gets crowded e.g. during Ramadan.
Interestingly, it was built on reclaimed land.
From the inside, you can see the ablution area below through glass which you can later visit.
There are also two hammams downstairs – one either side for men and women. They are not yet open to the public though apparently every year they keep saying they’ll open them next year.
After a bit of truck guarding, a few of us went to Rick’s Café for lunch and cocktails. My pina colada cost more than my stuffed pepper with barley, cream and parmesan risotto (80 dh vs 70 dh).
We caught the end of the Casablanca movie that plays on loop upstairs.
And then spent another night in the rain, before packing up our dirty, wet tents and leaving for another bush camp.
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