Casablanca was colonized and named Casa Branca by the Portuguese in the 16th century in an attempt to keep the local pirates under control. Five centuries later this city has grown into Morocco's largest and most international city with a population of anything between 3 and 6 million or more, depending on who you listen to. Despite its claim as Morocco's financial and cultural centre, it still seems to have rather a rough edge to it.
The centre of the city still shows signs of Spanish and French influence and occupation - it was a French protectorate during the first half of the last century. Though there is the odd interesting building here and there, the overall impression as a tourist is of a city that looks dirty and run down.
This general air of faded glory wasn't helped by the fact that many of the streets were in the process of being dug up and repaired/relaid, which made walking or taking one of Casa's many "petit" taxis anywhere a bit of a nightmare. Neither was it helped by finding a cockroach in our room at a hotel that was described as "art deco meets 70s retro"! OK, so we maybe should have expected the cockroach, the manager certainly wasn't surprised when I presented him with it!
I also managed to bungle our escape route... didn't check the time on our tickets southwards, so we ended up missing the bus. However, plan B is now in operation.
Enough negativity! Casablanca does have a lot going for it, and a very definite western feel compared to Marrakech. This is particularly obvious in the financial/business quarter where all the designer shops are. Many of the young Moroccan women were wearing western style clothes, and there are quite obviously people with money around. And though one reads of Casablanca's shanty-towns, there are few beggars on the streets....no more than you might meet on a good day in Oslo!
Highlights of Casa have to include the fabulous Hassan II mosque, third biggest in the world and one of only two in Morocco that non-Muslims are allowed to go inside. It is an enormous building with a 200m tower, built right on the sea between 1987-93. It combines modern building methods with traditional forms of artistic decoration, and includes among other things a sliding mechanism that opens the roof! It can hold 25,000 worshippers inside and 80,000 outside.
It really is spectacular, particularly when compared with the Cathedrale du Sacre Coeur built by the French in the 1930s, and now an ugly disused hulk. We were offered a chance to go up the cathedral tower, but turned back as the heaps of bird-droppings increased and the steps became more rickety!The Quartier Habous is a prettied-up, modern version of a medieval medina or walled town with little shops, workshops and markets. It has a more relaxed feeling than the traditional ones, and there is less pressure to buy. Kevin managed to barter a good price on a nice pair of Moroccan slippers.
Another highlight was an evening spent at Rick's Cafe reliving the film "Casablanca". The bar, restaurant and lounge area look a bit more upmarket than on the film set, but the atmosphere was all there, and they do a cracking G&T. After drinks at the bar and a good meal, we went upstairs to watch the film that runs continually....a real classic! Dad, you would have loved this place - Here's looking at you kid!
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