We arrived in Casablanca, Morocco on Friday night around 8 pm and will be here until around 6 pm on Saturday. Friday night was spent at Rick’s Cafe and Saturday is spent touring the city. Here’s what the Viking Daily said about Casablanca:
Casablanca lures visitors with its heady mix of neo-Moorish splendor and French influence. Known as “Casa” to locals, its streets exude an atmosphere of bygone days. Made famous by the 1942 film, today it is one of Africa’s most important ports. Parisian-style boulevards unfold past cafes and colonial buildings. The city’s medina is a maze of warrens pulsing with old-world energy, the hollers of carpet merchants and the fragrance of incense. The most impressive structure is the Hassan II Mosque, the country’s largest and most magnificent.
We were definitely looking forward to seeing all of these sites in this famous city! Our tour today was the included tour: “Casablanca: City of White”. After boarding our coach, we set out to view all the different parts of the city. First stop, of course, was Rick’s Cafe! Just a drive by, but I did manage to snap a daytime photo.
Next we stopped at the Hassen II Mosque and got a little history about it and a chance to take some photos. It is huge and is known to hold 100,000 worshipers! It’s also beautiful, particularly all the tile work, done completely by hand.
This was basically a narrated bus tour through the city with several photo stops along the way. As we rode all through the city, we noticed all the changes in the architecture and how it was influenced mostly by the Portuguese, Spanish and French. Our guide mostly spoke about the French architecture and how many pockets of the city were completely French looking. One street that we drove on had all French style buildings on one side, while the other side had a Spanish flavor. One could say that Casablanca definitely feels like a European City. The following photos show the beautiful city architecture styles:
Next we stopped at the Church of Notre Dame de Lourdes. It is a Catholic Church noted for its beautiful stained glass and grotto.
Next stop - another church stop followed by a walk through Old Town. The church is Eglise San Buenaventura. It was big, but charming. I tend to gravitate to the old, rustic architecture! This tour seemed to be church heavy, but they were all so different and all beautiful! Old Town was our favorite part of this tour. Quaint buildings and walkways that meandered everywhere.
Next and last stop for us. We finished our tour in a square within the city. Big building, vendors and shops AND the metro! It was a nice stopping place. We walked around, purchased some postcards and took a taxi back to the ship.
We enjoyed Casablanca very much and would return! “Here’s to you Kid” & “Play it Again Sam!”
Doors in Casablanca!
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