Casablanca is the economic capital of Morocco and is situated on the north-western coast of Africa, facing the Atlantic Ocean and located halfway between Fez and Marrakech. The second largest city in Africa, Casablanca is a modern port city with its ancient medina, the original Arab walled quarter, at its core.
An exotic blend of African, Arab and European cultures, the most visible aspect of the city is the grid of wide boulevards flanked by imposing white Moorish buildings, particularly at Place Mohammed V. The focal point of the city is the Place des Nations Unies, the old French colonial centre and where the modern town meets the medina.
Sites worth visiting are the Hassan II Mosque, the world’s second largest mosque with a 200-metre high minaret; equally fascinating is the new medina - also known as the Habous Quarter - an attempt by French architects to create a 20th-century kasbah. The Sacre Coeur Cathedral, sitting on the edge of the Parc de la Ligue Arabe, reflects the best of the more adventurous architectural products of the art deco era.
Nearby, souks hum with the activity of shoppers bargaining for fine leather and handicrafts. The central market (Marche Central) sells vegetables, meat and all kinds of seafood, as well as handicrafts. The Ain Daib quarter in the southern part of the city boasts a strand of oceanfront resorts and restaurants set along the beach.
I was in Casablanca in December ?03; I didn?t believe nor obey the traveler agent ?s advice for buying cold weather clothes and leaning some French words. To my layman beliefs I assumed the following;
The whole Africa is very hot (Mistake No.1),
Everybody understands English and French is very close to English (Mistake No.2),
I arrived in the evening and it was several minutes drive by taxi to the hotel. After a hot shower & diner, I was in the room shivering with cold although the room had a good heater and I was in double blankets. I had a brilliant idea. I boiled water and I was preparing coffee just to find out that there wasn?t a single cup in the room.
I called the receptionists asking for two ?glass? (one glass I may be using for drinking water in the room). Within 5-minutes there was a knock on my door. Waiting on the door was a smiling receptionist holding two huge bowls of ?ice cream? With anger I asked the crazy guy why bring ?Ice Cream? at this weather while I asked for ?glass?. He said ?Ice cream ? is called ?Glass? in French!
The next day was Sunday. I hired a taxi while searching for ?Church? The guy told me not to mention this word ?Shaash? again as it was not a good word to locals. With anger I just kept quiet and after several minutes I saw a huge Church. I stopped him while pointing at the Church. ?Oooh? he exclaimed, you should have said ?Kanisa? in Arab or ?église? in French and not ?SHAASH?
Well I didn?t understand the 2-hrs French Church Service except for the word ?AMEN?
It was my last night of my stay as I was walking along the main street when I saw a woman begging while holding her young son. I gave her my few remaining currency and she didn?t even seem to notice except for the son who smiled. Her eyes seemed to have tears may be remembering her first love who abandoned her.
I wish I had a guitar on that day.
I wish I could have sing to her a ?Bob Marley? song; ?NO WOMAN NO CRY?
I enjoyed my stay in Casablanca. Most of the people have smiling faces and they are very friendly & helpful.
They like singing and they like to dance as well, both the young and the old!
Every few meters there is a payphone or an ATM machine, all in good order.