Casablanca, Morocco: Today was better. There was still all the noise and dust associated with being docked in the middle of a very busy shipping port, but we hired a guide to meet us at a much more reasonable hour for a tour of the Hassan II Mosque. (If you didn't read yesterday's report: we signed-up for a tour of the mosque, and highlights of the city... and it turned out to be kinda a bust.) Medhi met us at the end of the pier and drove us to the mosque in a Mercedes. But as it turned-out, Medhi was only the driver - our guide, Said, was waiting at the mosque with a few other people. And turns-out Said was not our guide, but he was the guide for the guide, because our tour guide was blind. So interesting! He was elderly, thin, Moroccan, and wore a red baseball hat emblazoned with a Canadian flag. Though blind, our guide knew his stuff and spoke very good English.
Please take note of the two-tiered green roof. Amazingly, this mosque has a retractable roof (the top portion) as it is sometimes preferable to pray to the open sky. Having the roof open also creates better air flow when the mosque is very full. 25,000 people can fit inside the prayer hall! There are three balls/globes on the top of the 200-foot-tall minaret, each representing the great religions of the world - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
shoulders and legs covered
There will be way too many photos posted here of the prayer hall, but it was just so beautiful - and so understated - that the beauty is overwhelming. Not garish. Not a hint of gilding. Everything is made of gypsum, cedar, marble, brass, or granite. Everything except a bit of Carrera marble and the Murano chandeliers (from Italy) were sourced in Morocco. It took 12,500 workers, 24/7/365 to complete the mosque in 7 years. The Hassan II mosque is one of the largest in the world. (The largest is in Mecca and it is forbidden to build a mosque larger than the one in Mecca.) There is a passage in the Koran/Torah/Bible stating God's house is built on the water (I am paraphrasing), so the King of Morocco built this mosque right on the shore, beginning in 1986. The prayer room measures 100m x 200m. When we entered the hall, we were asked to remove our shoes and women were asked to cover their heads.
The two red and brass rectangles in the ceiling are the moving roof panels. They separate from the center. It takes five minutes to open/close the ceiling panels. Our guide said they do not like to open the roof because so many birds come inside!
When the King of Morocco visits the mosque, he walks down this center pathway. Also, the floors are heated so people can pray on the floor in comfort - and it is not necessary to bring your prayer rug - but you can. The glass cut-outs in the floor give views down to the area below the prayer room for washing hands, feet, and face before praying.
sermon from a chair to the right of the center door.
We also had a tour of the massive facilities under the prayer hall for washing. Separate areas for women and men. A few women from our ship went to the mosque yesterday and enjoyed a very serious cleaning ritual requiring them get completely naked and then had a full body scrub. They loved it.
We are so happy we went back to view the interior. What is the point otherwise? It is worth visiting Casablanca, if only to visit the Hassan II Mosque. Amazing building, setting, architecture and symbolism. Amazing!
Then it was back to the ship and a late lunch. Sakura was open for lunch, but we chose the buffet - it is actually called the Emporium Marketplace - and I had a fabulous Penang chicken curry. The head chef was also at the pizza station discussing the crust with the head pizza lady and he was tasting the crusts without any adornment. When they finished I told him about my struggle making a decent pizza crust. He asked about my flour:water ratio, temperature of the oven, etc. He was soooo nice - if only he could come to my kitchen and help me. The info gleaned from this conversation may solve my problem though! Also, does anyone know where I can get water bottled in Naples? (Just kidding!) (Or not.)
The rest of the afternoon was spent poolside, staring out at our beautiful view (again, just kidding, it was of cranes loading/unloading freighters - but we could see the minaret in the distance). And SO. MUCH. NOISE. I stitched. DT read.
We have no idea what is happening in the port, but everytime a crane moves they honk a horn, so it sounds like we are in a New York City traffic jam all day and night. If we don't keep our patio slider closed, we will go insane. This is a very, very, very bad port choice. We wondered why it was a two night stop, but know so many excursions are 10-12 hour trips, and also so many passengers are getting off/on in Casablanca (will need to figure this out as well). I will report on this situation, if I ever learn about this situation.)
NOTE: Also, so many crew have left/boarded in Casablanca. A big crew change here as well.
We had a drink at the pool bar before dinner - first time - and it was the best martini of the trip (and we have been on the ship for two weeks now). Maybe because they serve all drinks at the pool in plastic (though very fancy) glasses and it reminded me of my RV martini glass? Dinner tonight at the Mediterranean Yacht Club. Our meals were lovely. I had Moroccan chicken tagine, and am now so excited to try-out the spice mix purchased at the market yesterday. The ship's version is not spicy at all. I hope to bump-it-up a bit.
We were set to sail away from Casablanca at 11p, but left port at 10:15p. The Explora II will (somehow) be at sea all day tomorrow (Tuesday) and not dock in Gibraltar until 8a Wednesday... when we have some-sort of an encounter with crazy monkeys planned. I guess we will be slowly floating to Gibraltar?
Until my next update, I remain, your Casablanca correspondent.
LINKS:
Morocco Tourism
Explora II
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