Pat and Norm's World Cruises and other adventures

April 13, 2024

Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city and industrial center.

When we arrived at the port, we saw that the Regent ship that has been either leading or following us had already arrived. It is another beautiful day, predicted to be hot but the breezes will probably keep it a reasonable temperature.

We chose the tour of the Hassan II Mosque and El Jadida. Our guide was Larrbe and he was very good. All of the guides we have had on this trip so far have been excellent English speakers and he was no exception.

He started out by telling us that the skeletons of the oldest known homo sapiens in the world were found here – dating back to 315,000 years ago. I really don’t know how they figure this stuff out, but never mind that!

Casablanca was ruled by the Portuguese for 267 years and there is a lot of architectural influence from that era. Casablanca means “white house” in Spanish and the city was named for a small white building near the ocean. The city’s name changed several times as both France and Spain ruled at different times in the city’s history. The city wall was built back in the 15th century.

Of course, most Americans know Casablanca from the movie of the same name. Rick’s Cafe was a prominent part of that movie – where Bogart and Bergman met. It was actually filmed in California, but you can eat in the replica that is here. Here’s lookin at ya kid.

We drove through the city to the Hassan II Mosque which is quite amazing. Non Muslims can apparently not enter unless on a tour. The compound is huge and has a school and many other buildings. It is one of the largest mosques in the world. It’s known for its stunning architecture, including the 210-meter tall minaret, making it the tallest religious structure in the world. The mosque can accommodate up to 105,000 worshippers and features intricate marble flooring, exquisite tilework, and a retractable roof. It’s also situated partially over the Atlantic Ocean, providing a breathtaking view. Completed in 1993, the mosque is a masterpiece of Moroccan craftsmanship and Islamic architecture. Larrbe told us it took 15 million hours to build and was completed in 5 years. Cedar, marble, bronze and Murano glass were used in the building. Moroccan people from the city all contributed to the building of the mosque. Rich people contributed a lot but even those with little money used boxes that were placed all around the city to contribute even a small amount.

The tower or minaret is square in shape unlike those of any other mosque we saw anywhere else in the world. Larrbe told us that the Turks never conquered Morocco and the circular ones are Turkish. These square ones are only found in Morocco.

The mosque is named after Hassan II who was the father of the current king. Here are some pictures of both the outside and inside of the main building.

After our visit, we set off for the 90 minute trip to El Jadida. During the trip Larrbe entertained us with Moroccan jokes and many details about life here. Casablanca has the largest mall in Africa, miles of bike trails and is a very clean city. It is also very dry. 40% of the population of 5 million people are employed in agriculture. They have a long coastline of both Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

When we reached El Jadida, we heard that 75 % of the world’s phosphate comes from this region and there is even a separate commission to regulate the 30 million tons that are produced each year. It is use mostly for fertilizers but also has use in medicines.

One of the things we saw along the way is the mini vans outfitted with coffee machines in the back. There were a lot of them. Very good idea!

This is horse country. We passed many stables and a race track.

We did a walk through the city. Here are some of the sights:

We had lunch at a local restaurant before heading b ack to the ship

The Regent ship tour arrived at the same time so Larrbe ended up helping with the service!

We then drove back to Casablanca and stopped at what is called United Nations Square. Not much going on there.

We missed trivia today due to the length of the tour. During our sail away I took this picture of the mosque after dark.

Broadway in Concert was the evening show with the entertainment team. And they nailed it!

April 12, 2024

This is our first time in Morocco and is one of the main reasons we decided on this itinerary. Although we have been in several ports in the area, Morocco was never one of them.

When we arrived in port, we could see that the port is a commercial one. Many buses were already there to take us on our tours.

We did need to bring our passports when we went out today and they were checked, although not stamped.

Our tour was “Highlights of Agadir” and our guide was Bader. He was a great source of information about Morocco and Agadir.

The country of Morocco means “land of Lions” and was named by the Romans. The population is 40 million. They do have a king, but he is largely a figurehead as the country is ruled by a prime minister.

The country is 65% mountains and there are three mountain ranges. We are closest to the Atlas Mountains.

They have over 300 sunny days a year and Bader says that they LOVE rain. It is a very dry country and having enough water is a problem. They are building a desalinization plant but it is very expensive. They have made a lot of progress in solar and wind energy. There are almost 13 miles of beach and they get mostly European visitors, but tourism is way down from what it was and is no longer a key driver of the economy. These days that would be farming. We saw lots of fishing boats too. Copper and phosphate are key exports. Phosphate is in demand due to its use in making fertilizer.

All houses here must be painted white! People live with their parents for all of the parents’ natural lives. Sons stay with their parents even after marriage and daughters go to the homes of their husband and his parents. There is a pretty substantial social safety net. If an individual does not have health insurance through their employment, health care is free. All education is free, even university. And widows, children and divorced women receive a subsidy from the government. There is no property tax except for those in rich villas and if a married couple buys a flat for $25,000, they get $10,000 towards it from the government. Foreigners have the same rights as Moroccans.

A terrible earthquake in 1960 destroyed 90% of the city and the only public building to survive was the cinema, which still stands.

Our first stop was the Kasbah “top hill”. The Kasbah of Agadir, also known as Agadir Oufella, is a historic site located on a hill overlooking the city of Agadir, Morocco. It was built in the 16th century by the Portuguese and later reconstructed by the Berbers. Unfortunately, it was largely destroyed in the devastating earthquake in 1960. We enjoyed the panoramic views of the city and the surrounding area from the top of the hill. Here are some of the pictures of the view.

There were some vendors with jewelry for sale and several men hoping to entice us onto a camel. We didn’t have much time and have already had plenty of camel rides in our lives!

We drove through the city center which is all rebuilt with mandatory seismic standards. Our next stop was an outside visit to the Talborjt Mosque. It was the first building that was built after the earthquake. It is a large and impressive building but was not open for visitors.

The population is Berber and Arab Muslim but there are also Christians and Jews living here. Bader says that there is no conflict among the different religions and ethnic groups.

Next we went to Coco Pilizzi Medina. Medina means old town but since there was no old town left after the earthquake, an enterprising Italian man with a Sicilian background who was from Rabat, had the idea to reconstruct one that was a replica of the original old town. His name was Coco Pilizzi. He began work on it in 1992 and it is both an open air museum and a place for artists to work and sell their wares. We found it quite fascinating and wished we had more time there.

Last on our tour was the Souk Al Had. We had a walk through with Bader but then had about an hour to spend. It is a huge place (souk means marketplace) and we have been to many in our travels. This was the least crowded and best organized of the ones we have been to. The vendors were not aggressive like we saw in Turkey. Bader told us that his wife bargains for everything, even a tomato! The people do their routine shopping here and we saw lots of different shops.

We also bought two hand painted plates. They are wrapped for travel, so no pictures.

There are lots of cats around and the fresh orange juice vendor was doing a booming business.

On our way back to the port we got a few other pictures. This one is of the Kasbah that was our first stop.

It was a very interesting tour with a wonderful guide and passengers who were all on time! A great introduction to Morocco and tomorrow we visit Casablanca.