Saturday, November, 30, 2019
A Tour of Casablanca and Return to Marrakech
And so, finally, we reached the final day of our touring package
in Morocco. We awoke in our Riad Dar Zahfour in Rabat and
enjoyed a breakfast that was very personal—not a buffet but served by the women
of the house. There were tiny parfait glasses filled with sweet yogurt (I added
a bit of honey), and muesli. There were crisp croissants and Moroccan pancakes
which we enjoyed with honey and apricot jam. There was also olive tapenade.
Everything was beautifully served together with tea, coffee and
freshly-squeezed orange juice (which I have been avoiding) As soon as I stopped
overindulging myself with the OJ, the acidity became history.
Then, it was time for us to bring our bags down and have them
loaded into the van. Llew and I were sorry to leave our lovely luxurious suite,
but all good things must come to an end. We walked out of the kasbah and found
our van outside. Just a little later, we said goodbye to Rabat and began the
three hour drive to Casablanca.
Although Casablanca was put on the global map by the 1942 classic film
starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogard, it really has not much to offer
the tourist but one stunning mosque—which is the only mosque in Morocco into
which non-Muslims are permitted. Other that that, the city is the commercial
hub of the country and all the multi-nationals have a presence here. I actually
spotted Marks and Spencer in a shopping mall as we were driving by!
Stopping
at the Fictional Rick’s Café:
Everyone who has seen
the film Casablanca knows about Rick’s Café, the fictional setting in
which the piano is an important prop. It is the setting in which the black
pianist is urged by Humphrey Bogart’s character to “Play it again, Sam”. And
the song, of course, is the famous one, “As Time Goes By”.
Well, thousands of
tourists have arrived through the years looking for Rick’s Café in Casablanca; but the fact remains that the café was
only fictional—it never existed. However, based on the huge cinematic interest
in the site, an astute businessman came along to create Rick’s Café which has now evolved into an important stop for film
buffs.
I was keen to have
lunch there…but when you are on a package tour (and this is its biggest
disadvantage), you simply cannot stop where you please or eat lunch where you
prefer. Hence, Abdul told us that we had to stay on schedule and could only
make a short stop to see the café from the outside. Apparently, the place is
always packed to capacity and it is hard to get reservations (for very good
reason).
Hence, Llew and I had
to content ourselves with merely seeing the place from the outside. We paused
for pictures at the door to the café, but since it was early, it had not yet
opened for the day and we could not go inside. Just as we were leaving, a huge
tourist bus filled with equally enthusiastic film buffs drew up and they all
trooped out to take similar pictures. We were so lucky that we hit the spot
when we did!
Visiting the Mausoleum of Hasan II:
Casablanca’s best-known monument is also a very contemporary one.
The Mosque is named after Hassan II, the father of the current King (Mohamed
VI), who began the project and sank a large sum of money into it. Rumor has it
that it cost above $500 million and that part of the funds were raised in a
controversial public funding scheme.
The site was very carefully chosen on the waterfront. Apparently,
the faithful can actually see the swirling waves beneath them through the
transparent glass floor on the lower level when they kneel down to prayer.
Designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau, it is the second-largest
mosque in the world after the one is Mecca and can accommodate more than 25,000
people in prayer at any given time. Construction began in 1986. It is supposed
to have taken 35,000 artisans and craftsmen about six years to complete the
project—figures that appear completely improbable after one has toured the
complex inside and out. It opened to the public in 1993 and has attracted large
crowds ever since. There is an entrance fee to the Mosque but it was part of our
tour and so we did not pay extra for it.
We would be given an hour long guided tour in English; but because
we had a little while to spare, we walked down to the rocky promontory that
forms the waterfront where we posed for pictures with the lighthouse in the
background. Casablanca is really the western- most point of the continent of
Africa. After one leaves this city behind, one is directly over the Atlantic
Ocean for miles before one sees lands again. The minaret that towers on high
for 656 feet can be seen from way out at sea.
In keeping with the traditional Arab-Andalusian architecture that
characterizes most of Morocco, this mosque too follows the three-layered
decorative design involving a highly ornate ceiling (theses are in cedar and
mahogany wood, all indigenously obtained from the Atlas Mountains), the middle
stucco layer and the lowest level made of ceramic zeliij tiles in vivid colors.
There is also profuse use of marble on the flooring, along the walls and
indoors. All of the ablution fountains, inside and put, are made of carved
marble in the form of lotus flowers and they are stunning.
We were required to remove our footwear and walk about with them
in the bags provided. Women were not required to cover their heads or their
bodies (unlike the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi where we had to wear abayas before
entering). The tour guide led us to the great prayer hall which is covered with
soft carpeting—this is where the faithful kneel in prayer. The ceiling is hung
with ornate chandeliers made of Murano glass—the color scheme is very subdued
and very subtle (again, unlike the bright colors of the glass found in the Abu
Dhabi mosque). There is an abundance of decoration in the macarabe design which
creates a honeycomb pattern on the rich granite and marble walls. We were led
to the mihrab (which is the holiest altar and which also faces Mecca)—the
faithful face the mihrab when praying. This is also where the Minbars are
located—these are the pulpits on which the mullah stands when preaching. The tour
guide made a funny joke at this point—he sad that they were minbars, not
mini-bars! These structures are to be found at the end of a long prayer hall
fully strung with Murano glass chandeliers that light up the entire extent of
the long prayer hall. It reminded me very much of the Hall of Mirrors in
Versailles or in the Opera Garnier in Paris. We were a large group of visitors
representing various nationalities and speaking different languages—and all of
us were taking the tour in English.
The guide then led us downstairs where there were even more
spectacular sights to be seen in terms of interior design and craftsmanship. We
could not stop taking pictures and truly none of them do justice to the beauty
of the interior.
An hour later, the tour was over and we returned to our van. By
then it was past 12 noon and Abdul talked about finding us a spot for lunch.
Lunch along the Casablanca Corniche:
We then drove along the waterfront past upscale bungalow-type
houses which, obviously, house the rich and famous. This is called the
Corniche and is basically the curve of the city that ends in a series of
restaurants that face the sea. We chose a place that overlooks the slow waves
that melted into foam at the shore as we ordered a final meal that would be our
last one together and one for which we would pay separately.
Llew and I chose the Mixed Grille and the Koftas (we thought they
would be meatballs in a tomato sauce but they were dry flat cutlets). The mixed
grill has pieces of beef, lamb and chicken. Served with these items were fries,
salad, sautéed vegetables and a variety of sauces including the spicy Harissa
sauce. It was a fairly good meal and I think I ate a bit too much. We had no
dessert and as soon as we settled our bills, we left.
A Last Ride in the Van to the Hotel:
Many members of our group were leaving us behind in Casablanca
while four of us (Llew and myself with Evelyn and Didi) would be heading back
to Marrakech. Hence, we took our last group photographs and made sure we took
one with Husain, our driver, as well as Abdul, our guide, and then we headed to
the hotel, not too far away where we said goodbye to Chintan and Jenny, Astrid
and Meliz. Rakhi and Vijay were also staying behind in Casablanca for the next
few days but they had booked another hotel.
Hence, off we went trying to locate their Hotel Casablanca which
took us to the wrong place and then eventually to the right one by which time
we had spent about an hour trying to get them to the right destination. That
done, we said goodbye to them and then were off.
The Last Drive Back to Marrakech:
It was a very quiet van that made its way back to Marrakech—a
journey of another three hours. We stopped for restrooms and ice-cream en route
and then we were on the outskirts of the ochre city of Marrakech and suddenly
everything seemed familiar to us again!
Not too long after, we were at our Adam Park Hotel where we
received a wonderful homecoming and the keys to our rooms. Llew and I did not
waste too much time as we rushed off to settle down, drop off our things and
get to the Carrefour as we had kept all our shopping for the last minute.
Last Minute Shopping at Carrefour:
We did the ten minute walk to Carrefour and set about buying the
things we wanted: Llew bought a bottle of Moroccan Cabernet wine, I picked up
the oil of seeds of cactus flower (prickly pear) as I really wanted another
bottle. We also bought a jar of preserved lemons, ras-el-hanout (the spice that
cost us about $1.50 (the same quality was being sold by the herbalist in Fes for
about $10!) We bought two bottles of Thyme honey (one or my brother’s family,
another for us), and two large boxes of Galaxy chocolates (for my brother’s
kids and for Llew’s office colleagues). When I spotted Amora Dijon mustard, we
picked that up as well as we do not find this in the States and the bottle I
had bought in Paris is almost over! So with those few purchases, we prepared to
go back to our hotel. We then ran into Abdul who was also doing some shopping
for items to send home to his family. We all walked back to the hotel together,
then parted in the lobby.
Last-Minute Packing:
Llew and I had to spend some time putting things into our
cases—as we have small ones, it is always difficult to buy too many things.
Still, we wrapped up all the breakable bottles in clothes and placed them in
our cases quite carefully as we would be checking in our bags.
When we were done, it was time for dinner and we decided to go to
the Italian restaurant for the last time—Traviata.
Last Drink and Dinner in Morocco:
It was already pretty late when we arrived at the Sinatra Bar
where I decided to relax with a gin and tonic and Llew had a glass of red wine.
We also ordered tapas—shrimp with garlic which was a tad too spicy for us.
Then, we took our glasses and made us way to Traviata and ordered a beef tajine with apricots. It was very good
and made a good meal with the bread and olives provided. We settled our bill,
said goodbye to the wait staff and made our way back to our room where we did
not lose too much time before we went off to sleep.
A Bientot!
