So, as I mentioned yesterday, Casablanca isn’t exactly the most romantic place in the world. And besides Rick’s Cafe (modeled after the movie – considering the movie was filmed completely on a Hollywood back-lot) there’s very few other things. The medina is small and pretty much a hive of pickpocketing waiting to happen and the rest of the city is just… a city in Africa.
Considering I’ve already lost one wallet on this sojourn and I’d rather not lose a second, we decided to move on after just 24 hours.
But not before seeing this:
Supposedly the largest mosque not in Saudi Arabia and the one with the tallest minaret in the world, the Hassan II mosque is truly an extraordinary sight to behold.
It is immense beyond any sense of scale. It can house something like 25000 worshipers within the walls, the floor is heated from below, and the ceiling retracts to let in the sun. Everything about this structure is detailed, even so far away that it escapes the average human’s notice…
…like this part of the ceiling.
Its a fascinating study in architecture and architectural photography. The lines, the visual planes…
The building is more art that architecture, really.
And for a good change of pace in this blog – usually full of photos of people – this morning lent itself quite well to that end.
All of this before 10am, by the way…
The midday was spent on a train to Marrakesh, the afternoon trying to find our riad in the medina, and the night spent wandering the souqs until hunger caught hold and led us to the central market – yet another architectural gem in a completely different way.
Within moments at a certain moment late in the afternoon, the typically wide-open central market the size of a football field is descended upon by these mobile restaurants – part street-food vendors, part restaurateurs – in something that reminds me of those Top Chef competitions: high-speed food, lots of yelling and just to the edge of not being remotely sanitary.
Are we going there again tonight with a side of Imodium?
Absolutely.
Stay tuned…
-Noah D.
