Rain in Casablanca

The reality of Casablanca did not fit with the romanticized image I had had in mind. It was really just…Big. The streets were wide and open, and even the medina was spacious and clean. If I had been dropped there from a helicopter, I would not have known that I was in Morocco, or even Africa. Casa is a comparatively new city, and has been under the influence of Portugal and Spain since the 1500s, giving it a distinctly European feel. Being the fifth largest city in Africa, as well as home to over fifty percent of Morocco’s cars, it succeeded in making Meknes look like a friendly country village. Despite the warnings we had received concerning the safety of Casa’s streets, we did have some adventures that led us to some absolutely wonderful Casablanchins.

After eating a scrumptious meal of fresh caught fish at the Dauphin restaurant and spending a good half hour trying to decipher our bill and understand why we were short three hundred dirhams, a small group of us decided to find the ocean. This proved harder than one might think, simply because Moroccan streets are made especially so westerners have no idea where they are and will be forced to pay a Moroccan to show them. By this time night had fallen, and a torrential rain storm had picked up. Finally, after a good while spent under the awning of a carpet shop, we decided to ask an elderly djellaba wearing woman for directions. This in itself was a task, because she spoke little French and could not comprehend why we would choose to walk there at night, in the rain when it was perfectly simple to take a taxi.  But eventually we prevailed, and the kindhearted woman walked us all the way to Hasan II mosque, which we had visited earlier that day, and which stands beside the Atlantic.  Here the kind lady kissed us warmly on both cheeks and turned us over to a young couple who happened to be walking past.  The couple changed their course and walked with us to the mosque’s large courtyard like terrace, where we stayed for some time simply enjoying the lights on the zellij and the sounds of crashing waves. 

Hasan II Mosque was built by Hasan II, the father of Morocco’s current monarch.  The plan for the mosque sprang from a Qur’anic verse that states “the throne of Allah was built on water.” So Hasan declared, "I want to build this mosque on the water, because God's throne is on the water. Therefore, the faithful who go there to pray, to praise the Creator on firm soil, can contemplate God's sky and ocean,” and thus the fifth largest mosque, with the world’s tallest minaret was built in Casablanca.

At night the crowds of tourists and worshipers had dispersed, and the around the gigantic tiled and embossed walls hung a peaceful silence. Bismah, the young woman who had taken us on as her responsibility, told me in very excited and rapid French (which she maintained for the hour that we spent with her) that this was the place where young lovers come to be alone and whisper sweet nothings under the eye of Allah. 

When at last it was time for us to head back to our hotel, Bismah and her husband gave me their phone numbers and told me that if ever I should find myself back in Casa, I was welcome in their family’s home for couscous and tea. It was yet another reminder of the generosity and warmth found in the hearts of Moroccan people.