December 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Anna B! Wish you all the best!We landed to Casablanca airport late at night and tiredly went to our Youth hostel. Next morning we had three things to do: get money from ATM, figure out how to get to Chefchuan, our first Moroccan point of interest and see Hassan II mosque. I do not want to bore anyone with details but Hassan II mosque in Casablanca is something absolutely stunning. Colored plaster, mosaics, Turkish and traditional hammam in the basement, cedar sliding roof, murano glass chandeliers....
King Hassan II 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." Here is the extract from other sources:"Hassan II Mosque was built between 1986 and 1993 for the 60th birthday of former Moroccan king Hassan II. The Hassan II Mosque has space for 25,000 worshippers inside and another 80,000 outside. The 210-meter minaret is the tallest in the world and is visible day and night for miles around. Although Hassan II Mosque was designed by a French architect, it is Moroccan through and through. Except for the white granite columns and the glass chandeliers, the materials used to construct the mosque were taken from the Morocco region. 6,000 traditional Moroccan artisans worked for five years to turn these raw materials into mosaics, stone and marble floors and columns, sculpted plaster moldings, and carved and painted wood ceilings. The mosque also includes a number of modern touches: it was built to withstand earthquakes and has a heated floor, electric doors, a sliding roof, and lasers which shine at night from the top of the minaret toward Mecca. Many Casablancans have mixed feelings about Hassan II Mosque. On one hand, they are proud that this beautiful monument dominates their city. On the other, they are aware that the expense (estimates range from $500 to 800 million) could have been put to other uses. To build the mosque, it was necessary to destroy a large, impoverished section of Casablanca. The residents did not receive any compensation. "

After the mosque we took the 5 hour bus to Chefchuan. A note of interest: Morocco is so Westernised it was kind of shocking to us in the beginning. Buses come on time and leave on time. Those are really buses. With real seats. There are curtains on the windows. There are trash cans on the streets. There are no "hello nice boss lady, would you like some sex" characters. It is just like walking down a regular European city. People are polite and children do not run after you, screaming "White man, toubab! Give me money! Give me sweet!" It was very exciting to be in this type of environment again. It felt too normal, almost weirdly normal. I am too used now to being the point of interest of everybody walking down the street. It is refreshingly comfortable to be able to be invisible once more.