We stayed one night in Casablanca, specifically to see the gleaming new Hassan II Mosque (and secondarily the enjoyable Sacre-Coeur Cathedral). We aimed for the 11am guided tour on Sunday, April 7.
We got a little lost on our way to the mosque. We had assumed it couldn't be too hard to just head for the tallest minaret in the world, but the streets twist and turn and buildings often blocked our view. We ended up coming through a poor and dusty part of town, with no other foreigners in sight and piles of garbage everywhere.
The humble scene was a stark contrast to the gleaming marble mosque up ahead, as well as our digital cameras. But despite their poverty and our evident comparative wealth, no one approached us. Indeed, Casablanca was the only Moroccan city in which we were nearly always ignored - it was wonderful.
When we finally arrived, the abundance of cream-colored marble combined with the hot Moroccan sun was nearly blinding! The size, expense and artistry of the building were also extremely impressive, just as King Hassan II intended.
Our tour began in a downstairs area just outside the mosque, in a cool marble room with large and clean bathrooms. We bought our tickets from the counter (there's a small gift shop, too) then waited by a sign for the tour in English. When the tour began, we removed our shoes at the entrance to the mosque and were given plastic bags to carry them in.
The guided tour was excellent. It took about an hour and was led by a young woman who spoke excellent English. She pointed out all the notable features of the mosque, including where the speakers are cleverly hidden in the prayer area, and told some of its history. She made many jokes throughout - such as the need for shoe holders in each prayer rug to avoid searching through 50,000 pairs of shoes after prayer, and that Americans and Germans always want to know how much the mosque cost.
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