| We departed Marrakesh and began the drive to Casablanca early, as the Hassan II Mosque would close to tourists early due to Ramadan. As luck would have it, we developed brake trouble halfway there! After an hour under the bus the driver had it fixed so we hurried off to Casablanca. Ben, our Morrocan guide, was on his cell phone cajoling in Arabic with the mosque director to keep a time open for us. We reached Casablanca just in time ... and our bus died in the middle of traffic. Our bus driver kept grinding on the starter, and two Moroccan policemen came along to help a great deal by yelling and waving their arms. Finally -- the bus started and we rushed to the sea coast and the beautiful Mosque!
| The Hassan II Mosque is the third largest in the world, after only Mecca and Medina. It was built in the 1980s by subscriptions from Muslims all over the world, including in the US. It is a truly immense place, and very imposing against the skyline of Casablanca.
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| | The inside of the mosque is awe inspiring and magnificent. Wonderful Muslim geometric patterns and carvings are everywhere.
| The quality of the workmanship is tremendous. One of the purposes of building the mosque was to demonstrate that Morocco still has the highly skilled craftsmen who can create this kind of beauty.
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| | Cleanliness is very important in Islam. Ablutions before prayers are required. There is a huge wash room with many fountains to accomodate the faithful, and for those who desire to go even further there is a complete Turkish bath inside the Mosque.
| We saw this group of school children, probably in their early teens, being led into the mosque to make their prayers. It is heart warming to see children learning to be true to their faith.
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| | We then motored along the beautiful coast of the Atlantic Ocean, to arrive at our next destination ...
| McDonald's Casablanca! Almost all Moroccan restaurants are closed during Ramadan, so this was our best choice for lunch.
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| | I indulged in a "McArabia," two patties of spiced beef on oriental flat bread. It was great! I think they should add it to the menu in the US!
| We then visited this beautiful Jewish synagogue, built when Morocco had a thriving Jewish community. Sadly, many have felt it necessary to emigrate out of the country and there are only about 200 families in Casablanca now.
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| The last stop of our tour was the Church of Notre Dame de Lourdes. It has some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I have ever seen. Although Morocco is officially an Islamic country, religious tolerance is widespread and many faiths are welcomed.
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NEXT -- ACCOMODATIONS ON THIS TOUR
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