Day 10: A Train to Casablanca

Casablanca!

Monday was largely uneventful. Still exhausted from the desert, by the time placement ended, we were all ready for a nap. After lunch, we had a lesson on Islam. It was really, really interesting learning more about the five pillars and the Koran. A few interesting facts: only 18% of Muslims are Arabs, the most are actually from Indonesia; Muslims believe in 124,000 prophets, from Adam to the most recent, Mohammed. The similarities between Islam and Christianity were really surprising, and we decided that it’s because of these similarities that there is so much tension between the two religions.

            We had a quiet afternoon and after dinner, headed out for ice cream/ crepes at our favorite place. The waiter knows us now, haha.

Crepe chocolat

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            Tuesday was a busy, busy day! After placement, we had an early lunch and left directly for Casablanca. We took a train from Rabat to Casa Port, which took about an hour. The train ride was comfortable and passed quickly.

            Casablanca is much more of a modern city than many of the places we’ve been thus far. From the train station, we took a cab to Mosque Hassan II. This mosque is the 3^rd largest in the world and the only mosque in Morocco that non-Muslims are allowed into. There were tours given in a variety of languages, and it was actually weird to be surrounded by a group of English speakers again.

Mosque Hassan II

the Minaret

White boxes= speakers; line= expansion joint

            The mosque was breathtaking! For one, it’s massive—outside and in. And built in the late 80’s-early 90’s, it is also quite high-tech. There are loud speakers camouflaged about the walls, chandeliers that can be lowered electrically for cleaning, and expansion joints in the floor and walls that make it earthquake-resistant. Also, the roof opens.

Open ceiling

            One of the coolest things, I thought, was that a lot of the materials used to build the mosque were locally sourced. The wood was cedar from the Atlas mountains (which we drove through the other day), the marble was from south Morocco (just like the factory we visited), and the chandeliers were made in Murano, Italy. Super cool.

Chandelier

Cedar work

Minaret through the roof

            Below the main floor of the mosque was the ablution room, where the worshippers wash their feet, faces, and hands before they pray. The room was beautiful, and had so many fountains! Our guide also told us that the plaster that lines the room was designed to absorb the water in the air to keep the chandeliers from oxidizing. How scientific.

Ablution room

Matching pants!

            Also below the mosque is a Hammam that has never been used. A Hammam is a community bath, where Moroccans go about once a week to be scrubbed with the local black soap, sloughing off dead skin and getting a good cleaning. A few of the volunteers have been to one in Rabat, and I plan to go before I leave. :) Anyway, the one below the mosque has never been used and according to our guide, once they start using it, they will not be able to show it on the tours anymore, because it will be too hot. So it seems that for now, tourism has won over functionality.

Hammam

Artsy Photo a la Kate

            After the tour, the four of us walked down by the water and then found our way to a café for coffee and pastries, it was teatime. Post munching and chatting, we boarded a train back to Rabat, which was much more crowded than on the way there.

Ice cream number one, haha

            It was almost 7:00 when we returned to Rabat and having told the cooks at the Home Base that we wouldn’t be back for dinner, we had to take it upon ourselves to find something to eat. After two overly expensive cab rides and walking out of a steakhouse that we thought was a Mexican restaurant, we finally found an Italian style restaurant in the middle of the city center.

            It wasn’t until we looked at the menu that we realized how ready we were for non-Moroccan food. I got the pizza vegetarienne sans fromage, and it was delicious! And of course, there was no going out to dinner without dessert, so I had some mint tea while the others had some killer looking ice cream. Mmm.

Vegan pizza in Morocco, yummmm.

Milkshake

So excited.

Ice cream umbrella?

            By the time we got back to Home Base, we were pooped and it was not long until we were headed to bed. Though it was exhausting, we had so much fun exploring Morocco on our own! And with less than 3 whole days left before I head home, I’m trying to make the best of every second!

Until tomorrow,

-Allie

P.s. The movie Casablanca was not actually filmed in Morocco, but in Hollywood (buzzkill, I know) and though Rick's Cafe does exist in the city, it didn't exist until after the movie came out. Boooooo.