[Dec. 2025] For our End of the Year and New Year’s trip to Morocco, we left Fez and headed to Casablanca.
I wondered why the agent had planned such a roundabout itinerary, considering Casablanca is practically right next to Rabat, where our trip began.
However, upon arriving in Casablanca and spotting a Paul (a familiar bakery chain), I understood.
Up until that point, we had been enjoying Morocco as a distinctly different culture, but as we approached the halfway point of our trip and fatigue began to set in, introducing Casablanca, a place closer to Western culture, felt like a welcome respite.
I don’t know if they truly considered all of that, though.
In any case, the break at Paul after such a long drive was incredibly welcome.
In Casablanca, we went straight to what is probably its only notable attraction: The Hassan II Mosque.
First, our driver, Youssuf, took us to a seaside park where you can see the whole mosque on the other side of the bay.
The minaret, said to be 210 metres tall, stood majestically.
Its location by the sea certainly contributed to its grandeur.
At this point, the weather was still fairly good despite the strong winds.
However, suddenly, the sky became overcast, and heavy rain began to fall.
For the time being, we lined up at the mosque’s ticket office.
In Morocco, mosques are usually off-limits to non-Muslims, but this one is open to tourists for an entrance fee when not being used for religious ceremonies.
The king apparently visits only about three or four times a year.
The entrance fee is 140 dirhams (about 13 euros), which isn’t cheap, but no tourist who has come this far would leave without going inside.
I think this method of funding construction and maintenance is very clever.
We had an English-speaking guide.
After buying our tickets, we got soaked in the torrential rain as we made our way to the main building.
We took off our shoes and went inside, waiting for our guide for a while.
We tourists were already amazed by the sheer size of this mosque.
