Visiting Casablanca - Hassan II Mosque

Landing in Casablanca

My airplane landed on Mohamed V Airport on 27 July. Since I first stepped on Moroccan land I discovered the different world I was about to enter. A woman whom I met in airplane, married with a Moroccan was coming also to visit her husband's family in Casablanca. Before entering in check in she told me "don't smile and don't say anything to the personal that works in airport. If

you will smile they will think you have something to hide and they will unpack all your luggage to check". This was the first advice I have been told in Casablanca.

The weather outside was so so hot and the humidity more than 70%. I felt the air burning my skin. The months of July and August are very hot in Morocco so if you don't like this aspect you better reconsider when you choose the period of spending your vacation here.

As the taxi lead me to the place where I had to be hosted, I noticed the contrasts of Casablanca. Rich and poor, wealthy side and poor side, the modern city and Medina, all together side by side. Casablanca is a huge city where you can get lost very easily. Suddenly, the most impressive thing has just appeared in front of me: the Atlantic Ocean. So beautiful and vast. I will be back here in the next days.

First day - Visit of Hassan II Mosque

In the next day I was visiting the largest mosque in Morocco, the most impressive and exquisite, Hassan II Mosque. This is the 7th largest mosque in the world with a surface area of 9 hectares and the tallest minaret 210 m. It can gather 105.000 people for prayers, 25.000 inside the mosque and another 80.000 outside on the platform designed especially for worshipers.

This mosque was build from the order of Hassan II in the memory of his father King Mohamed V. Initially, the mosque was supposed to be constructed in Rabat, in order to always have his father's tomb close at hand and to allow heads of states to meditate and pray before the tomb of Mohamed V, when visiting the capital. But, reconsidering, Hassan II felt he was indebted to the inhabitants of Casablanca and pledged to redress this by building a great mosque there, close to the sea.

Its location on the Atlantic Coast makes this mosque even more fascinating. Majestic and inspiring, the mosque appears to rise out of the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. From there you can contemplate the sky and the ocean in their union. Almost half of the surface of Hassan II mosque lies above the Atlantic waters, thing inspired by a verse of Quran - "the throne of God was built on water" and "from water have we created all life".

12.500 workers, of which 10.000 were craftsmen, worked day and night in shifts to build this beautiful mosque. Above all, it has been taken an extreme care over every detail of the interior. A spotlight shines in the direction of Mecca at night from the top of the minaret. The building also includes a number of modern touches: heated floors, electric doors, sliding roof.

Hassan II mosque remains the pearl of a religious and cultural complex which also includes a museum, a library, an Islamic University, rooms set aside for seminars and meetings, a subterranean four lane driveway and an underground car park with capacity for 1100 cars and 40 coaches.

Tips when visiting Hassan II Mosque:

1. Always dress properly

2. You might have some problems visiting it if you are alone or not in a group. In my case, they didn't let me enter saying that I am not a muslim, When I told the imam that I only want to visit and have a look, he replied sharply that mosque is for praying not for visiting.

3. Inform yourself about the visiting schedule. When they start praying, tourists are not allowed to enter, unless they are muslims.

4. Keep your calm and enjoy your vacation no matter of what it happens. Humans are prone to mistakes no matter of their religion.