Casablanca

The largest city and economical centre of Morocco

This city was the only place in Morocco I didn’t feel comfortable in.

Maybe it has to do with that it is such a big city and the the gaps between rich and poor are so obvious.

But, I was only in the African Metropol for 20h so perhaps I didn’t give it a fair chance.

I went to Casablanca for one reason and one reason only.

To see, explore and take pictures of one of largest mosques in the world

Hassan II Mosque

What to see and do in Casablanca

Of course there are other things to see and explore in this Atlantic city go to GetYourGuide and see if you find something that interest you.

But I, as I told you, spent most of my time around the large Mosque so that is what I am going to write about here.

The Mosque

It was build between 1986 and 1993 and is 14th largest mosque in the world. Second largest in Africa. Every Friday 12-15.000 people are praying at the same time inside the building but it has room for 25.000 inside and 80.000 outside.

To get some perspective, the minaret is 210 meter high and is the second tallest minaret in the world.

Admire the building

Every day, every evening, every night there are a lot of people strolling in the area, that also will give you a nice Atlantic Ocean breeze, admiring the stunning architecture.

There is a nice beach promenade along the coast from where you can see the mosque both near and from a distance.

Going inside

Hassan II Mosque is the only islamic religious building non muslims are allowed to enter in Morocco. The reason people of other faiths aren’t allowed in regular mosques is that they are only open at prayer times. But this mosque have guided tours and you will need a ticket.

It’s highly recommended to book your tickets in advance. There can be long lines and hours of waiting time if you don’t secure your ticket.

Book it here.

Depending on your preferred language you will be connected with a guide that will show you around the building.

The first thing you have to do, of course, is to take off your shoes.

The inside is as impressive as the outside. And it’s huge. Nicely decorated, beautiful architecture with complementary colours.

It all goes quite fast, and it would have been nice if there was some kind of audio equipment so it would be easier to hear the guide. As it was you needed to be close to guide to hear the information he gave.

And because the fast tempo it is quite difficult to capture images with a camera.

The tour takes about an hour, or maybe a little longer, and is interesting.

And to see the impressive interior was worth the ticket price.