Farewell to Morocco

We are coming full-circle to where we started on this tour - Casablanca.  It's a 3-4 hour bus ride from Marrakesh to Casablanca, the biggest city in Morocco. and its economic and business center.  It is located on the Atlantic coast and is Morocco's main port.  It has a population of almost 4 million and its most important financial center.

Most Americans associate Casablanca with the movie by the same name.  The movie Casablanca (film) was a 1942 classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.  The movie was shot entirely at the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank, California.  It won Best Picture that year.

According to my Trip Leader, Aziz, the story of the movie was based in Tangier, a city closer to Europe and have a stronger French and European influence.  However, Casablanca sounds more catchy and the movie was therefore called as such.

In the movie some of the scenes happened in Rick's Cafe.  Of course it was a fictional cafe.  Today in Casablanca, there is an actual Rick's Cafe, built by an enterprising American to cash in on its popularity.

Rick's Cafe in Casablanca

We arrived in Casablanca around lunch time and had an excellent lunch at a restaurant within walking distance from the Hassan II Mosque.  This is largest mosque in Morocco and the second largest in Africa It has the 2nd tallest minaret in the world.  It is an impressive building, both inside and outside.  It stands conspicuously big, next to the Atlantic Ocean.  

Inside

The main hall

One of the few entrances

Outside the mosque

The Walkway

Hassan II Mosque

In the late afternoon we checked into our final hotel for the trip.  It was a modern western-style hotel right in downtown Casablanca.  Aziz took us on a tour of the market, where we met some fish-mongers.  The restaurants around the market will cook the fish that you buy at the market.  Some of us walked further to the medina and walked around this busy place.  

Fishmonger at the market

Outside the walls of the medina

One of the entrances to the medina

The group gathered for the last time in the lobby of the hotel.  Some have very early flights.  Some are spending an extra day.  It was a nice ending to a beautiful trip.  I learned some much - the places, the lives of the Moroccans, the food, the culture, etc.  Such a wonderful 16 days!