A Very Real Mosque and Not-So-Real Rick’s Café

Day 93, Grand World Voyage

Thursday, April 6, 2023; Casablanca, Morocco.

Today I am thankful for several things. Foremost is that I am still sailing along on this amazing cruise, even after injuring my knee. I’m thankful that my knee isn’t dislocated and I’m not spending today on shore for an orthopedic consultation. I’m thankful that I’ve been to Casablanca and the next few ports before, so I won’t feel like I’m missing too much.

And I’m especially thankful that my sisters are on board. Sure, they help out by pushing me in the wheelchair the length of the ship to dinner and get me a latte from the Crow’s Nest each morning. But mainly for mental and emotional support. They’re just next door and can pop over through the connecting balcony door.

Since I’ve been too Casablanca before and am not very mobile, I’m just staying on board. I thought I might spend part of the day on my verandah watching cranes move containers around the busy commercial port. In an earlier port the orchestrated movements reminded me of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. It would have been an interesting time-lapse video. But today’s movements were slow.

Instead, I spent a few hours in the Crow’s Nest, just four decks above my cabin, working on my blog. I managed to get to the Lido Buffet for lunch. It’s pretty easy to wheel around on hard floors, but not so much on carpet. Friends and strangers alike offer to push me through those areas.

I accepted Monika’s generous offer to wheel me to happy hour on the Sea View deck and then join her and Tom for dinner. It was fortuitous, because Eloise and Elaine had a late lunch and just wanted a snack in the Lido. Ann sent me a bottle of wine (which we will share at a later dinner), and many others have said to call if I need anything. This is what I like about longer cruises – friendships develop in a way they never would over just a week or two.

Enough about me. Casablanca is a wonderful port and deserves its own blog post. As I didn’t go ashore, I’m combining reports from my sisters and friends, along with memories of previous visits.

Eloise and Elaine took an overview tour today that included a stop at the Hassan II Mosque. Our tour there is my sharpest memory of my 2011 visit, so I’ve recommended to everyone that they make it a priority. If you’re only going to visit one mosque, this is a good one. It’s one of the largest in the world, is beautiful and is mostly open for tours to anyone, including women.

Here are photos of my visit with Mom on the left and Elaine’s from today on the right.

Elaine described their visit today: “It is a stunning building with amazing attention to detail. We were able to tour the inside, which has beautiful carved and painted cedar, marble and tile work. It was completed in 1993 and can hold 25,000 people inside and another 80,000 outside. It is built over the water, the roof retracts, and the floor is heated. I really enjoyed being able to appreciate the workmanship it took to create this building.”

I had a similar impression in 2011. I wasn’t blogging then, but I did keep a trip log:

Mom and I brought scarves to wear inside, but no need for them. We did take off our shoes to walk through – we came prepared wearing socks.  The size was overwhelming, and the tile work, etc., just beautiful.  The low lights inside made it difficult to take pictures, but I got a few good ones.  After touring the immense ground-floor room, we headed down several broad flights of marble stairs to the lower level, where we saw the areas for cleansing before prayers.

From passenger reports this evening, it seems the other landmark is Rick’s Café. Of course, the fictional gin joint in the movie Casablanca was just a set on a Hollywood lot. But an enterprising American woman opened a real-life location here, and it is a big draw. The only thing that has changed in 12 years is the size of the palm trees (my 2011 photo on the left, Laurie and Ed Tillett’s photo today on the right).

Other tours included the souk (market) and Notre-Dame de Lourdes, a Roman Catholic church noted for its stained-glass windows and use of concrete.

After the last buses returned from the 13-hour day tour to Marrakesh, we departed for our final African port, Tangier, Morocco, where we will arrive in the morning.