Casablanca, Morocco

After traveling close to 24 hours door to door we arrived at our Airbnb in Casablanca. Marge and Ed dropped us off at Seatac about 2.5 hours before our flight out to Paris. After we got through security we made our way to the Delta lounge and promptly cheers’d with some champagne to the start of our adventure. Our flight to Paris was lovely, sitting in business class, drinking more champagne, some French craft beer, and eating a nice lunch. Since we left Seattle midday neither of us managed to take advantage of the lie-flat seats, but we very much enjoyed the extra room and comfort for the 9 hour flight. We had a 4 hour layover in Paris where we managed maybe a 1 hour nap before walking like zombies to our flight to Casablanca. Being so dead, we both fell asleep as soon as we took off from Paris and each got a 2.5 – 3 hour nap in before our arrival. 

We had heard that immigration in Morocco can be a nightmare, so we were prepared to have a long wait before being able to catch a cab and be on our way into the city. Luckily there was a “fast track” line for folks with business class tickets (among other exemptions), and our immigration wait was around 15 minutes. The immigration officer asked Jen two questions and me none, and we were finally in the country of Morocco! 

Before snagging a taxi into the city, we wanted to get cash from an ATM and a local sim card. I had researched the “best” local carrier in Morocco and we found their kiosk to get some sim cards. Halfway through our interaction we realized it was cash only and I set off for an ATM. I asked an airport official and was told the ATMs were after fully exiting customs. Luckily Jen had brought some old Euros with her and we had just the right amount to pay for our sims. With our foggy brains, both proved to be more hectic than necessary but we managed. It took us 3 ATMS to finally get some cash. The first two ATMs from Banque Populaire did not work for either of us, but the third one from Bank of Africa worked for me but not for Jen. Jen thinks she forgot her ATM pin, so she wasn’t able to get any cash. TBD on her pin status lol We were finally set to leave the airport, so we stopped by the taxi counter to pay for a car into the city.

Our taxi driver was very nice and chatty. He welcomed us to Morocco and Casablanca, and told us a few things about the country and pointed out things of interest on our route. He told us about the King, I asked him about the top industries and businesses in Morocco, and Jen and I laughed at the chaos of driving in Morocco. Lots of horns and you feel like a fish swimming up stream! I was immediately struck by how developed the outskirts of Casablanca are, as the airport is about 20 miles outside the city center. The ride took about 45 minutes and we got into our Airbnb with no problems. 

Since we were both hungry and running on fumes, we made an immediate dinner plan. The first shawarma spot we tried, a few blocks away, was closed or doesn’t exist anymore so we decided on another spot right on the corner. The meal was nice, but nothing special. Most importantly we got full bellies and friendly service. After dinner we bought a few items at the small grocery store and turned in for the evening.

We both fell asleep at 8pm, woke up around 2am, stayed awake until 4:30 – 5am, and then somehow slept past noon! Ah, the joys of jetlag. Once we finally got up and had some food and coffee, we walked over to Hassan II Mosque. This is the third largest mosque in the world. After snapping some pics and walking around the square, we walked along the water before making our way into the outskirts of the old medina. We had a nice dinner at Sqala, each of us ordering a Tagine and some fresh juice. There was also some live music when we arrived. Most of the local patrons seemed to know the last song of the performance and were singing along and clapping. After dinner we tried to walk to a bakery for some dessert, but almost immediately began to get lost in the medina. We decided to back track and walk along the larger streets before grabbing a couple small desserts and heading home for the evening. 

On Sunday we were victims of jetlag again, finally waking up at 10:15am. Our original plan was to get to the Hassan II Mosque for the 10am tour (we heard that going earlier in the day was better). Since we got a terrible night’s sleep, we managed to get to the mosque a little before noon and got in for the noon tour. The tour lasted about 45 minutes. It was very informative and the guide was really good and nice. We walked through the worship hall, learning about the vast craftwork that went into the creation of the mosque. It took 6 years to build the mosque, from 1987 to 1993. I can’t remember how many people worked on building the mosque, but it was obviously a lot. Also, 90% of the materials used in the mosque are from Morocco. The wood, marble, metals, etc. There were two things imported. One was the 80 or so crystal chandeliers, and I cannot remember the other item. After touring the worship hall, we went down into the cleansing area where worshipers clean themselves before praying. The mosque can hold 25,000 people inside and 80,000 total including the square outside. The cleansing area can hold 2,500 people at once cleaning themselves. 

After the tour we went back home and relaxed for a few hours before heading out again for the evening. We wandered down to a street where there is a daily market outside the medina. It is a market that has textiles and food. We did not think much of this market street, but thought that maybe it was not fully running since it was in the afternoon on a Sunday. At the end of the street we bought a traditional bread with filling for less than $1. Since the menu was all in Arabic we had no clue what was in it, but decided on thinking there was a little cheese, tomato, olive, and onion. After our snack we went to the Arab League Park. The park was very nice and clean and filled with locals. People were having picnics, going for walks, walking their dogs, and having a run. The center of the park was lined with palm trees and a nice water feature. We ended up sitting on a bench for a good while, chatting, watching a man with 7 dogs argue with the park security, and taking it all in. We then made our way to dinner at a French restaurant in what seemed to be the expat neighborhood. The food was just fine and expensive for what we got. We then walked the mile back home and stumbled on a nice bakery and convinced ourselves to have some dessert. We got some delicious dessert for $1.70 each and this made up for the lackluster dinner.

The next morning we caught the train to Marrakech. The train station was very modern and nice and navigating to the train was easy. We pre booked our tickets and just made our way to the platform. The train ride was about 2.5 hours and went by fast. We were in a first class car, but in a section with 6 people total. It was not the most comfortable but good enough for the short journey. I sat next to a man from Denmark who is married to a Moroccan and his brother lives in Tangier. He had been visiting his brother for a few weeks and making his way back to Marrakech since there is a direct flight home. We got a cab in front of the train station and he talked with our Riad host to make sure the best place to drop us off (since we are staying in the old medina area and the roads are crazy and our Riad is technically in an alleyway). Abdou met us on the main road and walked us to the Riad, carrying Jen’s bag for her. He pointed out where to buy water, how to find our bearings and landmarks to help us not get lost. He doesn’t speak a lot of English, but his English is better than either of our French or Arabic!