Fez to Casablanca

Hello my literary friends!

This morning we woke at 6am to the call to prayer. When we made our way to breakfast it was a little questionable but similarly to Egypt there is a lot of bread and not a lot of fruit or cereal. My roommate and I took a quick walk down to the beach as we had some spare time before boarding the bus, to take sunrise photos. 

Today we drive 5 hours to Casablanca. The countryside varied between vast flat sand and rock and hilly Rocky outcrops, it was beautiful and reminded me of the Australian outback. We stopped after 1.5 hours for a quick bathroom stop at a roadside petrol station. I didn’t go in but our group were warned beforehand that it was not great. The next stop in 1 hour is supposed to be better. 

In the meantime I got 1000 words written on the bus so that isn’t bad going! 

After the drive we had 1.5 hours of walking time along the beach front and ate at Snack Taghazout where we had skewers and salad, chips and soft drinks (65MAD). Then we stopped at a French patisserie and I bought an almond tart 16MAD. 

This afternoon we visited the incredible Hassan II Mosque (130MAD) in the ocean and took a tour with a local guide through the mosque. The mosque has to be one of the most magnificent buildings I’ve ever beheld. Inside, the budget for the opulent space can clearly be seen in the sheer size and detail involved in the building.

Afterward we drove past Ricks Cafe from the movie Casablanca and took a quick photo from the outside.

Hotel Dirwan so far has to be my favourite hotel. The rooms were a great size, airconditioned and the lobby space was clean, bright and open. Then we met for a walking tour of Casablanca through the markets with a police escort due to an apparent new spate of attacks on tourists in the Medina. Our group was a little sceptical which was probably for the best as it helped avoid panic or fear. The plain clothed police who were with us confirmed that the main strips of Casablanca were fine but the Medina apparently doesn’t see many tourists so it makes it very easy to pick them out in the crowd. 

We then walked through the squares and had dinner at Cafe Les Fleurs. I ordered the chicken tagine with preserved lemon. It was good, but once again, I have to admit I was underwhelmed with the flavours. I just desperately want some heat and a smack in the face with a bowl of Moroccan spice!

Tips:

The ‘walking tour’ of Casablanca was late into the evening and due to the security concerns, didn’t include much opportunity to stop and view anything or take many photos. Other than the final night in Marrakech, keep in mind, there really aren’t many opportunities to shop in the Medinas we visited throughout the tour. This is understandable given how chaotic they can be and how difficult it could be to keep track of a group of 30 people all trying to get back to the same bus. That being said, several people were surprised and a little upset upon learning that these ‘visits’ don’t include an opportunity to shop.

Accommodation: Hotel Dirwan, Casablanca