Well, it’s not often that I say this, but really you can give Casablanca a big miss. Other people we’ve met have said the same thing, but we thought they might be exaggerating a bit. No they weren’t.
The pollution irritates your throat. The cars are old and noisy. The buildings, so lovingly constructed by the French between the wars, are dirty and neglected. Fountains don’t work, like lots of people. There doesn’t even seem to be a nice centre to explore like other cities.
Casablanca is a business and commercial centre of five million, with the rubbish, the noise and the pollution to match.
There is only one thing for tourists to visit – the Hassan II mosque. It’s awesome, but at half a billion euros it darn well better be. I did wonder aloud today what difference a portion of that would make to the city if it was used on rubbish collection and paint. Maybe replace every smoking, noisy scooter on the roads would be a great start.
Hundreds of cafes line the streets with seemingly every male sitting on the footpath amongst the noise and fumes ‘enjoying’ their coffee and conversation with other bored friends.
Even our apartment is in the same condition. When we arrived 30 mins after checking, the cleaner was just starting. When she left, the surfaces, the oven and the rangehood were greasy. We had to go and buy toilet paper and dishwashing liquid. The fridge doesn’t get cold. The washing machine leaks all over the floor. Lots of the light bulbs are blown, and most of the cupboard doors don’t close. Its a metaphor for the city. Once good but no longer cared for.
Walked all the way back down to the mosque where Mandy did the 10:00 escorted tour. Ramadan begins in a few days and preparations are in full swing. Daylight saving was suspended yesterday so they can break their fast earlier, and food prices have started to rise as people stock up.
They have two types of taxis here in Morocco – red and white. The red ‘petit’ taxis are small, but will take you wherever you want to go. The bigger white ones are like buses. They have a fixed destination and will pick up others on the way. Bit of a trap for tourists who don’t realise.
What else can I tell you? Green is the colour of Islam. Women hang out their bras with 5 pegs. Not much else to say really.
