Five reasons to visit Casablanca
Close your eyes for a moment and think about what the city of Casablanca suggests to you. Images of a brooding Bergman, a taciturn Bogart, and a smiling Sam playing the piano at Rick's Cafe in exotic WWII Morocco are sure to come to mind. The truth is that Casablanca was shot in a Hollywood studio, the cafe never existed and worst of all: the famous Sam did not know how to play the piano.
Upset? Do not hurry, Casablanca still keeps many secrets and stories from the time when the Moroccan city was one of the most exciting and sophisticated in all of Africa. Best of all, very few know about it...yet.
1) A FASCINATING ARCHITECTURE LABORATORY
Let's do a bit of history: in 1907 when the French protectorate was established in Morocco, Casablanca had just 25,000 inhabitants. General Lyautey sets out to create a modern and sophisticated city from scratch. Adventurers, officials, soldiers, outlaws, businessmen... flood a city that is constantly growing. Between 1937 and 1936 it already reached 240,000 inhabitants.
In the midst of this effervescence, talented artists and architects arrive in the city, leaving a Europe devastated by war and crisis. The emerging Casablanca will provide them with the unique opportunity to create at their leisure, without creative barriers. Casablanca becomes a true "architecture laboratory" where styles such as Art-decó and neo-Moorish are cited . These are the so-called "crazy years" that will leave us an absolutely exceptional legacy, although unfortunately, in some cases, not very well preserved.
To discover this unique heritage it is mandatory to walk around Boulevard Mohammed V and its surroundings where you will find exceptional buildings: The Glaoui building (corner of Boulevard Mohammed V with Rue El-Amroui-Brahim) signed by the architect Marius Boyer, the Rialto Cinema (1930), an art-deco marvel which hosted the stellar performance of Josephine Baker in 1943 and which has now been converted into a cabaret, the Central Market, or the Assayag II building (Rue Hassan Street-Continue with Allal-ben-Abdallah Street) with its famous spiral staircases.
In Mohamed V Square There are also jewels of the stature of the splendid wilaya (currently the Prefecture), the post office building with its magnificent façade of arcades and columns or the Al-Maghrib Bank of more traditional Moroccan architecture. Another must-see is the Villa des Arts, another Art-Deco jewel located near the Arab League Park and which regularly hosts exhibitions of contemporary art. In order not to miss any detail, the Casamemoire Association, an organization created in 1995 to preserve the architectural heritage of Casablanca, offers guided tours any day of the week on request (in English or French and soon in Spanish). Contact them two weeks before your visit at [email protected].
2)FEEL TINY IN THE HIGHEST MOSQUE IN THE WORLD
And the second largest (only surpassed by Mecca). The Hassan II Mosque is, without a doubt, one of the most recognizable symbols of Casablanca. A magnificent temple designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau in whose construction more than 2,500 workers and 10,000 artisans participated. The enclosure can to house up to 25,000 faithful under its retractable roof and nearly one hundred thousand on the esplanade and is one of the few in Islam who allows access to non-Muslim tourists yes In addition to the courtyard and the prayer room, the complex has a Koranic school and a specialized library. The minaret, which rises up to 210 meters high, projects a laser beam that points to Mecca. The visit to the Hassan II Mosque must be done in a guided way (available in Spanish), every day except Fridays. Hours: 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 and 14:00.
A very touristy mosque
3) BE SURPRISED BY THE MOST MODERN CASABLANCA
At Fnac, the book 50 Shades of Gray leads the list of best-selling books, a woman with a rigorous veil patiently attends to the arrival of a taxi, a woman walks gracefully dressed in a suggestive transparent dress, the muezzin's call to prayer floods the city in a mystical clamor, in the modern Cabestán club alcohol “runs through the veins”… that is Casablanca, a continuous contradiction between the new and the old. When you wait you start to understand the psyche of this metropolis suddenly a new element appears that disrupts any possible attempt at theorizing . To discover the most modern facet of the city, there is nothing like visiting the two shopping centers that are located on the Corniche (boulevard that borders the ocean), the Anfa Place, designed by Norman Foster and the Morocco Mall , of impressive architecture, which is the largest commercial center in Africa. Here, in addition to a 360º aquarium, international luxury brands such as Prada or Dior come together in what is Casablanca's temple of luxury par excellence.
4) REMEMBER EDITH PIAF OR SAM HIMSELF
- Vila Zevaco: This magnificent building is the project of a man, Sami Suissa, a wealthy businessman from very modest origins who decided to build himself a dream house. Zevaco was the chosen architect and the result was an Art-Deco jewel that still continues to surprise locals and strangers. Here, they say, Edith Piaf stayed when she visited Morocco accompanied by her lover Marcel de Ella. Today, it is a café and restaurant belonging to the Paul.
- The best place to have a good breakfast in Casablanca. La Petit Pouce, this French relic from the 1920s, it was frequented by Antonio de Saint-Exupéry between trips to the Sahara and later by Albert Camus and Edith Piaf. Rick's Cafe. It was an American diplomat, Kathy Kriger, who had the brilliant idea of recreating that cafe that celluloid made famous before it even existed. This lover of Morocco decided to leave her position as an attaché in the American Commercial Office and fulfill an old dream.
- Rick's Café opened in a building located near the old medina in 2004. The decoration, the arcades, the piano, everything transports us to the decadent atmosphere of the famous feature film. Of course, the place has a pianist, Issam, who is in charge of putting the clientele in the mood. The food is nothing special, but who can resist not reliving the legendary film again?
5) FIND THE UNIMAGINABLE
Casablanca, as a good Arab city, has its own Medina, where very little or nothing is reserved for tourists. According to the writer Tahir Shah (author of the acclaimed House of the Caliph and resident of Casablanca), this is where its marvelous charm lies and that is why it is one of his favorite places to shop. For the less adventurous, the neighborhood of habbos , a kind of medina built according to European standards by the French in the 1920s, is the ideal place to buy argan oil, leather bags or slippers . The Olive Market is a true pleasure for the senses. But if you are looking for a real treasure, we turn again to Tahir Shah, who assures that in the Soco de Moina market in the Hay Hassani neighborhood it is possible to find true jewels left by the French after the protectorate: furniture or paintings that are witnesses of a golden age.
A woman walks through the Habbou neighborhood