On The Road to Casablanca
/Our first full day in Morocco was non-stop from the minute we landed in Casablanca - and this, after getting maybe 4 hours of sleep over the last 24 of travel. In situations like this, my motto is push on through - and that’s exactly what we did! Our first stop, Mohammed V Square.
Our guide, Mukhtar talked about the stunning French Colonial and Art Deco style of architecture in these government buildings surrounding the lovely public fountain.
From there we explored the Old Jewish Quarter, or Mellah, and the understated beauty of Temple Beth-El.
From the outside, there is no visible signage to indicate that this is a synagogue -but inside, the exquisite stained glass and other artistic elements are captivating. The majority of Morocco’s Jewish population live in Casablanca. At one time there were 32 synagogues in this city. Today 22 are still active.
Around the corner from Temple Beth-El, we stop at one of 3 remaining Kosher bakeries in the city, Fhal Bakery. The secret to the tasty donuts - they’re made with Challah dough!
We then drove past the New Jewish Quarter on our way to the coast, and passed by the Hassan II Mosque - the largest in Africa and 3rd largest in the world. We will get to tour the mosque tomorrow.
Although the temperatures hovered near 70 during the day, it’s winter in this northern African country now and the shores were pretty rough. I was surprised to see several fisherman on the piers with those animated whitecaps.
Beyond the angry Atlantic is a most beautiful neighborhood of villas, beach clubs and night clubs. The Corniche is a glamorous (and pricey) neighborhood our guide likened to Beverly Hills - it appropriately had a Starbucks - although not everyone was awake to see it (perfect irony).
That concluded our tour, but the day’s events were far from over! We stopped back at the hotel to freshen up, and then out to dinner at Cercle de L’Union, a highly rated kosher restaurant and Jewish Community Center. We started with a Menorah Lighting in the lobby for the second night of Hanukkah, under the watchful image of Morocco’s king Mohammed VI.
The dinner was beyond amazing - eight courses, from appetizers to Sufganiyot (fried donuts) and the sweetest pomegranate I’ve every tasted! And this is just day one! Tomorrow, we continue to explore Casablanca.
Laila Tov (Good Night)!