On The Road to Casablanca 2.0
/I was startled out of bed when my alarm went off at 7:00 am Moroccan time, completely oblivious to my surroundings - guess I was more jet lagged than I thought! Didn’t matter - we had an amazing itinerary planned for our second day in Casablanca, starting with a tour of the Hassan II Mosque.
It is the largest mosque in Africa and the third largest mosque in the world. It is the only mosque in Morocco that non-muslims are allowed to visit. It too six years to build, opening in 1993. The architectural style is a based on Berber Moroccan and the Moorish traditions of Spain.
Inside, all the materials used to build the mosque came from Morocco, with the exception of Carrara marble from Italy for 2 pillars, Murano glass from Venice for the chandeliers, and the high tech sound system from Germany (little-known fact - there are 57 speakers in the mosque cleverly hidden in the pillars).
The mosque can fit 25,000 worshippers inside and 80,000 outside for a total of 105,000. The ceiling opens with a sliding roof for warm summer days and the floor is electrically heated for cold winter months.
The Hassan II Mosque was built along the sea because, as our guide Mukhtar explained, “According to the Quran, the throne of God is set on water.”
Our next stop, lunch, at Restaurant du S.O.C., and another multi-course meal! Of course it was delicious, but how do they eat so much and stay trim???
Our final destination was at the only Jewish museum in a Muslim country. The Moroccan Jewish Museum opened in 1997 in a building that was formerly an orphanage for the protection of Jewish children.
With the Jewish population declining in Morocco (the youngest Jewish person in Marrakech is 58 years old) the museum was built to preserve the legacy of Moroccan Jews. Inside you will see a variety of Moroccan Judaica from religious items and pictures to Sephardic bemas (pulpits) and artifacts of everyday life.
When the museum opened, King Mohammed VI issued a testimony on the richness and diversity of Morocco’s spiritual heritage. This sentiment has been echoed by our many guides, calling the country “…a melting pot of different civilizations living side by side.” As we light the Hanukkah menorah tonight, I am looking forward to the next discoveries in magnificent Morocco. Chag Sameach חַג שָׂמֵחַ