Casablanca

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Casablanca Mosque, Morocco

The centre of Casablanca is fairly impressive. It's modern, with big, lively boulevards, high, white, well-kept buildings. And it's clean and efficient. The city is modern in a Moroccan way, and an excellent example of Moroccans capacity of taking charge of the future of their country.

If anything in Casablanca should fit the Casablanca of Bergman and Bogart, it should be the old city. It's small, consisting mainly of smaller houses, which all seem to be from this century, and the alleyways dominating in other old cities, are rarely found here.

Among the most visible aspects of Casablanca are the wide boulevards flanked by white, tall buildings. The streets run out as the leaves of a fan from the Place de Nations Unies. This place is the focal point of downtown Casablanca, and also the point where the modern town meets the medina.

A walk around Casablanca will demonstrate clearly that Casablanca was the place that the French colonial authorities gave most attention and money. The old colonial centre of Casablanca is not small, and refreshingly beautiful. The buildings are of a French version of Arabo-Andalucian architecture, white with soft lines, and often plenty of details.

The Mosque Hassan 2 is situated outside the city, construction began in 1980 and it was completed in 1993 to celebrate the 60th birthday of King Hassen 2 of Morocco. It is the highest religious building in the world, and the largest mosque there is, covering 20,000 m², and has room for 25,000 people, of which 5,000 places are set off for women.

It is located next to the Atlantic Sea, and the laser lights that point in the direction of Mecca, from the minaret can be seen from miles out to the sea. The mosque was designed by Michel Pinseau, a French architect. The walls are made up of concrete clad and marble; the interior has columns in marble, domes of carved wood and intricate stucco on the walls. The central square of the structure has a roof that can be opened. The mosque has been financed to a large extent by gifts, and there has been questions put forward on where all the money has come from.