Yesterday was the last formal day of our photo tour and we returned to Marrakech on a long driving trip of over 550 km. Apart from a stop in Casablanca to see the Hassan II Mosque. We travelled continuously, only stoppinf for a couple of toilet breaks.
We left Chefchaouen in the early morning, just as the sun was coming up and lighting up the mountains around the town.
Until we reached Casablanca, we traveled through rolling farmland in which people were growing many edible crops. These included olives, various vegetables, pomegranates, and fields in which wheat was just popping its head above the soil.
Eucalyptus trees are quite common in this part of Morocco and we drove through one grove that reminded me of a country road back home.
This area seemed to have quite rich soil, and there was considerable evidence of irrigation. Some overhead irrigation channels followed the road, and there were large channels crossing the landscape. I thought that it was quite interesting that we were from the other side of the world watching local people go about their normal day-to-day business.
Eventually, the road became a four-lane highway complete with tollgates. We bypassed the city of Rabat, continuing onto Casablanca. The four major cities in Morocco are known for different things. Rabat (the country’s capital) is noted for being the legal capital of the country. Fezz is the cultural capital while Casablanca is the financial center and Marrakech fills the role of the tourist center.
Just near Rabat, we crossed a deep gorge on the impressive Mohammed VI Bridge which was completed in 2011. It is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Africa. Built over the River Bouregreg, the bridge is 950 metres long and is supported by two 200 meter-high main towers.
Casablanca is just a very large and busy city any of the romance portrayed in the movies is just a fiction. The traffic was heavy and chaotic at the intersections. Cars entered from all directions, turning right from the middle lane and left from any lane. It was a brave driver who competed with the turning traffic and wanted to travel straight ahead.
We had lunch near the large mosque and then walked around to see it for a visit. Our timing did not allow us to go inside (it is the only mosque in Moscow in Morocco that allows non-Muslims to enter) but it was certainly an impressive structure from the outside.
The Hassan II Mosque Casablancas is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa and I understand it to be the 14th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world’s second tallest at 210 metres. Completed in 1993, it was built under the guidance of King Hassan II by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is 60 stories high and topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The walls are of hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque’s outside grounds.
As we continued on to Marrakech, the countryside became more and more dry until we were back in a desert environment.
We reached Marrakesh by around 6.00 pm, and dropped off our bags at the Riad where we were staying overnight. Our tour group of three, plus Rosa, finished with a wonderful dinner in a restaurant in the old town overlooking a square.
The Riad, where we stayed overnight is the same as the one we began the touring. It certainly has a number of charming rooms that are tastefully decorated in a Moroccan style.
I will spend two more days in the seaside town of Cheaasouria before coming home.
