August is not
the month one would chose to visit Morocco, but when Eitan was to be an
official at the World Bridge Championships, we went. And it is hot, 46°C on our first day.
The other thing
to know it is a little like being in Sinai, throw away your watch
because time
is slower here; registering at a hotel takes ages. But everyone is so
pleasant
after the initial annoyance everything is just fine. On arriving late
at the Movenpick
hotel in Marrakesh we wanted something to eat. Our cokes were served
with
delicious, not salty olives. No nuts but the waitress brought us three
breadsticks which was just enough to tide us over.
Is Casablanca worthwhile
visiting? The jury
is still out. Some say the Hassan II mosque is the only thing worth a
visit; in addition my
friend
Ziona said I should give Humphrey Bogart regards. Also Limor’s father
came from
Casablanca. So I went.
When a friend couldn’t join me
and when I
heard that a visit to the Hassan II mosque was only
through a guided
tour, I
went on my own; first class, 2 ½ hour train ride.
It was rather frightening to
see the carriage door wide open when the train was hurtling along
at full speed.
I was afraid that I'd be sucked out, like in a plane. When I told the
conductor he ran to close the door.
The mosque, a
most impressive
building stands on a huge square. Google said it was the largest in
Africa, the
7th largest in the world. Our guide insisted it was the
third
largest after Mecca and Medina. Because I had to walk barefoot (without
the
support of my orthopedic sneakers) walking was painful, and may have
clouded my
impression of the huge beautiful mosque. Interestingly enough Michel
Pinseau a
non-Muslim was the architect, and it took 7 years to complete. The 8
ton
chandeliers from Murano glass, the titanium doors leading to the sea,
other
doors that lifted up to open, the women’s section on wooden balconies
over the
area were most interesting. After completing a tour of the mosque we
went down
stairs to see the enormous and beautiful ablution fountains, one for
men and
one for women. The mosque not only stands by the sea but a third of it
is over
the Atlantic Ocean reflecting a verse from the Quran: “the throne of
God was
upon the water” (see picture
here).
Afterwards walking along the
corniche I saw
that the promenade was reclaimed land and I enjoyed the waves crashing
against
the promenade wall.
The other thing I wanted to do
was to go to
Rick’s Café of the movie Casablanca fame.
Actually the café in the movie never existed; the whole
movie was filmed
at Warner Brother’s studio in California. This café is a loving
recreation by
Ms. Kriger, a former American diplomat; it is now a very posh
restaurant. I
arrived suitably impressed and noted the piano of “Play it again Sam”
fame,
but the pianist Issam Chabaa plays ‘As time goes by’ only
in the evenings. The food was excellent and
the ambience perfect.
I’ll just have to go and see
the movie again.
Well pleased I returned to
Eitan in Marrakesh.
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