November 01, 2014 Saturday
Submitted by Meli
sevalmehlika@gmail.com

MOROCCO TOUR NOVEMBER 2014
Group Journal
Casablanca City Tour

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Day 03 Rabat, Meknes
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Morocco Tour Itinerary 
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Our very luxurious van for the rest of our tour in Morocco

Our Guide Idris giving his first lecture

The Mosque of Mohammed the 2nd

An excellent lunch at Al Mounia

The Church of Mary

The Medine

Colleen could not resist the temptation

Click here for
Day 03 Rabat, Meknes
Melitour Home Page
Morocco Tour Itinerary 
Photo Gallery  
 

Breakfast was wonderful with lots of fresh fruit and good croissant. Colleen and I were the first to go down for breakfast. It was great to chat with her and hear what she has been doing since I last saw her in Turkey in 2013. Idris, our guide, and I were going to meet at 09:00 am, so I had to run to my room to get ready for the day. Idris was waiting for me at the lobby of the hotel right on time. He is married to a judge. He lives in Marrakesh. His son goes to school in Canada. His 22 year old daughter is studying to be a medical doctor. Idris speaks five languages. He seems like he has a great passion for Morocco and loves to be a guide. Every thing he said about his guiding principles sounded very assuring.

The rest of the group, now only five people, had joined us at the nice, quiet lounge, I already knew that Idris will be the right guide for this group. We started with a short introduction of ourselves. Caroline, Colleen, Carole, Robert and Karen all wanted to emphasize on learning about the history, and culture of Morocco. They were all interested in eating well, and few of us would not mind if we could shop a little bit.

After going over the few basics of running a group tour, like punctuality, being open with our wishes, not manipulating the guide etc. , we left the hotel at 10:30 to visit the mosque of king, Mohammed the 2nd.

Our driver Abdul recognized me immediately. I had never forgotten about him anyway, because, when I had the same driver 5 years ago, we had a lady with a broken leg. Our driver was an incredible help bringing her on and off the van. With a wonderful driver and with an excellent guide, and with such enthusiastic group, we will have a wonderful tour!!

We arrived at the mosque just in time to join an English speaking tour led by the guide of the mosque. We were told how the mosque was built in less than 10 years with thousands of craftsmen and workers working day and night. The statistics about the grandeur of the building. One really did not need to know so much detail about the building. The beauty of the craftsmanship is so stunning, that one gets mesmerized with every corner of the mosque; the woodwork, the "musharabie" fences to keep the privacy of the women, the soft color of the marbles, the wall carvings, the carpets ... every corner of the mosque is a wok of art.

After the tour of the mosque, the ablution hall and the "hammam" was finished, we started driving along the Atlantic Ocean. Private clubs, beaches, cafés, restaurants... Idris pointed out to a few USA style fast food complexes. We drived through the rich neighborhoods of Anfa district. We saw where Roosevelt, Churchill, Degaulle made the plan of putting an end to the World War II.

Finally we reached the restaurant.  Al Mounia (95 rue du prince Moulay Abdellah casablanca phone 0522222669) It was like diving in to a painting of an Orientalist. The waiters were immaculately dressed as if they were from another century in the past. The food was excellent.

Between 1912 and 1956, the French had occupied Morocco. During the French presence for the colonizers, several churches and two cathedrals were built. One of the cathedrals of Casablanca is now a cultural Center of the town. since the cathedral had lost its congregation, it no longer works as a church. The Mary's church is a working church. The windows with excellent stain glass mainly tells the biblical stories, but the missionaries who had Christianized Africa are also honored in the stain glass panels.

We took a walk in the Medina - the old city of Casablanca. After the orientation of how to meet, where to meet, when to meet, the tour members all went their way to explore the shops. Colleen could not resist the temptation. she ended up buying a beautiful kilim for her kitchen. Meli bought the light fixtures. The rest enjoyed the coffee aux lait at the corner café. As soon as we all arrived at the hotel, everyone took out their phones/computers to check their emails and face book. After getting used to it, it seems like it is quite difficult to stay away from technology.

The Dinner was at an elegant restaurant near the water; Basmane Restaurant. The nice Moroccon dry white wine was popular. Our vegetarian Robert was quite happy with 5-6 different dishes of the "Moroccon Salads" , the chicken Tagine was well made. The fruit and the deserts were to die for.

We now have to pack for an early departure tomorrow morning.