Casablanca Adventure: The New Normal - Hassan II Mosque (part 1

On Sunday last weekend we took a cab to the Hassan II mosque. It's about 15 minutes by taxi from our apartment. We had seen it from a distance many times and were anxious to experience it up close. It is a most impressive, beautiful, majestic structure. The Hassan II is the 7th largest mosque in the world and the largest in Africa. It was completed in 1993 and is located in a run-down area right on the Atlantic Ocean. We only got to see the outside of the building and the grounds; next time we will try to tour the inside.

King Hassan II commissioned the mosque in order that Casablanca might have a landmark monument. A French architect named Michel Pinseau designed the mosque and 6000 Moroccan master craftsmen and artisans worked on building. The land on which it is built was reclaimed from the former owners without compensation (bummer #1). The cost of 800 million dollars was raised from the public; the donations were apparently "less than voluntary" (bummer #2). However, the people seem very proud of their mosque, despite possible resentment.

Stunning Metal Door (stunning man in front of it!)

I love the fact that most of the materials used in the building of the mosque are from Morocco. The cedar wood is from the Middle Atlas mountains, the granite is from Tafraoute, and the marble is from Agadir. The only materials from outside Morocco are the white granite columns and the glass chandeliers (we haven't been inside to see the lights yet). There is a lot of intricate carving, metal work and tiling all around the outside.

Fancy tiling

Intricately carved door

Star-sharped fountain (not working)

Arches adorn the perimeter

You can really get a sense of the expanse of the grounds from this shot

After we walked around the mosque grounds, we headed down the Corniche via sidewalk. The nearby "beach" is rocky and slippery, but many people were walking around anyway. The local Moroccans were enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon.