There are the famous lines we've all heard, such as "Here's looking at you, kid," "We'll always have Paris" and, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
But Casablanca is also famous for its more recent Hassan II mosque.
Completed in 1993 after 6 years of construction, and delays, the Hassan II mosque is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 3rd largest in the world.
The mosque is so large it can hold 25,000 worshippers inside – 20,000 men on the main floor plus a balcony that can hold 5,000 women.
For those of you that relate well to numbers (perhaps that may include some engineers that we know), the prayer hall is 200 m long, 100 m wide and 60 m high. The area measures 20,000 m².
In other words, for those of you that don't relate to numbers, this place is MASSIVE.
For perspective you can see how tiny the people are in the photos.
An additional 80,000 worshippers can be accommodated outside in the courtyards.
Working in shifts for 24 hours a day, for the entire 6 years of construction, there were 10,000 artists and craftsmen from all over the kingdom.
During the most intense period of construction, 1400 men worked during the day and another 1100 during the night.
All of the granite, plaster, marble, wood and other materials used in the construction are from around Morocco, with the exception of some Italian white granite columns and 56 Murano glass chandeliers.
At 210 metres in height (690 ft) the minaret is the second tallest minaret in the world. It has a laser beam fitted at the top that is oriented towards Mecca and has a range of 30 kilometres (19 mi). It is built on reclaimed land directly on the Atlantic ocean to recall a verse of the Qur'an stating that “the throne of Allah was built on water.”
The roof is retractable and was installed instead of air conditioning. It measures 60 metres (200 ft) high, with an area of 3,400 square metres (37,000 sq ft). The roof weighs 1100 tons. It can be opened in five minutes and closed in 3 minutes.
The ablution room and a vast public hammam are in the basement with its own entrance. The ablution fountains in the basement are shaped like huge lotus flowers and were carved from local marble.
RICK'S CAFE:
For those with a touch of nostalgia, Casablanca does have a Rick's Cafe. It was built in 2004 and inspired by the famous fictional gin joint in the movie “Casablanca”.
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
2 comments:
The mosque designs and craftsmanship are incredible and looks like a blend of Alhambra and the Sagrada Familia.
Is there any authentic memorabilia at Rick's Cafe?
You are right Gordon, the craftsmanship and details are amazing and do have Arab, Moroccan flair combined with some modern twists. We never went into Rick's Cafe, just drove by.
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