Casablanca - day 2 in the White City

 A big day today - clean clothes for half the crew and a day of exploring Casablanca, followed by a typical Moroccan dinner.

Aldo was hugely pleased to get out of that dark suitcase and survey the view from our fourth floor window this morning.

At 8.45 am Driss arrived with the coach, our driver Ali and our asssistant to both, Mohammed. First stop was Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church but there was a Mass in progress so we continued on to the Old Medina or old city of Casablanca. Driss was wearing the traditional and commonly worn dress of Moroccan Muslims, the hooded gown called a djellaba, and the slippers. He gives us very full and very interesting details about all facets of life in Morocco. 

We walked through the market area which was quiet as it was early Sunday morning and stall holders were just setting up. The Medina in Casablanca is much more open than medinas I have experienced in other old cities.

Some verses from the Koran, seen in a book shop window.

On to the Quartiere Habous where the European-influenced architecture is a feature. French art deco was especially popular from the 1920s and some buildings combine art deco and the Moroccan indigenous style. There are many beautiful buildings, many built between 1920s and 1956 to house the growing population in Casablanca.

Casablanca is Morocco's economic hub and has a population of 6 million people

A detour into the fish market was an introduction to the vast seafood available from the Atlantic Ocean and its importance in the food supply for Casablanca's people.

The next stop was the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993. It is the largest mosque in Africa and the 3rd largest in the world. As with many mosques, the quality of the craftsmanship is amazing. In this one the features are the ornately painted cedar wood ceilings, the decorative tiling, the intricate plaster carving, the marble and its location right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean covering 9 hectares.

From the entry court-yard we put on our head scarves to show our respect for the traditions of the Muslim faith.

Having our own Muslim guide meant we gained many insights into the faith, living that faith in the modern world, education, ablutions and much, much more.

                                  

                                         

Yes, lots of photos but how can you choose which to leave out?

Next we went down stairs where the ablution halls house 45 marble fountains with 600 water outlets. What a beautifully designed area.

A drive along the seafront, La Corniche, brought us to a lunch break then we returned towards the modern city past both very poor living quarters and also the most affluent area.

A surprise was in store when we returned to Notre Dame, the African choir seen in the park yesterday were singing.

One glance at the photos below will tell you that the stained glass walls are especially impressive in this church. So much detail, so much colour.

We had an 8 pm dinner engagement for a typical Moroccan dinner at a restaurant, the wall and ceiling decoration another fine example of the craftsmanship in this region.

Bread is very important to the people of Morocco and they have the best of both worlds here. From the traditional breads passed down from the Berbers through to the best of French baking. With two types of bread our first course comprised about eight different plates of vegetables prepared with spices. Eggplant, celeriac,  beetroot, cucumber with rosewater, capsicum, carrot ...

Tagine is a quintessential Moroccan dish and ours was a delicious chicken with lemon and olives.

Oh, the dessert ... a gorgeous concoction of crispy filo pastry, an almond flavoured custard  with roasted finely cut almonds giving a crunch and topped with a slice of apple. Must find this recipe!

Sweet mint tea is the drink of Morocco and is offered as a sign of welcome. It is served with flair and was very refreshing.

Just when we thought the evening was over the belly dancer arrived. We had three volunteers who thankfully stepped up to represent those of us with no coordination or nerves for trying belly dancing.

We came home via the scenic route, past the Hassan II mosque and Rick's Cafe.

                              

For those interested in the weather, both days so far have had a top of 20 degrees.

Casablanca - day 1 in the White City

It didn't take long to decide what to put on today ... only one choice! After a good night's sleep and an amazing array of food on offer for breakfast we had a free day ahead of us.

A small group of us set out to find an ATM and a supermarket. Cashed up with dirham (1 dirham = 15 cents AU) we headed to the Carrefour Gourmet supermarket in search of essentials like razors and deodorant (just in case our luggage doesn't arrive today) and snacks.

Casablanca is very French with street names in French, lots of patisseries and most people say Bonjour. I even saw men with bread sticks under their arms! 

The big hotel in the centre, the Onomo City Centre, is home for three nights.

This afternoon most people have gone for a walk and I've stayed home to blog. Noel and our local guide hope to be able to collect our luggage too. Fingers crossed.

Several hours later:  A big day of walking was thoroughly enjoyed by all, the highlights as passed on to me were the ex Sacre Coeur Cathedral and the surrounding gardens with fountains, a group of North African singers who meet regularly in the park to sing and enjoy fellowship, and the friendliness of the locals.

Unfortunately Rick's Cafe based on the bar in the film Casablanca was closed. Even more unfortunately, any attempt to contact the airport proved futile with regard to lost luggage.    

Thanks to Jen B. for these four photos

At 6 pm we had welcome drinks and nibbles in the attractive outdoor eating area of the hotel. Very nice typical Moroccan finger food, lots to drink and our guide Driss Karim gave us an introduction to the tour and himself. 

A second rescue attempt, a foray to the airport 25 kms away, happened after the Welcome as Marg had a luggage tracker and it was showing that her case was at the airport. A long story but Noel, Kelly and Marg faced up to a huge area full of lost cases  and checked them all several times. One by one they retrieved all the ten suitcases through dogged determination, with help from red Bunnik labels and straps, What'sApp communication between the searchers and group back at the hotel ... and several small miracles.

Some photos, with thanks, from Marg C.

Three hours after setting off (10.30 pm) they were welcomed home. Marg, her luggage tab and her two co-searchers were HEROES.

Bon soir.

Moroccan Discovery - our Travellers group set off for Adventure

At last the 18th April had arrived and our Travellers met at the train station in high spirits and ready for adventure. Sadly one couple were late cancellations so our number was down to seventeen. We had seats on the reduced size train thus avoiding a bus trip, the transition to the airport was seamless and we had plenty of time to check in and relax.

But some things just don't go smoothly, as we were about to discover! The Emirates flight was of the usual high standard but as soon as we arrived in Dubai at 5.15 am we realized there were problems. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates had suffered a horrendous storm several days earlier. 25 cm or 10 inches of rain had fallen in 48 hours, in one day they had more than twice their annual rainfall. The runway had been under water and many flights were cancelled. Dubai is the world's second busiest airport and there was chaos with large numbers of passengers stranded for days.

These photos were before we realized what was ahead. Our leader Margot showing the way.

We arrived at our gate for the onward flight to Morocco to be met by what looked like hundreds of Muslim people trying to get home. Ramadan had recently concluded and we discovered that most of them had been on pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and had large amounts of excess baggage (read, shopping!)

As the crowds built, time for departure grew close and no check-in was happening, the crowd grew tense - much pushing and shoving, high pitched noise, heat and pointy elbows in action, not at all fun. The staff had no control and we feared things were going to become more unpleasant as fighting and arguing started. We discovered that many of these people had boarding passes for previous days so their behaviour and emotions were understandable.

Finally they started to let people with passes for that day to go through.  Understandably our group of seventeen was no longer 'a group' and it was a great relief when we finally all got through. We arrived at out seats to find an old woman curled up asleep on them.

The plane was due to depart at 7.30 am and finally left at 11.30. Of course that meant a very late arrival into Casablanca, Morocco. And that is where the next nightmare experience began. After waiting an age for luggage at the carousel it was announced that no more was coming today and we needed to go and report our lost luggage. That meant 11 of our people were without luggage.

The totally chaotic process of claiming and the strong minding and argumentative women ahead of us meant that after more that two hours of trying to hold our positions in the melee, we escaped with one claim form for all our luggage. I am sore and bruised from the pushing and shoving. Australians certainly don't have elbow skills ... either using or dodging them.

We did eventually get out of the airport building where a massive crowd was gathered with floral arrangements and gifts to welcome back the pilgrims. We found the rest of our group and our tour leader Driss and then collapsed onto the coach where we could barely keep awake to listen to the plans. At 10.30 pm we arrived at our very smart hotel.

It has been a long two days.

Sofles Creates a Car Park that makes People Smile!

 The under cover car park at the Benalla library was not a place you really wanted to go, but since Sofles has spread his magic it is now a place of great joy. Every person that I saw walk through the space, no matter how fast or slow, they did it with a smile on their face.

A stunning mass of colours, shapes, symbols and names, everywhere you look you see things that please the eye. It is a photographer's dream. How many photos are too many?

Go visit this amazing space, or enjoy my photos of this huge 'wall' sprayed by Sofles, who is known as Australian graffiti royalty.