We spent the first full day of our honeymoon exploring Casablanca on foot.  We briefly got lost in the twists and turns of the crowded markets and medina streets, but found ourselves in time for lunch at La Sqala, where we had freshly squeezed fruit juice and more tagine.  (Even when we were lost, I don’t believe we were ever more than 50 meters away from someone offering juice and/or mint tea.)  Although we didn’t go inside, we walked past Rick’s Café, a restaurant designed as a near-replica of the bar in the film Casablanca.

However, our main adventure for the day was touring the Hassan II mosque.  Even the underwhelmed online reviewers of Casablanca begrudgingly admitted that it is a great sight to behold.  Located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Hassan II is the largest mosque in Morocco and either the third- or fifth-largest in the world (depending on the source).  It’s also one of few mosques that non-Muslims are permitted to enter.  Carlos and I arrived at prayer time, so we weren’t allowed inside immediately, but we were able to join a tour in the mid-afternoon.

Our tour guide spoke 11 languages and was able to answer every question about the history, architecture, and present-day usage of the mosque.  It was built relatively recently in honor of the previous king of Morocco, and construction ended in the 1990s.  Its minaret stands at 210 meters – the tallest in the world.  As is customary, the imam and Muslim worshippers pray facing Mecca at the front of the mosque.  The guide explained that the Hassan II mosque contains a special door that is used only by the king.  When the king visits, he walks through the door and across a designated path on the floor bordered by water.  When the king is not preset, the door remains closed and the pathway dry.  “This king guy sounds pretty important,” Carlos observed.

Pictures were allowed in the mosque, but I took very few since I don’t think my phone could do justice to the intricacy of the tilework and architecture.  I think I was able to capture the essence of the outside a bit better.