Casablanca

This sunset view of Casablanca is from the window of our hotel room.  You can see a little shopping area across the street and the Hassan II Mosque.  In the distance is the Atlantic Ocean.

Highlights of our visit to Casablanca were:

• Sofitel Hotel
• Dinner at Rick's Cafe
• Views of the Hassan II Mosque

After several nights in ryads, it was nice to enjoy the comforts of a modern hotel for the nights of December 9 & 10, 2019.

Having recently rewatched the 1942 Casablanca movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingred Bergman, dinner at Rick's was a must.  Of course this is not the restaurant used for the film.  It was built to capitalize on fans of the movie.  It worked with us. In the upstairs gambling room, the movie was playing continuously. 

The interior design and furnishings are similar to the movies.  Here are a few images of the inside.

        Sea Bass -------->

In addition to the tour of the facility, we had a wonderful dinner.

<------- Filet Mignon

Two thirds of the mosque is built over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Hassan II Mosque is the second largest religious building in the world after the mosque in Mecca.  It is named after the former king of Morocco.  King Hassan II served from February of 1961, until his death in July of 1999.  This mosque was opened in 1993.  

Two laser beams from the minaret reach a distance of over 18 miles shine in the direction of Mecca.