Day Two
Date: 29 April 2013
Place: Casablanca -
Meknes
Weather: Cool but
fine.
Accommodation: Hotel
Transatlantique, Meknes
Our tour started in earnest.
We are a group of thirteen: 6
couples and 5 single women.
We were off to a punctual start of 8.30am to the largest
mosque in Morocco which has the tallest minaret in the world – Mosquee Hassan
II. This is a very recent mosque which
was completed in 1993 covers an area of 20 000 square metres on reclaimed land
near the ocean.
Rick's Café....completely fictional but someone's come up with a good idea in Casablanca!
The main hall of the mosque.....huge!
Forty-one fountains....ablution area underneath the great hall.
So big....hard to fit it all in!
Twenty five thousand faithful can pray inside and eighty
thousand outside. Our tour lasted an
hour taking us to the main prayer hall where the cedar carved roof can be
opened to the sky, the ablution fountains and hammam.
After a rest break we were on our way to the capital
Rabat. As Casablanca has population of 5
million it took some time to reach the end of the city.
The Royal Palace is off limits to visitors as it is the
administrative base for the royal family and government however a guide from
the area told the history and information relevant to this beautiful area. The site covers 43 hectares and is the second
largest palace after Fes.
Outside the Royal Palace.
A short distance away is the ancient Chellah and royal
necropolis. Our guide lead us through
the old Roman area, the Muslim area with a minaret and a pool area. The Muslim area contains the 14th
century tombs of a sultan, his wife and son.
Walking down some steps brings you to the pool for barren women. Someone asked if it worked – to which the
guide replied that he wasn’t sure for women but it did for the cats! Yes, lots of mangy cats everywhere!
Chellah.....a walk among the ruins and large stork nests.
The pool for barren women.
Next stop – lunch! We
are starting to get to know our companions and meal times provide this
opportunity. David and I chose lamb and
chicken tagines and they were very hot and delicious. I tried my first peppermint tea without sugar
and that was great as well.
After lunch we headed to Mausoleum of Mohommed V which
stands next to the very old Hassan Tower Mosque. The mosque was started in 1196 but was never
finished as the sultan died iin 1199.
The disastrous Lisbon earthquake of 1755 damaged what was remaining but
the minaret survived. We visited the
mausoleum which allows visitors to walk around the interior balcony overlooking
the tombs of the kings.
Scrummy lunch.....chicken, green olives and lemon.
The Mausoleum of Mohommed V.
The Kasbah in Rabat was built in the 12th century
and is a city within a city. The old mud
wall encloses buildings and the beautiful Andalucian Gardens. In the 17th century it became a
refuge for Muslims forced out of Spain.
The area gave lovely views over the river and blue coloured boats on the
opposite shore line.
The lovely Andalucian Gardens in the Kasbah....love the orange trees!
We were on the road at 4pm for the rest of our journey for
the day to Meknes. A stop at 6pm provided a quick drink and
toilet break. One of the blokes had been
vomiting since our lunch break so it has been a long afternoon for him.
The scenery after this was very beautiful with lots of green
pastures, olive groves and small herds of animals.
Meknes looks a prosperous and a clean town. The hotel was lovely and we dined in the
restaurant with a lovely French speaking waiter who helped us choose a great
red wine from the area.
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