The Mother of Birthday Gifts

After the long waits for filthy hot buses and taxis we were finally on the Moroccan rail line. I had read that the rail system in Morocco was one of the most modern in Africa, although I'm not quite sure how modern that really meant. The plan was to take the overnight sleeper south to the coastal town of Essaouira. The problem was that a Ramadan schedule was in effect and there were no overnight trains. So we bought a first class ticket for the 41/2 hour trip to Casablanca.

The name Casablanca may conjure up images of romance from the movie of the same name however like the movie most travellers are trying to get out of Casablanca. It's a big modern city of 4 million with big city problems and holds little interest for tourists. That said it is the most western city in the Arab world both geographically and symbolically and offers an interesting contrast with the rest of Morocco. With it's fabulous art deco architecture and women wearing the latest designer clothes a more common sight than the veil, at times we felt we could be in southern Europe. Sitting in the Romano Cafe we were surrounded with men and woman, indeed a very rare sight in Moroccan cafe culture.

There is one must see site in Casablanca, the Hassan II Mosque. Commissioned by former King Hassan II for his 60th birthday, the mosque is the 3rd largest in the world and took workers 7 years to complete. This offcially makes it The Mother of Birthday Gifts, well at least it's gotta be in the top 10. It sits on the Atlantic ocean and really is a sight to behold when we step out of our petite taxi. While the setting is spectacular it is also where the controversy and contradictions begin, the mosque was built upon a densely populated slum whose residents were displaced without any compensation. Also during construction the government was lacking funds so they made every family in Morocco pay a mandatory police enforced sum to fiance the project. I have no idea how that went over with the masses and I'm far from being an expert on Morocco but I could guess that maybe that money could have been spent in better places. Nobody actually knows what the exact final cost of construction was.

We wander around the outside of this grand building while we wait for the 10am English guided tour to begin, a tour is mandatory to visit the inside. This is the only mosque in Morocco I've seen where infidels, sorry I mean non Muslims can visit the interior. Upon entering all I can mutter is "whoa, this is crazy." Our guide tells us about the retractable roof, heated marble floors, granite columns and electric doors. The 210 metre tall minaret is the tallest in the world with a green laser that points to Mecca at night. All building materials came from Morocco except the chandeliers, they were from Italy. The main prayer hall can hold 25,000 worshipers and another 80,000 can be held outside. Notre Dame or St. Peter's can comfortably fit inside the mosque.

We complete the tour and I can't help but be awestruck, yet left with a strange feeling. It's the same feeling I've gotten after visiting these religious sights cum tourist attractions all over the world. From Notre Dame in Paris to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, hordes of tourists (including me) pay money to enter then walk around these holy sights. Do we really gain anything meaningful from visiting? Or is it merely to check off another sight we've seen? If I was a Moroccan who was coming here to pray today I wonder how I'd feel about all this?