March 22-24
We took a train back to Casablanca on the 22nd from Marrakech. It’s an easy four hours, in theory, but it is a reminder about the one issue we have with Morocco. Everyone in this country smokes and smoking is allowed EVERYWHERE. It is such a throw back to 1990’s United States, except back then there were smoking sections in restaurants (for all the good that did) and here every restaurant is one big smoking section. Cafes, lobbies of hotels, train cars… everywhere. It’s awful. Other than that – super easy train ride back to Casablanca.
When we arrived, Michael took a cab back to our old trusty hotel and I took a cab to the US Consulate. It was time to see just how lucky we were and if all those prayers we requested were going to pay off. Reminder, I have been traveling on an emergency passport since I was blocked from using my old passport to get out of Kenya. But when entering Morocco, my last blank page was stamped. That makes it really hard to go to any new country. So with two weeks in this country, it was my best chance of finally getting a full replacement. During my visit to the consulate last week I was promised it would be ready for me within 14 days. But I needed it in 12 or less in order to fly to Barcelona on Saturday. Anxiety is super high.
I rolled into the consulate without any issue and waited as patiently as possibly for about 10 minutes. Then I was called to the window and they gave me my new passport. That’s it. It was actually very anticlimactic for how much build up and anxiety was pumping through me at the time.
So now I’m the proud owner of three US passports – one of which is fully functional for the next ten years.
Super relieved, I have now spent the last 24 hours saying “I can’t believe I have my new passport” on repeat. Looks like it’s going to be smooth sailing tomorrow. Did I just jinx us? I think I did!
Last night we grabbed sushi for dinner. mmmmm.
Today, Michael went for an 18 mile run while I cranked out a few of these blog posts. Yay for slightly reliable wifi!
Then we went out to visit Hassan II Mosque. This was the mosque that I posted pictures of in our first few days in Casablanca. We went back today to do the tour and it was well worth it.
The building was designed by a French architect who was best friends with the king. The architect had studied Moroccan architecture extensively but was not a Muslim which I think is interesting.
The inside of the mosque is just stunning. All of the materials are from Morocco except for the chandeliers which are all Venetian glass and these two pieces of white Carrara marble (also Italian) on either side of the door. The Carrara marble indicates the direction of Mecca which is why they used this type of marble to differentiate from the rest of the marble in the building. Because, as our guide noted, Carrara marble is the best in the world. Google tells me that it’s the stuff that Michelangelo used for his sculptures.
The picture above shows the second floor of the mosque. This is where the women pray. The men all pray on the first floor.
The entire building is super beautiful and there are no areas that aren’t decorated very deliberately. I felt very lucky that we were allowed to go in and look around. I was surprised, however, that they didn’t ask the women to cover their heads. When we visited mosques in Turkey I was always made to cover my head. I would have expected this mosque to be at least as conservative as the ones we visited previously.
We ran a few errands in the medina after visiting the mosque and now we’re off to our last dinner in Morocco. Tomorrow morning we fly to Barcelona, so this is the end of our time in Africa. It has been an amazing experience and I know we’ll be back!