Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca

Posted on July 30, 2014
by Lori

This morning we left home at 9:30 and rode to Casablanca in the mini-bus to go on a tour of the Hassan II mosque. Unfortunately, today is the anniversary of the king’s coronation (who knew?), and the mosque was closed to tours. This was not unexpected – there are no guarantees when it comes to making plans in Morocco, or most of Africa for that matter, but it was still a little disappointing.

Here are a few stats on this mosque:

largest mosque in Africa, 7th largest in the world
tallest minaret in the world – 689 feet (6o stories)
completed in 1993
lasers on top of the minaret point toward Mecca
can accommodate 25,000 worshippers inside and 80,000 outside
has a glass floor over the Atlantic, and a retractable roof
construction cost is estimated at 585 million Euro (almost 800 million dollars)

Some photos from the exterior…

Nic looking through the keyhole:

The pattern on the door:

This light fixture is at least 4′ tall:

I’m fascinated by this inside corner with the perfect zelij pattern:

A close-up of zelij:

Ben and the kids on the rocks next to the mosque:

We may try to go back for a tour at some point if the schedule allows. It’s definitely worth the (second) trip.

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

Posted on July 29, 2014
by Lori

First of all, the Jobinoffems are here!!!

Second, we have a small problem. We don’t know what time it is. The problem didn’t come to light until this morning – the first time since we arrived that the time actually mattered. Can you imagine not needing to know what time it is for 4 days??

We were discussing what time to leave for the airport and we realized that the time had changed on our iPhones, so we were 5 hours ahead of the US rather than 4. I checked online and found some websites that said it was 4 hours later here and some that said it was 5. I asked my niece, and she said it was the time on my iPhone. Ben asked his brother-in-law, and he said it was one hour earlier. I ended up watching the flight on flightaware.com, and when it got over Spain we drove to the airport.

Apparently there is a time change coming on August 2nd, but somehow our phones have changed early. We are being picked up tomorrow at 9:15 a.m…or is it 8:15 a.m…or 10:15 a.m.? I’m confused. Is it possible that all of the iPhones in Morocco and many websites are wrong? I guess we’ll just embrace the Moroccan “makayn mooshkeel” (“it’s not a problem”) and hope for the best.

Tomorrow’s itinerary includes a trip to Casablanca by mini-bus, to see the Hassan II Mosque and some other Casablanca landmarks. Today’s post-airport events included a delicious meal of couscous with beef, a nap, a trip to the beach for the boys and Norah (the girls were sleeping), a lot of window-watching, and feeding the cats. So far, so good.

‘Afia! (Fire!)

Posted on July 28, 2014
by Lori

Today was the last day of Ramadan, and we all fasted. Each family member’s motivation was different. Ben, of course, has been fasting all month, including the days we spent traveling to Morocco (he could have been excused because of the travel). At this point I think he is actually enjoying the fast on some level – I know he loves to break the fast with his sisters and their families. For me, it is uncomfortable for Ben’s family to be cooking food for us when I know they can’t eat. I’d rather fast along with them, even though I’m not Muslim.

Aliya fasted yesterday along with her 13YO cousin, Amine. Kids are supposed to start fasting once they reach puberty. There was a possibility that yesterday was the last day (the beginning and end of Ramadan are based on moon sightings), but when we found out that there was one more day, Ben convinced Aliya to fast again. Adlani saw that Aliya got to sleep all day yesterday, and he had to go on the 5-mile walk. So he fasted today so he had an excuse to lay around and do nothing all day. Oy. Norah noticed how much praise Aliya got for fasting yesterday, so she decided to fast today. About an hour after she woke up she bent the rules and had a cookie, but after that she fasted for the rest of the day.

If you have questions about Ramadan, there are some answers on this blog post.

The day’s activities consisted of a trip to Marjane (the supermarket), and a few other errands. There are lots of photos from a previous visit to Marjane on this blog post from our last trip. My brother-in-law Aziz drove us on our errands so we didn’t pass out from hunger while walking downtown. Ben brought some gloves and a mask for the guy who polishes metal with his bare hands (his picture is here), so we dropped those off and promised to bring our friends back later to shop.

As we were driving through town I saw smoke off in the distance and asked what it was. Ben and Aziz said that it was trash burning, but as we got closer we realized that there was a pretty good brush fire going. The fire department showed up to put it out. One truck with a water tank, 4 guys with a hose. We didn’t stay to see whether they ran out of water before they got it under control, but they were actually doing a decent job, given the circumstances. It’s a good thing structure fires are not common here, which is surprising considering some of the cooking methods.

The Jobinoffems are currently on a plane to Paris, and we will pick them up in Casablanca tomorrow afternoon. I hope they’re ready for instantaneous Moroccan immersion!

Outside Our Window

Posted on July 27, 2014
by Lori

Watching the world go by outside the window is always a common pastime when we’re in Morocco, which is kind of funny because we don’t spend ANY time looking out the window at home. There’s always a lot happening on our street here. I’m sure I’ll have more to add, but here are some photos from the last few days.

The boys are constantly playing soccer in the street. It’s currently midnight and I can still hear them out there.

The littlest ones can’t go out unsupervised, so if they don’t have a responsible older sibling they have to sit in the penalty box and watch.

This boy’s father washes cars…he uses the jugs of water to wash and rinse (no hose). The boy helps with the mats.

This guy meets his supplier of prickly pear fruit (carmouse ensada) outside our window every morning and spends hours (literally – 2 or 3 hours!) arranging the fruit in neat piles. It must be a good marketing plan because he comes back with an almost-empty cart. Beware of eating too much prickly pear fruit…there is apparently an established process for getting your digestive system “unstuck” if you eat too much. It involves olive oil and some sort of a stick. I’ll pass.

Coke (Kooka) is definitely the prevalent soda brand here. I haven’t seen any Pepsi yet.

A surprising number of people still use donkey carts to get around. It makes the traffic extra-fun.

This whole wagon is filled with parsley. Imagine the scent!

A new door was delivered by this cart:

I’m not sure if the traffic laws are nonexistent or if they are just not enforced, but driving is an adventure!

el’Bahar (The Beach)

Posted on July 27, 2014
by Lori

Mohammedia has several miles of beaches, but it also has an oil refinery. When we were here 8 years ago we walked to the beach closest to home, and pollution from the refinery was evident. When we were here in 2012 we went to the beach that is further north and requires a taxi ride.

Today we walked to the beach near the refinery, and we were pleasantly surprised at how it had changed. The sand and water seemed clean. The wastewater pipe that used to flow from the city to the ocean was gone, and there were fish, and fishermen. New hotels and condos lined the beach and there were plenty of families enjoying the water. There were even public bathrooms!

Ben and the kids found a pick-up soccer game…

On the way home we stopped at the store…

…and had a surreal 6 Degrees conversation:

Khalid (blue hat), shopping at the same store and practicing his English: “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Me: “Don’t worry…I’m happy.”
Ahmed (white shirt): “Where are you from?”
Me: “Boston, Massachusetts.”
Ahmed: “What?? I’M from Boston, Massachusetts!”
Me: “That’s unbelievable! We live in Framingham!”
Ahmed: “I LIVE IN FRAMINGHAM!”
Me (getting suspicious): “I don’t believe you. What street?”
Ahmed: “School Street. Near Walgreens.”

Is that crazy, or WHAT?? His kids go to Dunning Elementary and the School for the Deaf. He is in Morocco for 6 weeks visiting family. It may not seem that unusual to run into someone from home…that happens every time you go to Disneyworld, right? But on our walk I saw a total of MAYBE 5 people who were from somewhere else, including a Parisian man in a Speedo who was so excited to see a fellow tourist that he tried really hard to have a conversation even though my French is mostly limited to “baguette” and “crepe”. In the 5 times I’ve been to Morocco I have only seen a few Americans. Whenever any of the locals (usually young men) try to talk to me, they assume that I’m European – they NEVER guess American. So meeting someone from the street where Norah goes to Taekwondo was a little freaky.