The Gateway to Africa

 Tour number 4 has begun in Morocco. Three flights and 24 hours after getting up at 2:30 in the morning, we arrived at Casablanca airport.  No glitches in flights and great service during the flight set us up for the day.  We arrived at 7:30 am - that means staying up for the day.  First stop was breakfast along the seaside.  The food was delicious and plentiful. The view of the rugged Atlantic Ocean was great.

Breakfast over and it was time to experience the largest city in Morocco - 3.2 million people live in Casablanca.  You can’t be in Casablanca without a visit to King Hassan Mosque which is now the 4th largest in the world.  With a capacity of 25,000 inside and another 80,000 outside, it is truly a marvel of construction created in six years of round a clock building and at a cost of $680 million.  The carvings, the tile work and the sliding roof are all very detailed and beautiful.

The mosque was followed by a few other short walks before we arrived at our hotel. The day was not over that evening we visited a wonderful restaurant called Dar Dada - the restaurant is beautiful, the food delicious and the entertainment interesting.  From the welcome glass of mint tea to the final sip of wine it was a fun way to welcome everyone to Morocco!

Day 2 and we off by fast train to Tangier, the gateway to Africa.  With over 2 million people, it is a city with 2 faces - the old city and Medina and then the very modern city of Tangier. A short ferry ride away and you are in Spain.  We did catch a glimpse of the coastline the first day.  Connecting  the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, it has a unique location.  According to our guide, the lighthouse is the third most important in the world and yes it is shaped like a mosque minaret. And then there are the wild boars - mom and the babies gave us quite a show.

We entered the Medina through one of the 9 gates at Bab Kasba. The first glance is quite surprising.  This is a small Medina compared to others but it is interesting.  There is lots of acknowledgment of the famous people who have visited and lived here as well as the movies old and new that have been made here and in all of Morocco.  You never know what you will see in the Medina and this one was no different.

 

Tea break was at the famous Cafe Baba in the Medina.  Anyone famous who visited Tangiers in years gone by had tea here.  We knew we were sitting in a chair of someone famous  by th looks of the chair.  And of course it was a hit glass of mint tea to enjoy the view.