20231106 Casablanca: Had a good night’s sleep altogether. Got up at 7:30 for 8:00 breakfast with others on the trip. Huge array of all sorts of foods, of course. Went up to the room, got things together for the day, and met our group in the lobby to leave by 10:00.
We are on a 40-passenger bus for the 13 of us for the entire trip. So, we can leave things like tripods on the bus overnight and have whole rows to ourself. Drove around the city with Ishmael telling us some of the architectural history. Stopped in Mohammed V Square to see not only the buildings and fountains, but there are thousands of pigeons there. Fun.
From there, drove to the astounding King Hassan II Mosque, a real treasure. It is HUGE and accommodates tens of thousands inside and even more in the courtyard. Ishmael gave us a tour of the main worship space and the lower level where men perform ablutions before prayer. Had free time to wander around inside and then on the large grounds/courtyard. It is one of the wonders of the world. Hard to take in all at once.
Drove to the flower, meat, and fish market, which is somewhat different from other ones I’ve been to. More variety of fish and lots of animal carcasses! Walked to Restaurant Les Fleurs for a nice lunch of Moroccan cuisine.
From there, we drove to the Beth-El Synagogue where we were given a tour by one of the members of the congregation. Beautiful interior. Lots of Stars of David on the ceiling. A very interesting part was that the torahs are kept in a room rather than in an ark. So, they go into the room to do the torah readings. The Moroccan Jews are Sephardic in background, so the bema is in the center of the sanctuary.
Next to the Casablanca New Medina, which is pretty much just knock-off stuff and shops. No craftsmen like we will see in Fes. Ishmael led us through the maze of alleyways that make up the medina.
Back to the hotel a bit after 4:00 where I downloaded and keyworded images. Met Ron in the bar area at 6:00 where he gave the first of what will be many lectures on photography. Interesting. He stressed attention, intention, and awareness as being prime to good photography.
7:00 was a set dinner at the restaurant. Great food, but way too much to eat. Then up to the room to shower, shave, and sleep. Will be putting our luggage outside our rooms by 8:30 and will leave by 9:00.
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