Sunrise over Casablanca

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise which quickly disappeared in the rain. Nancy, a member of the group had booked a private tour for 8 of us in Casablanca today. When we left the ship we had to walk the 700 meters to meet our driver, Jussef in the rain. Then we had to go pick up the guide, Hakeem. He was a very outgoing guy who spoke pretty good English, also French and Moroccan. We first went to the old fort which had old cannons facing the port. As we were walking into the gate, Hakeem said he would take me as his wife. He would pay 100 camels. I said he could also have another wife and pointed to Bunny. So we were his wives for the day. We walked through the entrance gate into a beautiful area that was a restaurant. We saw the women making the bread fresh for the day. They were small round flat rolls. From there we walked through a typical neighborhood, with small alleyways going to people’s homes. There were lots of interesting doors. In one alley, there was a basket hanging from a second story window. The merchant would come to the building. The woman would put her money in the basket, then lower it. The person would take the money and put the goods in the basket. Very clever. We walked by a synagogue, then ended up at Rick’s Cafe. It’s not the same one from the movie but is trading on the fame from it. It’s only been open since 2004.

We got back in the van and went to an area by the water. There was a lighthouse there and we got a good view of the mosque. We then drove to another spot nearer the light house. The coast was rocky in both places so I couldn’t get sand for my collection. Without saying anything to any one, Rudy started walking down the road to a place where he could get over the wall to climb down some rocky steps to the beach. As he got to the last step he fell pretty hard. Our driver went running down to help him along with a man who was on the shore. They got him up and helped him back up the steps, over the wall and back to the van. He had a cut on his forehead, but otherwise seemed ok. I felt terrible because he’d gone there to get me some sand. I didn’t ask him to go but I still felt awful. There happened to be a police car there so the cop came over, asked for his passport and took a picture of it. Then he left. We managed to get Rudy cleaned up and we left. Along the way to the Mosque, they stopped and both driver and Hakeem got out. They came back with bandages and Betadyne for Rudy. So he had a bandage on his head the rest of the day. We then went to the Mosque. It is huge. 25,000 men can fit on the floor to pray with another 13,000 outside in the courtyard. The women must pray in a separate area upstairs. It’s very beautiful with Italian marble and tile work.

From the Mosque, we were ready for lunch but Hakeem wanted to take us to an Argan Oil place and a carpet place. We went to carpets first. They laid out some beautiful carpets. Starting with plush woven carpets, then Berber carpets , then the silk carpets. They were all beautiful. Betty and Rudy got one and I let myself be talked into a Berber runner for my hallway. I wanted a plush woven one for my dining room, but he started at $6,000. Way too expensive for me. After I bought the runner, he offered the big one for $3,000. Still too much. So we left there and went to lunch. It was in a restaurant that used to be a synagogue. It was also beautiful. Hakeem helped us order a starter, then we all chose tandoori chicken. The service was not very fast. Hakeem came back after 1 1/2 hours and we didn’t have our chicken yet.. He went and prodded the staff and the food came very soon after. It was a delicious meal. I never thought I’d be eating Moroccan food but I did. From there we wanted to shop. The restaurant was in a market , but Hakeem wanted to take us somewhere else-a more expensive shop where he probably got a kickback. Beryl got a small camel Christmas ornament and that was the end of shopping. We said we wanted tee shirts so he took us somewhere else where a guy sold shirts. I found one I liked but not in my size. The old guy selling dug through his pile and handed me a 5X shirt. He said it would fit, so I paid him $15. Everyone else finished and we went back to the van. Hakeem handed us each a shot glass with Casablanca on it, then said goodbye. Jussef drove us back to the ship by 4:30 or so. This time there was a van to take us the 700 meters to the ship, thank heavens. Bunny and I were glad to take it.
‘It was a great day in the city of Casablanca. We went to get some dinner around 7:00 in the Cafe. Betty and Rudy came, then Beryl and Ben showed up too. We sailed away as we were eating. We all sat and rehashed the day, then went to the theater for the show. It was the guy who was the card ninja two nights ago. Tonight he was just a comedian, a very funny comedian. I laughed til I cried.

‘Photos: sunrise, rainy morning, fort cannon, entry to fort, restaurant inside, doorways and alleys, fixer-upper, basket hanging from window, my husband Hakeem and I, Rick’s Cafe, lighthouse, mosque, street markets as we were driving, carpet shop, pouring tea, restaurant and my tandoori chicken.