Alex started his summer vacation to Morocco in the hip, modern city of Casablanca. A coastal metropolis, the city bustles with traffic, maintains a European-French flare and is home to the world’s third largest mosque. Built atop the edges of the Atlantic Ocean, Hassan II Mosque is the crowning achievement of King Hassan II. Opening in 1993, after seven years of around-the-clock construction, every detail of the building was handcrafted by more than 6,000 artisans. The elegantly carved wood and stucco showcases the different regions of Morocco. The building can hold 25,000 worshippers and on Ramadan another 80,000 will fill its courtyards. The 210-foot minaret shines a laser beam toward Mecca at night. The mosque also features a retractable roof and a section of glass flooring to see the sea below. The project cost more than one-half billion dollars mostly funded by the people of Casablanca and around.Alex slept through much of the tour, but woke up in time to splash in the Hammam (Turkish bath). Now expert now on Moroccan fountains, pools, natural springs, ablution rooms and other sources of water around the country, Alex can tell you the best places to splash about in the summer Moroccan sun. So, while we didn’t make it to Rick’s Café, Alex did play again and again.
