In the Kudablin project, we send completely different people on traveling at our expense! Alexander Belenky visited Morocco: he tried to find a Russian trace in the kingdom (subscribers came up with such a task) and visited the island where sorceresses and sorcerers live. Read more – in his report!
The first part of the story is here.
For most people, Casablanca is not a city, but a movie. Romance, pink dreams and all that. Therefore, in the view of tourists, Marrokan New York should be light and airy.
Nothing like that!
1. At first glance, Casablanca looks a modern and quite European place. Do not worry, this feeling will quickly disappear.
2. The city was built by the French, the Marrokans themselves were completed.
3. Fans and connoisseurs of architecture here will definitely find interesting houses and streets for themselves in Colonial, Mauritan or even purely Parisian style.
4. Public transport is best represented by a taxi, the local population travels mainly to them. There are two types of taxis in the country, “small” and “large” – and are translated from the French “bird” and “Grand”. Small ones can be different, but bright colors: in Casablanca they are red, in a slave – blue. These cars drive inside the same area, and are relatively inexpensive.
5. Large taxis are always white, and almost always – old Mercedes. They work on the principle of minibuses, but you can’t guess where this or that car is going, you need to know the lines of routes, the locals are in their heads, and the inhabitants of Casablanca know that the Grand Taxi is going to the bazaar along this street, and on that one should be at the airport.
Whatever taxi you use, be prepared that other passengers who are on the way will go in the car besides you in the car. It is so accepted here. Well, I advise you to use Uber, it works in the city. It costs the same, but you will not be deceived.
6. Casablanka the city is completely not tourist. Port, business, attractive. The largest in Morocco. It follows that no one awaits you here.
7. The tourist can be uncomfortable, but the traveler will like more than a licked Marrakesh.
8. Not everyone gets to here, but I highly recommend: you will find yourself in Casablanca, do not miss the old lighthouse on the outskirts of the city! You can go upstairs, look at the stunning views of the ocean. Near the lighthouse, a man will stick to you and promises to “take it inside” – send him a forest, and go straight to the lighthouse, the caretaker will let him in, and you will not have to pay twice.
9. Another imprinting dominant of the city is the Khassan II mosque, built twenty years ago by the Marrokan king on the ocean. Well, this place is difficult to miss, after all, the main and one of the few attractions of Casablanca.
10. From the mosque towards the port there is an equipped, but settled embankment. I do not advise you to go this road, soon you will reproach a dead end, and you will have to return. And along the way – nothing interesting, only fishermen with cats are fishing.
11. It is worth going to the mosque, since we have already arrived in Casablanca. They are afraid to look at local people and at foreign tourists who try to visit the country only with group tours.
12. You can go into the mosque and see the interiors, climb the minaret and even visit the baths. It costs ten dollars, and in all guidebooks they say that this is one of the few mosques, “where the infidels are allowed.” In Morocco with this strictly, they really divide people into Muslims and all others, but in other countries, for example in Russia, there is no problem to visit the mosque. So, I did not go.
13. Hassan Minaret – the second in height in the world after Mecca in Saudi Arabia. And in the city of Rabat, an hour drive from Casablanca, there is an unfinished minaret of Hassan the First (if you have not confused the name),
Which in his years (1100s) was to become the highest. But he did not.
14. Due to the importance of the object and the availability of tourists in this area of the city, the authorities tried to bring the maraths and improve the surroundings. It didn’t work out for them.
15. A nearby was built an elite real estate and a giant shopping center, which are abandoned.
16. I thought to climb inside, but I had only one day to the city, I would not have time in other interesting places.
17. The construction of a ghost city is sluggish, but continues. Who will live in it is incomprehensible, as the buildings are already ready.
18. And right opposite – the unpleasant and cramped quarters of the old Medina. A dangerous place for strangers, but we will definitely go there in the second part of this story.
19. Let’s talk about the typical sleeping quarters of Casablanca, similar to our Khrushchevs.
20. In a city with a 3 millionth population, the expected problems with traffic jams, parking and a lack of roads.
21. In the center there are several paid underground parking lots, but judging by the chaos during peak hours and a lack of public transport, there are few of them. And look, the gas station is combined with parking.
22. The fleet is motley, from ancient Mercedes and French cars to modern Koreans-Japanese all stripes.
23. So they park on one street, in three rows. They just blocked the understudy. How to leave the one in the center?
24. In general, Casablanca is cool. Once in your life it is definitely worth coming here.
25. Suvenirs buy. In other cities, they will cost more.
26. So if you are not afraid of dirt, on Fridays, a direct flight Royal Air Maroc flies from Moscow, and on other days you will have to a transplant.
27. National pride is a new low -floor tram. I could never ride, all my routes lay far from the tram line.
28. An incomprehensible design resembling a horizontal bar on the Soviet courtyard venues.
29. Underground transition (/Caption). Would you go down to this? European tourists in light fuel and study the map, as if to get around the fetid dungeon.
30. In the same area there is a portal into the past. Immediately behind the fortress wall begins Medina, the old (but not historical) area of Casablanca.
31. It is worth going through the gate, and you find yourself in another world. All of Europe disappears somewhere. And with her – the last sense of safety. Marrokans are not the most pleasant people, and do not complain much to foreigners. In Medina, not very prosperous people live.
32. And yet, this area should be visited not only for the sake of thrill. Immediately go away from the bazaar, which captured the first few streets. In the depths – more interesting!
33 You are unlikely to get into the houses of people, they will not let them go, but take a walk along the narrow, painted in bright colors, the streets of Medina. Many paths are dead-end, and google cards will not help. Just walk and watch, without being afraid to get lost, you will always be indicated to the exit.
34. Housing and communal services in Marrokan.
35. Bath for men.
36. Fresh mussels. Have you forgotten that the city is on the ocean?
37. Stop with bread.
38. Marrokans do not like to be photographed. They just hate it. We’ll talk about this separately, but here the guy could not do anything, his hands were busy. But he was so distracted by me, looking at me, that he slipped on the stone and after a few seconds he was already lying on the pavement, scattering sweets around the district. For a moment he felt sorry for him, it will fall from adults.
39. Not everyone has their own phones. There are a lot of automatic telephones in the area: this atavism almost forgotten in our country is still popular.
40. In Arab countries, they like to draw on the walls of houses. So it is more fun to live among the srach. There is a lot of wall painting with stories from fairy tales and patriotic symbols in Casablanca.
41. Here in Egypt, for example, they draw people who made a pilgrimage to Mecca on the houses, and there are ships-sample and mosques.
42. Lifehack, how not to stop in Medina Casablanca: the area is divided into sectors, the streets differ in colors. Therefore, remember the color of the walls on the street where you came.
43. The most colorful characters of the city live, of course, in Medina!
44. The streets are mostly pedestrian, but sometimes cars try to squeeze through the human crowd. Naive.
45. A very respected person probably lives here. I would like to look at his house from the inside.
46. Try to leave Medina before Twilight on the onset of, and do not go there at all.
47. I did not see obvious danger, but I felt something with an interpretation.
48. From the slum quarter, I got back to the main mosque, and did not regret that I came here twice. After sunset, it is amazing and beautiful here!
49. And in the distance the same lighthouse shines. I love the beacons, in Casablanca it would only be worth coming!
50. Here he is, the city, which many know from the same film. Not Europe is no longer, but not Africa.
51. Everything will be fine!
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The author of the text and photo: Alexander Belenky
Photo for Preverty: Unsplash.com
