Mosque of Hassan II ...
Featuring the great tower pictured above, the Mosque of Hassan II in Casablanca is one of the world's largest mosques, trailing only Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Palace of Mohammed VI ...
Pictured above are the doors to the Palace of Mohammed VI, the current King of Morroco who is a computer specialist by professional training.
by Brother Leo V. Ryan, CSV
(Editor's Note: In anticipation of his 80th birthday in April of 2007, Brother Leo V. Ryan, CSV was gifted with a Fall 2006 cruise from Lisbon, Portugal to Capetown, South Africa. He visited two countries in Europe and made 12 visits to nine West African countries.)
My first trip to Morocco was almost twenty years ago. It was a one-day trip to Tangier from Gibraltar. I was on a short holiday in Gibraltar from my duties as a Fellow, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. In clear weather, you can see the lights of Tangier from Gibraltar or conversely you can see both the lights of Gibraltar and Spain from Tangier. Tangier became an international free city when Morocco was divided in two zones: French Zone and Spanish Zone.
My memories of Tangier are vivid even after nearly twenty years. The memory of Tangier is one of the Rampant and the Gate to the Sea, the Kasbah, our lamb lunches, and the variety of goods in the souks, the insistent and persistent vendors, and an adventurous camel ride in the countryside.
This 2006 visit was a return to Morocco and my second visit to both Casablanca and Agadir. Who has not heard of, or seen, the Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman 1943 film, Casablanca. That film introduced Casablanca and "The Kasbah" to our vocabulary. Kasbah is the term describing a fortified house with either a single tower or four towers, one at each corner. In January 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Casablanca. A small group of my St. Pat's High School classmates were gathered that evening for dancing and late supper at the (then) East Main residence of the A. E. Sheridan family. Our classmate, Dorothy Ann Sheridan (Mrs. John Terhune) was the host. There was a sudden break in the radio music for a news bulletin which announced the surprise meeting. Back in those days, it never occurred to me that I would ever visit Casablanca! At that same meeting, President Roosevelt pledged his support to Sultan Mohammed V for independence for Morocco.
Supported by a following of young nationalists Mohammed V took office in 1947. His Independence Party was deposed by the French in 1953 but he returned from exile in 1955. While Mohammed V was authoritarian, he possessed a progressive viewpoint and inaugurated the modern era in Morocco. When he died in 1961 his son succeeded him and ruled as Hassan II. He further advanced the plans and programs of his father. When he died in 1999, his son succeeded him and took the name of his grandfather, thus becoming today's Mohammed VI.
Mohammed VI, who is 43, is married to a Berber woman who is a computer specialist. The Berbers and the Arabs are the dominant tribes in Morocco. The royal couple has a young, three-year old son, Prince Moulay Hassan. The King has stressed human rights, continuing the cultural reforms of his father and grandfather. He has allowed exiles to return. He travels constantly throughout Morocco, especially to provinces generally neglected by his father who, more or less, limited himself to Robat, the capital, and to the middle and southern Atlantic coastal area.
Morocco is an ancient Berber Kingdom - originally under the influence of Carthage (800 BC; Tunisia today) and Rome. Morocco's origins are Berber, Arab and African (especially after the Punic Wars, 207 BC).
Last November 2005, I was privileged to join a group of 14 Americans to study the archeology of Tunisia and Libya. We explored the successive waves of civilization across North Africa. First were the Phoecians (1000 BC), then the Roman Conquests (46 BC) followed by the Vandals (430 - 533), the Byzantine domination (6th Century) and finally in the 7th Century when Islam swept across North Africa.
From the 7th Century until today, Morocco is an Islamic state, albeit a "liberal" one. There is a tension between the lure of modernity and Islamic reforms. Morocco is the Westernmost of the Islamic countries. The word "western" applies both to geography and open culture. The Western aspects can be attributed to the influence of Sub-Sahara Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean countries and especially the French and Spanish presence over centuries.
Morocco has nearly 30 million people; almost 40 percent are under 15 years old. The country is large in land mass (274,388 sq. miles) but the population is primarily concentrated along the Atlantic coast and in the Rif and the Atlas Mountains. Five years ago an estimate indicated about five million people were living in poverty - many of whom migrated to the cities seeking employment and a better life. Like in most African countries, these migrants to the city come without defined skills and often find it difficult to adjust to urban living.
Casablanca was our first destination in Morocco. Agadir, regional capital of the South and beyond the Atlas Mountains, would be our second port of call.
Casablanca ("White House") is Morocco's largest city (population 3.5 million), its major port and the second largest and busiest port in all of Africa. Durban, South Africa is the largest port. Casablanca has the largest artificial harbors in the world.
Most of the foreign trade passes through this harbor. Cerial, leather, wool and phosphates are chief exports. Local industries include fishing, fish canning, saw milling, manufacturing of furniture, glass, construction materials and tobacco products. Multinational companies have introduced telecommunications. Cell phones have begun to appear everywhere.
Casablanca was destroyed by the Portuguese (1468), rebuilt (1515), destroyed by earthquake (1755), and immediately rebuilt. The French arrived in 1907 and occupied Casablanca. They immediately determined to build a French city around the old Moorish city. During World War II, Casablanca was one of three major landing places in the Allied invasion of North Africa. Col. Austin Douglas Higgins, for whom I served as Administrative Assistant during the 1946 Bikini Atom Bomb tests in the Pacific, was Port Director at Oran for the Allied Invasion.
I had been to Casablanca as recently as 2000 while enroute from Genoa, Italy, to the Canary Islands. So, I decided to spend my day in port with a visit to Imperial Rabat. Rabat is the political, administrative and financial capital of Morocco, residence of Mohammed VI, and the burial monument and tomb of Mohammed V. Rabat is also the university town with unique souks.
Alas, it was not to be! The Prinsendam wake-up call system failed for me and for others. On our second night sail we also experienced rolling seas and I was lulled into an eleven-hour deep sleep. By the time I awoke the Rabat tour group had already left for their all-day trip. Since it was ship's failure, I was refunded the Rabat excursion fee and offered an afternoon visit in Casablanca. I took the offer because a revisit is always a reintroduction.
Khill was our knowledgeable guide. For a Muslim country, it was interesting to me that our first destination was to the Catholic Church of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. This Cathedral-size French Catholic Church is famous for ceiling to floor level stain glass windows depicting the life of Christ. Cathedral construction began in 1926 and was completed in 1988. We spent a half hour at the Cathedral. A second Catholic church Sacre-Coeur, was built by the Spanish, but it has since been converted to serve as a cultural center.
We visited (by passing in the bus) new government buildings for the Prefecture, Justice and the Post Office all at Palace Mohammed V. Our destination was the City Hall and the Administrative Center for Casablanca. There we were introduced to portraits and brief biographies of the present King, Mohammed VI, and his grandfather, Mohammed V. The City Hall consists of a series of buildings around an open court in exquisite Moorish architecture and symbolic designs.
The Morocco flag is a five-pointed green star on a field of red. Red represents the blood shed over the centuries which contributed to the eventual emergence of Morocco as a nation. The green star symbolizes peace. The five points of the star represent the five pillars of Islam.
The five pillars of Islam are: (1) Faith, (2) Prayer (five times a day), (3) Almsgiving, (4) Ramadan Fasting and (5) the Hadj (pilgrimage to Mecca). The Kings bear the title: "Leader of the Faithful." Our visit coincided with the last days of Ramadan in which the faithful were still fasting from food and water from sun-up until sunset.
We walked several short blocks. Upon arrival at the Royal Palace, we were admitted to the grounds. Since the government is in Rabat, this palace is reserved primarily for ceremonial events and meetings convoked by the King. Again the architecture was spectacular. Three ceremonial guards stood before the main door: one representing the army, another navy and the third a special Palace Honor Guard each in colorful traditional garb.
We returned to our bus and traveled along Boulevard Mohammed V. Many of the buildings were noted for their mixture of Art Deco with white simple designs, facades, friezes and balconies combined with intricate and decorative Moorish designs.
We crossed both Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy Boulevards enroute to the Mosque of Hassan II. This mosque is the second largest religious building in the world. It is second only to the mosque in Mecca. To give you an idea, the mosque holds 25,000 persons inside and the courtyard can accommodate 100,000 pilgrims. The mosque covers almost one million square feet (968,774 sq. ft. to be precise). Another marvel is that two-thirds of this complex is built over water. The minaret is 656 feet high with two laser beams that shine over 30 miles toward Mecca.
On my last visit, I was privileged to be able to visit the Prayer Hall with its movable roof and its carved cedar paneled and painted interior white. This time we were not able to visit the Prayer Hill because of Ramadan. It is said that 35,000 workmen labored to construct this mosque - 30,000 workers by day and 5,000 at night. It is a wonder of the world proportions. It is, of course, a monument to Hassan II but also a monument to Arab-Islamic architecture which combines Moroccan imagination and ingenuity.
No city bus tour is complete unless there is time to shop. That last thirty minutes included a visit to a three-level bazaar including a wide assortment of high quality Moroccan carpets, furniture and furnishings and general souvenirs items. Since dollars and credit cards were the medium of exchange most of us, including myself, rejoined the bus with packages of purchases for family, friends and ourselves.
We returned to the Prinsendam for an 8 p.m. departure. Overnight and for a half day we sailed southward along the Atlantic coast to Agadir, the capital of South Morocco, which lies beyond the Atlas Mountains. Agadir is the mining region of Morocco. Lead, zinc, and manganese are exported through the excellent natural harbor of Agadir. Local industry includes fishing, fish canning and the manufacture of light medal products. Thousands of filled, sealed containers were gathered at the port waiting forwarding.
The Portuguese first settled Agadir about 1500 but lost control to local rulers by 1536. In 1911 Germany, as a challenge to the French role in Morocco, sent a warship to Agadir. That incident almost precipitated a war in Europe. The event consolidated rather than inhibited the French influence and by 1912 Morocco became a French Protectorate. Neither World War I nor II destroyed Agadir, but two earthquakes, both in 1960, almost did so. Over 15,000 people perished. The surviving residents rebuilt the city.
This was my second visit to Agadir. I chose this time not to leave the ship. I left the traditional visit to the old Kasbar, (1540) to the market, the Souk and the Fort to first time visitors. The Kasbar and the Fort were visible from the ship. Otherwise, Agadir is modern, nondescript, industrial port city of 110,000, more or less, near the desert landscape of the Anti-Atlas area of the Morocco Sahara. We arrived at 1:30 p.m. and departed as the sun was beginning a glorious sunset. It was a farewell salute to bid us an adieu for our two-day sail to Dakar, Senegal.
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