!!!Casablanca

by Stas Sedov,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

7 April 2014

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

The biggest city of Morocco is not the capital city of Rabat, as one may
think. It is the ancient legendary city of Casablanca. Casablanca also
is the largest Atlantic port of the country, one of the most influential
trade centers in North Africa, and an important industrial and financial
center.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the area of modern Casablanca was occupied
by a small Berber settlement called Anfa, which later became a
prosperous trade city.  Later on, pirates used Anfa as their base to
attack European trade ships. In the middle of the 15th century, the
piracy near the coast of Morocco reached such a scale that the
Portuguese, who suffered the most from the marine assaults, decided to
stop it for good. In 1468 they sent their troops to Anfa; the city was
stormed and burned to the ground.

[{Image src='01_Hassan II Mosque at night.jpg' caption='Hassan II Mosque at night' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='434'}]

The new settlement built in place of the former Anfa was called
Casablanca, which means «white house» in Spanish. In 1755, the city was
completely destroyed again, but this time it was because of an
earthquake. Since then, Casablanca was in decay for a long period of
time, until the French restored it, turning it into a beautiful city
with wide avenues, public parks, and buildings created in Moorish style.

[{Image src='02_Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca.jpg' caption='Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

The most famous landmark of Casablanca and the entire Morocco is
undoubtedly the Hassan II Mosque (or Grande Mosquée Hassan II). This is
the second largest mosque in the world after the Sacred Mosque in the
city of Mecca. The Hassan II Mosque was built on the Atlantic shore with
a spectacular ocean view that can be seen from the giant glass prayer
hall that can host up to twenty-five thousand worshipers. Another eighty
thousand people can use the outside grounds of the mosque. The total
area of the Hassan II Mosque is 9 hectares; the height of the minaret is
210 meters, which makes it the tallest religious structure in the world.

[{Image src='03_Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca.jpg' caption='Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='500'}]

The Hassan II Mosque was built during the rule of Hassan II, the King of
Marocco, from 1986 till 1989. However, the building was not officially
opened until 1993. The construction was funded exclusively by donations
with the total budget reaching 800 billion dollars. Twenty-five hundred
construction workers and ten thousand artists and other experts on
architecture and decor participated in the project. All construction
materials (except for white granite used for columns and 50-tonn glass
chandeliers that came from Italy) were sourced from different regions of
Morocco. An interesting fact: the French architect Michel Pinseau, who
designed the mosque, was not even a Muslim.

[{Image src='04_Casablanca, Morocco.jpg' caption='Casablanca, Morocco' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='569'}]

There are 78 columns made of pink granite in the prayer hall; the floors
are adorned with golden marble and green onyx, and the roof is covered
with bright emerald shingles. Advanced technology was used to protect
the building from various weather conditions. For example, there are
heated floors and a retractable roof, and the building itself is
earthquake-proof. On top of the minaret, there is also a 30-meter-long
green lazer beam, the light from which is directed towards the Sacred
Mosque in the city of Mecca.

Half of the Hassan II Mosque territory is located above the water of the
Atlantic Ocean. According to the architect, he was inspired by the verse
from the Koran; «Allah's throne is on the water.» Based on this idea, he
created the mosque in such a way that during high tide, praying people
have an illusion of floating on top of the water, as if they are on
board of a ship: the higher the waves, the stronger the illusion.

[{Image src='05_Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca.jpg' caption='Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='594'}]

You can experience the grandeur of the Hassan II Mosque and other
landmarks of Casablanca, such as the Neo-Gothic Casablanca Cathedral
(Cathédrale Sacré-Coeur), Mohammed V Square, Temple Beth-El, bazars,
parks, and picturesque eastern city streets by viewing our photo
panoramas.

Our sincere thanks go to Dinyar Alyautdinov - attache of General
Consulate of the Russian Federation in Casablanca, Morocco, who helped
us to obtain permits and provided invaluable moral support during our
photo expedition to Morocco.

AirPano team is also recommend a service of the professional tour guide
Mark Willenbrock.

\\ \\
[15 Panoramas of Casablanca|Geography/Africa/Morocco/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Casablanca]










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