24 hours in Casablanca, a young, African and cosmopolitan city

Casablanca is a port—one of the largest in North Africa—and a disheveled cat peeking out from the doorway of a modernist building on Boulevard Mohamed V. Casablanca is the

swing

of the second metropolis in the north of the continent (after Cairo ) and the sumptuous curved façade of the Cinema Rialto.

It is that misty horizon of the Atlantic crossed, vertically, by some port crane.

However, the counterpoint to the gray of the clouds are the waves like lines of strident white on its beaches.

From the sky, in addition, the Casablanca coast is recognizable by the imposing 200-meter-high minaret of the great Hassan II mosque (inaugurated in 1993), which stands on the edge of the immense sea, which gained a few meters to become a building of worship with capacity for 25,000 people and a wide esplanade with the best views of the sunset, on the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah boulevard.

Outside the boundaries of the mosque, there is chaotic traffic and untidy sidewalks in a place that is absolutely contemporary and full of young life.

Because every minute, year after year, this dizzying Moroccan city moves further away from the image offered by that static poster that one day immortalized its name along with the faces of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Currently, the genre that local authors use on the big screen is

film noir

More information

Morocco in rural mode

With about seven million inhabitants, the financial capital of Morocco names, in Spanish, that little house that the Portuguese sailors are said to have seen on Anfa Hill.

In Arabic it is Darbeyda, but for Moroccans, it is normal to call it “House”, as well as

casauis

and

casauías

to their citizens.

Bienvenue à Casa

(welcome to Home), goes the chorus of Hoba Hoba Spirit, the long-standing rock and ska group with chaâbi fusion (Arabic popular music), made up of irredeemable Casablancas who express that characteristic love-hate for their city, they sing to the pollution, the potholes in the asphalt, the vitality and the revolutions of their neighborhoods.

The great Hassan II mosque, inaugurated in 1993.jose maria hernandez (Alamy / CORDON PRESS)

10.00 A walk through the center

Far from the trajectory of Morocco's other imperial capitals, Casablanca was built and expanded under French tutelage (whose protectorate officially lasted from 1912 to 1956) and is the product of the rural exodus of the last century.

Hence its architectural wealth dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, as an

Art Deco

laboratory for French-speaking designers.

Here lies a good part of its European (but Arabized) style in the central area and its kinship with other Western port cities.

A standing treasure, which the members of the Casamémoire association know how to exhibit, which promotes knowledge and rehabilitation of the city's buildings, with activities such as night visits during Ramadan (this year, they are planned for the 22nd and 23rd March) and the Heritage Days (from May 17 to 19), which contemplate the circuit of the old medina (from the public garden on Des Almohades Boulevard)

(1)

;

the center circuit, which starts in front of the Zévaco dome (Kora Ardiya)

(2)

, in the United Nations Square

(3)

;

and the one in the Habous market neighborhood

(4)

, which starts from Victor Hugo Boulevard.

Stalls in the Habous market area, in Casablanca (Morocco).Daniel Korzeniewski (Alamy / CORDON PRESS)

12.00 A garden neighborhood and a Sephardic treasure

At Nations Unies Square we can take the tram to go to the residential neighborhood of L'Oasis (it is also possible to arrive by train from Casa Port station or by

petit taxi

).

Here you can visit the only Jewish museum in the Arab-Muslim world, the Musée du Judaïsme Marocain

(5)

.

Fruit of the impulse of a community hero, the Hispanicist and socialist Simon Lévy, and inaugurated in 1997, the space was restored as a museum in what was an old French orphanage.

In its rooms one feels that there is still much to learn and admire from that common life of Maghreb Muslims and Jews, who numbered 300,000—among the Sephardic, Andalusian and Amazigh branches—in the 1930s and 1940s, a time in which rabbis urged their faithful to speak in Arabic (rather than French).

An 'art deco' style building in the Ville Nouvelle, in Casablanca.imagoDens / GETTY IMAGES

The site is peaceful, with a garden with loquats where you can hear the birds, and the visitor can see the unique objects of a homogeneous Judeo-Maghrebi culture that lasted for several centuries, in which ceremonies such as henna were shared in the weddings or the celebration of Mimuna, the last day of Pesach, when all Jews received a visit from a Muslim neighbor, who offered them flour, honey, fish and butter.

14.30 Lunch break

At meal time, the Maghreb offering is very varied, both in meat, fish and seafood and vegetables, whether it is Western

paninis or

beldi

preparations

(traditional from the country).

In this sense, locals recommend eating

barbecue

(grilled meats and

skewers

) in the typical grills found, for example, in the Derb Sultan area.

If what you want is to continue walking without wasting much time in a tavern, the Thon Gazoum sandwich shop

(6)

has popularized a tuna sandwich in Casablanca that has become a registered trademark and that can be ordered at home.

Another place to fill up on

snacks

is the Chez Saada sandwich shop

(7)

, near Al Yassir Square and Roches Noires station, where you can also taste roast meats with ingredients of the customer's choice.

One more option for those who prefer to indulge in seafood (as they call fish and shellfish in French): the specialized restaurant Chez Bhilissa

(8)

or go eat fish at the Marché Central.

Of course, in the latter case as long as it is Saturday.

A fish and seafood stall in the central marking of the Moroccan city.Frédéric Soltan (Corbis / Getty Images)

17.30 Galleries, contemporary art

After the obligatory coffee, curiosity brings us closer to contemporary African art that has acquired a leading place here.

In this field, one of the most notable expressions in recent years is that of a fictional character called Al Madani (the citizen) who is born from the imagination of the plastic artist Rebel Spirit, or Mohamed Amine El Bellaoui.

Some works designed to be enjoyed both on the walls of Atelier 21

(9)

, the gallery that represents it, and in graphic novel format (

The Casablanca Guide

and

De Casablanca with Love

), and that give an account of daily life in the disorderly streets of the city, where football is enjoyed with fervor (especially with the WAC-Raja derby).

In that landscape, there is also a silent language that serves to communicate with signs to taxi drivers which neighborhood the traveler is going to (because not everyone goes everywhere).

Rebel Spirit, who could be considered a kind of North African Roy Liechtenstein, recommends us take a look at the artistic, theatrical and musical programming of other spaces such as L'uzine

(10)

, Boultek

(11)

, Artorium

(12)

or the Studio des Arts Vivants

(13)

.

20.00 The promenade and nightlife

Other arts are cultivated in the nights of this African and cosmopolitan city where you can listen to live music of various origins in its luxury hotels and in restaurants, bars and

pubs

on the seafront (Ain Diab and La Corniche).

This city, which is also the obligatory stopover for almost all flights to sub-Saharan Africa, has nice corners to snack on and have the penultimate beer or a cocktail.

View of the Casablanca seafront from the Hassan II mosque.Frédéric Soltan (Corbis/Getty Images)

Here are some options:

bistrot

Atomic

(14)

and Titan

(15)

, bars like Backstage

(16)

and Kick Off

(17)

,

the Embassy cabaret

(18)

or Amstrong

(19)

.

Between current

glam

and splendor

residual of the French settlers, Casablanca never disappoints.

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