My trip to Mali and Senegal was a few years back now. I took Royal Air Maroc in and out of West Africa, and I thought I might as well take a couple of nights (basically just one day) in Casablanca as the flights were all routed through there.

Yes, Casablanca, which found fame in that film called… called… the film’s title escapes me but here’s a short clip from it.

So you know, I felt that it was worth a stop just so I could say I’d been there. It was November, and it was quite (surprisingly) cool, around 17-20 degree maximums. I was looking for a bit of romance I guess – not of my own or anything like that, but just the general feel of the film. I can’t say that I got that. But hey, it wasn’t the 1940s and there wasn’t a world war going on!

I didn’t wander into any smoky bars either, instead I had a little hamburger in a shop which reminded me of the hamburger shops in Iran. The have the meat sort of on display and you can go with standard mince or other cuts, such as brains. I went with standard mince.

Casablanca had wide streets, with palm trees, and is coastal if you’ve ever wondered where in Morocco it’s located. It was interesting to walk around, and the market section was probably the most interesting with everything on sale inside the old city itself. And there were even internet cafes to find in their surprisingly.

The most impressive thing about Casablanca was the Hassan II Mosque. It was large, white, peaceful and quite magnificent located on the water’s edge. It was a truly special place. Stunning columns, marble floors looking back at the city with its white apartment blocks. Quite splendid! There were parts of the city that could have doubled for many cities in Europe, it was a really interesting mix.

And that was my day, just exploring the place on foot really. I returned to fly back to London the next day from Casablanca Airport, which I remember as being rather smoky and confined. They do see a fair bit of air traffic through that airport as Royal Air Maroc does connect Europe to so many cities in West Africa. Have you spent any time in Casablanca? What were your thoughts? May the Journey Never End!