Marrakesh to Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday January 15th

I was sad to be leaving Marrakesh – there were many more interesting things to do and see here and while we were here, we were not in Casablanca, the last city of all for us. We woke early to eat and pack, and then sped along to the station in the bus. Two cleaners with mop-like brooms performed a choreographed cleaning ritual on the spotless marble mosaic. Keith searched for the toilets, foolishly believing that arrows indicating up besides steps meant that. At last we boarded the train, and walked down the corridor looking for a compartment with room for us and all of our luggage. We found one with two ladies and a little boy. Here began a boring journey during which we nodded off occasionally, waking to find the landscape changing to green farm lands, to the shanty town look of outer suburbs, and finally to high rise buildings, roads, shops and the city of Casablanca. The ladies chatted with each other but we rode on in silence. Occasionally I thought that I heard French words mixed with whatever language they were speaking.

We left the station and, batting off the many offers of taxis, found the bus stop and waited for the number 2 bus that would take us into the city centre. We had a very cheap hotel in mind, and found it easily. After a quick lunch, we set off to walk to the Grand Mosque. It was further than we thought and we ended up having to run part of the way to make it in time for the only afternoon tour at two p.m. The mosque will be closed to the public tomorrow because it is Friday; the special day when most people attend for prayers. We arrived puffing and panting, just as the tour marched in, but we had not yet bought our tickets. A kind attendant took our money and rushed down the stairs to buy our tickets for us so that we would not miss out. He also bought us one concession ticket, which was a bonus, since the entry price for one person is more than our hotel for both of us for the night.

We all placed our shoes in plastic bags and then we joined the English speaking guide, who was accompanied by a Polish woman translating his words for her tour group. We learnt so many facts about the mosque; that there were 77 architects and engineers, and also the same number of columns to commemorate them. The mosque covers 9 ½ hectares, was built over the sea, caters for 25000 worshippers inside and another 80000 in the courtyard, took six years to finish from 1987 – 1993, with 55 million man hours being needed to complete the project. The ceiling opens to provide ventilation on Fridays when everyone comes to this mosque, rather than to the 2000 other mosques in Casablanca. Hassan II’s family tree is written on one column. He commissioned the mosque and wanted it to be a big and very impressive monument that would really put Casablanca on the map. It certainly is that – and is a graceful and beautifully proportioned mosque with superb artistry and craftsmanship everywhere. Above all it is very definitely a Moroccan mosque, and epitomises the use of colour and design that we saw in the Ben Youssef Medersa. It is the only mosque open to non-Muslims in Morocco.

We stood under the minaret, looking up at the ceiling and imagining the weight of the 200 metres above us. Downstairs there are 41 fountains for purification washing before prayers and magnificent copper lanterns that remain shiny despite the moist atmosphere. The secret to this is in the mixture called tadelakt, covering the pillars; a mix of sand, black soap, limestone and egg yolk, which absorbs humidity. The pillars in the mosque proper are covered in a mixture of limestone, plaster and egg whites, so it was reassuring to know that there had been no need to worry about left over yolks or whites during construction. Downstairs again, we came to a hammam, which the guide said is just to show tourists what one is like, and which is not actually used. More steps led to a Turkish bath, not operating either, although it had water in its pool and is used sometimes.

The Grand Mosque was financed by the people, with a tax being imposed on everyone and some making voluntary contributions. Some Moroccans in El Kelaar des Mgouna told us that the Grand Mosque is referred to as the Mosque of the Poor, since it was built at the expense of the welfare of poor people. They commented that Hassan II said in an interview on television that he made an economic misjudgement with the way it had been financed. Our guidebook says that US$750,000,000 was raised, which temporarily reduced Morocco’s money supply and brought down inflation.

During the tour, I had met a woman, Debra, who I was talking to at the end. She lives in Brisbane with her Moroccan born husband, and they are here with their children visiting family. It was starting to rain, so I suggested that we go somewhere for a cup of tea to continue our chat. As it was, her husband, Rashid, was waiting for her in their hire car, so she suggested that we go over and meet him, and drive somewhere for tea. They needed to end up near our hotel, so we were saved a long walk in the rain or a long time sheltering somewhere, and spent a delightful hour chatting and having a drink together. It was a lovely chance meeting, with Rashid explaining that Moroccans often use a mixture of French and Arabic, and that the degree to which it is done reflects a person’s level of education. He also told us that he can get better prices being a Moroccan that Debra, and joked that he told her to hide sometimes. He said that it would be possible for that to happen even with a large bus company, and so it may be that our guide Youssef had in fact got a reduced bus fare for us.

We spent the last of the daylight walking in the Medina, a section that was only built in the late 19^th Century. Casablanca was a Portuguese settlement that was abandoned in 1755, and became not much more than a settlement for the local tribes. Development as a commercial centre led to the creation of the Medina just above the port, but its buildings have a neglected air now and most of the shops that we saw are functional ones for today’s lifestyle. We walked for a while in the rain, past noisy games halls with pool tables, shops full of brand name items and piles of rubbish.

Our last stop for the day was in one of the very few craft shops we have seen in which the items have price tags. We chose a couple of little things, and it was so different to have no-one asking us what we would offer, or suggesting an over inflated price.

We decided to have our last dinner out, and settled into the very cheap restaurant attached to our hotel. The TV showed terrible scenes of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip, and all the interviews were on that topic, even though we could not understand them. We discussed how the State of Israel had been set up, and what were options for ending hostilities, and how common ground, or even acceptance of each other’s right to exist and have a peaceful home could ever be found. It was a very depressing topic, and the vision of two little boys, floppy in death from wounds to their chests, was burned into my brain.

Keith changed the topic to our year – to whether it had met our expectations. It was hard to change mental gear for me, but when we both looked at how things had turned out, we were both happy with how it had gone. The long ago tossed out goals had all been met, with lots of extra unexpected bonuses along the way. Wanting to meet people had been well and truly accomplished, but we had not expected to make friendships which will continue to develop. We learnt about cultures and ancient history, and about modern history and issues as well. I hadn’t become fluent in French but we could both use it for communicating so that was a very good start. I had also learnt that language is all about communicating, and that while vocabulary and grammar are important, having a go and making contact with others is what drives language acquisition. We had met all sorts of characters, some for a moment and others for much longer. We had travelled as we wanted to – taking our opportunities and following where they led us. We had enjoyed being with each other, and sharing so many experiences. I was sure that I needed to change my work/home balance, and not just because the family will be living with us, but for our own sakes. We had been free of the regular responsibilities, free of timetables, free of work obligations, free to enjoy being alive. Simple things had given us great pleasure. We knew that we were amongst the privileged few in the world to be able to do what we had done, and that life is very tough for many people. On occasions we were frustrated or uncomfortable with the role of voyeur tourist, relishing the times we had roles such as learner, friend, visitor, pilgrim or helper. I was cured of wanting to live in the 16^th Century. Keith learnt that he could survive without being permanently connected to the radio news and current affairs programs since he was experiencing and seeing so much first hand. We had learnt again and again that people have forever been hating each other, that difference is used to create ‘other’, and that ‘other’ is a category which enables people to commit atrocities. We also learnt about, experienced and observed the other side of the coin, the ability for people to reach out and share, the ability to respect and to care for each other. We had seen many natural and man made wonders. So all in all, we are in awe of the magnitude of the world’s blessings and problems, and we are very glad that we spent this year journeying, learning and experiencing life beyond our own shores.

Tomorrow we take that plane and it will all be over.