January 15, 2019 - 6 Interesting Facts About Casablanca, Morocco and Tanya in Morocco - Trip Day 4

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6 Interesting Facts About Casablanca, Morocco

Hello, Hello! Welcome to a lovely Tuesday here on TC!!

Today, started off a big crazy.  For some reason, either my alarm did not go off, or it went off and I hit "off" instead of "snooze."

Either way, I had a total of 10 minutes to get up, throw on some clothes and get out the door to drive the girls to school.  Fortunately, we moved quickly and everyone made it time.

After giving you guys the "Scoop,"  I'll be working on a great deal of writing and updating the blog with a new "Guest Blog Article" to be published next Monday, which will feature some wonderful information about China!!  So, Stay Tuned!!

As for now, with Tanya on her Mediterranean Cruise (still without luggage), I'm going to bring you a short list of interesting facts about Casablanca, Morocco - her current port destination.  

Interesting Facts About Casablanca, Morocco

Map of Morocco in North Africa (credit: peonymoon)

1. Casablanca is Morocco's chief port and one of the largest financial centers on the continent.
Casablanca is a port city located in the central-western part of Morocco, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, The largest city in Morocco., it is also the commercial hub.
 
2. The Locals refer to Casablanca as "Casa"
The original name of Casablanca was Anfa, in Berber language, believed to go back to the seventh century BC.

The Portuguese took control in the 15th Century AD and changed the name to "Casa Branca" which derives from the Portuguese word combination meaning "White House" (branca "white", casa "house" The present name, which is the Spanish version, pronounced "kasaˈβlaŋka."  The city is nicknamed Casa by many locals and outsiders to the city. ​

Casablanca in 1572, still called "Anfa" in this coloured engraving, although the Portuguese had already renamed it "Casa Branca" -- "White House" -- later Hispanicised to "Casablanca". (photo credit: wikipedia.org)

3. Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the seventh century BC
The area which is today Casablanca, was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the seventh century BC. It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. 

Leo Africanus, in his book Description of Africa, refers to ancient Casablanca as "Anfa", a great city founded in the Berber kingdom of Barghawata in 744 AD and believed Anfa was the most "prosperous city on the Atlantic Coast because of its fertile land."
​
4. The famous 1942 film Casablanca (starring Humphrey Bogart) underlined the city's colonial status at the time 
"Casablanca" succeeds in depicting the city as a location of power struggle between competing European powers with a cosmopolitan cast of characters represeenting the various nations which include American, French, German, Spaniard, Czech, Norwegian, Austrian, Bulgarian, Russian, and some other nationalities.

5. Casablanca was an important strategic port during World War II 
Several important events during the war took place in Casablanca. Among these are

• Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African campaign of World War II, which started on November 8, 1942.
• The Americans attacked at three locations in French North Africa, one of the three being the landings at Casablanca because of its important port and the major administrative centers.
• The city was host to the Casablanca Conference in 1943, in which Churchill and Roosevelt discussed the progress of the war. 
• A large American air base was located in Casablanca, which was the staging area for all American aircraft for the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

6. The City's French colonial legacy is apparent
Morocco gained independence from France on 1955, however, Casablanca's downtown Mauresque architecture, a blend of Moorish style and European art deco is reminiscent of its French colonial days.


Looking forward to Tanya's photos from her visit there!!
If she does not have wifi, but is able to text images to me, I'll be sure to post them to her Scoop later in the day!!

Have a great one!!

-Travelin' Elisa
xoxo

Tanya in Morocco - Trip Day 4

Holy cow folks - this is a BIG one… GREETINGS from Casablanca (the White House), Morocco, Africa!!!

New city. New country. New continent. And new clothes too! HA  
Why not toss in a lighthearted little joke while I’m at it.

I’ve got to tell you that I was doing a little happy dance yesterday when I went down to Guest Services to inquire about my missing luggage and found out that the agent working on my behalf has found out that my bag was to be delivered to me in Las Palmas, Canary Islands (Friday) and this was music to my ears.

Sure I realize that today is only Tuesday and that I still need to cover 3 additional days of random, do my best at finding decent yet oddly unique clothing with local flair. Let’s just say it’s been interesting. I loved what I found while in Barcelona, didn’t quite love what I found on the ship - but whatever I guess it served it’s purpose. 

So, I’ll first fill you in on yesterday while we were out at sea. It was mellow. Very very mellow. The most exciting part was probably when we had crossed through the Strait of Gilbraltar. We actually did so in the dark and little did realize that this was sort of a thing with a number of these guests - Dave being one of them. All we could see were the lights from the cities on both sides of the boat. The funny thing was that there were some people attempting to take flash photos through the window! I didn’t see the need or feel the desire to take any pictures into the black yonder. Dave on the other hand went up to the top deck as windy as it was and he just snapped away.  

I stayed in the observation room and actually found a bit of service to send a few text messages and to update our FaceBook page.

While down there I was shocked by some of these people. One group of females come to mind who came running into the room saying that they were looking to see the Rock. However these girls were quite a bit late (because we had already passed it by) and these females were also on the wrong side of the ship - they were on the Africa side of the ship! LOL

Dinner was another highlight. Vegan cruising is no longer just about eating a wedge of iceberg lettuce. Woohoo for us!

And now today as we set forth on our journey into Casablanca not only will we being seeing sights such as the Central Market filled of bustling stalls that will be brimming with locally grown vegetables, herbs, other non-vegan foods and many a handicraft. 

We’ll also visit the famous Hassan II Mosque and catch a glimpse of the architectural masterpiece that took 6 years to build by hand 24/7 and cost over $800 million. We’ll see the new Medina, United Nations Square and the Royal Palace. 

We will stroll though and hopefully nibble on some tasty olives at the colorful olive market. We’ll be checking out the seaside resort of Ain Diab and having lunch at the theatrically famous Rick’s Cafe (from the classic movie Casablanca, although this cafe is not the original it is decorated to be). 

There will be a special stop at the historic post office for dear Dave. And not only will we be doing all of that, but I’ll also be keeping my eyes peeled for the next couple of outfits that I need for the trip. 

Wish me bundles of luck! 

Ciao 4 now,
-Travelin’ Tanya​