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Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء‎ [adˈdaːru ɫbajdˤaːʔ] white house, Berber languages: ⴰⵏⴼⴰ [ænfæ] incline) is the largest city in Morocco and is located in the central-western part of Morocco bordering the Atlantic Ocean.

Casablanca is also the largest city in the Maghreb, as well as one of the largest and most important cities in Africa, both economically and demographically.

Casablanca is Morocco's chief port and one of the largest financial centers on the continent. According to the 2014 population estimate, the city has a population of about 3.35 million in the urban area and over 6.8 million in the Casablanca-Settat region. Casablanca is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, although the national political capital is Rabat.

The leading Moroccan companies and many international corporations doing business in the country have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca.

Recent industrial statistics show Casablanca holds its recorded position as the primary industrial zone of the nation.

The Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in the world, and the second largest port of North Africa, after Tanger-Med 40 km (25 mi) east of Tangier.[3] Casablanca also hosts the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.

Nickname(s):
Coordinates:
CountryMorocco
RegionCasablanca-Settat
First settled7th century BC
reconstructed1756
Government
• MayorAbdelaziz El Omari
Area
• City / State220 km (80 sq mi)
• Metro20,166 km (7,786 sq mi)
Elevation0 to 150 m (0 to 492 ft)
Population
• City / State3,359,818
• Rank1st in Morocco
Metro6,861,739[1]
DemonymsCasablancaisCasawis, bidawi
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
Postal code
Website
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Etymology

The original name of Casablanca was Anfa (Neo-Tifinagh: ⴰⵏⴼⴰ), in Berber language, by at least the seventh century BC. After the Portuguese took control of the city in the 15th century AD, they rebuilt it, changing the name to Casa Branca ([kazɐ'bɾɐ̃kɐ]). It derives from the Portuguese word combination meaning "White House" (branca "white", casa "house"). The present name, which is the Spanish version (pronounced [kasaˈβlaŋka]), came when the Portuguese kingdom was integrated in personal union to the Spanish kingdom. During the French protectorate in Morocco, the name remained Casablanca (pronounced [kazablɑ̃ka]). In 1755 an earthquake destroyed most of the town. It was rebuilt by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah who changed the name into the local Arabic Ad-dar Al Baidaa' (الدار البيضاء), although occasionally "Casablanca" is written in Arabic (كازابلانكا, Kāzāblānkā). The city is still nicknamed Casa by many locals and outsiders to the city. In many other cities with a different dialect, it is called Ad-dar Al-Bida, instead.

History

Early history

The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the seventh century BC.[4] It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. In his book Description of Africa, Leo Africanus refers to ancient Casablanca as "Anfa", a great city founded in the Berber kingdom of Barghawata in 744 AD. He believed Anfa was the most "prosperous city on the Atlantic Coast because of its fertile land."[5] Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by the Almoravids in 1068. Following the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century, Arab tribes of Hilal and Sulaym descent settled in the region, mixing with the local Berbers, which led to widespread Arabization.[6][7] During the 14th century, under the Merinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids were ousted by a popular revolt in 1465.[8]

Portuguese conquest and Spanish influence

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".

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".

In the early 15th century, the town became an independent state once again, and emerged as a safe harbour for pirates and privateers, leading to it being targeted by the Portuguese, who bombarded the town which led to its destruction in 1468.[9] The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a military fortress in 1515.

The town that grew up around it was called Casa Branca, meaning "white house" in Portuguese.

Between 1580 and 1640, the Crown of Portugal was integrated to the Crown of Spain, so Casablanca and all other areas occupied by the Portuguese were under Spanish control, though maintaining an autonomous Portuguese administration.

As Portugal broke ties with Spain in 1640, Casablanca came under fully Portuguese control once again.[10] The Europeans eventually abandoned the area completely in 1755 following an earthquake which destroyed most of the town.[11]

The town was finally reconstructed by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah (1756–1790), the grandson of Moulay Ismail and an ally of George Washington, with the help of Spaniards from the nearby emporium. The town was called ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ (الدار البيضاء), the Arabic translation of the Portuguese Casa Branca.

Colonial struggle

In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as it became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry in Britain and shipping traffic increased (the British, in return, began importing gunpowder tea, used in Morocco's national drink, mint tea).[12] By the 1860s, around 5,000 residents were there, and the population grew to around 10,000 by the late 1880s.[13] Casablanca remained a modestly sized port, with a population reaching around 12,000 within a few years of the French conquest and arrival of French colonialists in 1906. By 1921, this rose to 110,000,[13] largely through the development of shanty towns.

French rule and influence

A postcard showing the French cruiser Gloire recoiling from firing artillery at the city during the bombardment of Casablanca August 1907.

A postcard showing the French cruiser Gloire recoiling from firing artillery at the city during the bombardment of Casablanca August 1907.

Casablanca in 1930—seen from Boulevard de la Gare, now Muhammad El-Khamis Street

Casablanca in 1930—seen from Boulevard de la Gare, now Muhammad El-Khamis Street

Architecture of Casablanca, influenced by French styles

Architecture of Casablanca, influenced by French styles

Henri Prost's plans to extend 4éme Zouaves Street (now Félix Houphouët-Boigny Street) from the port to the Place de France (now United Nations Square), part of his redesigns of Casablanca's urban landscape.

Henri Prost's plans to extend 4éme Zouaves Street (now Félix Houphouët-Boigny Street) from the port to the Place de France (now United Nations Square), part of his redesigns of Casablanca's urban landscape.

The Treaty of Algeciras of 1906 formalized French preeminence in Morocco and included three measures that directly impacted Casablanca: that French officers would control operations at the customs office and seize revenue as collateral for loans given by France, that the French holding company La Compagnie Marocaine*]][[15]](https://openlibrary.org/search?q=Adam%2C%20Andr%C3%A9%20%281968%29.%20* [[CITE|15|https://openlibrary.org/search?q=Adam%2C%20Andr%C3%A9%20%281968%29.%20*Histoire%20de%20Casablanca%2C%20des%20o)

To build the port's breakwater, narrow-gauge track was laid in June 1907 for a small Decauville locomotive to connect the port to a quarry in Roches Noires, passing through the sacred Sidi Belyout graveyard. In resistance to this and the measures of the 1906 Treaty of Algeciras, tribesmen of the Chaouia attacked the locomotive, killing 9 Compagnie Marocaine laborers—3 French, 3 Italians, and 3 Spanish.[15]

In response, the French bombarded the city with multiple gunboats and landed troops inside the town, causing severe damage and 15,000 dead and wounded. In the immediate aftermath of the bombardment and the deployment of French troops, the European homes and the Mellah, or Jewish quarter, were sacked, and the latter was also set ablaze.[17]

The bombardment and military invasion of the city effectively began the French military conquest of Morocco, although French control of Casablanca was not formalized until the French Protectorat was established by the Treaty of Fes March 1912.

General Hubert Lyautey assigned the planning of the new colonial port city to Henri Prost. As he did in other Moroccan cities, Prost designed a European ville nouvelle outside the walls of the medina. In Casablanca, he also designed a new "ville indigène" to house Moroccans arriving from other cities.[18]

Europeans formed almost half the population of Casablanca.[19]

World War II

Immeuble Liberté, the first skyscraper in Africa, built in 1949

Immeuble Liberté, the first skyscraper in Africa, built in 1949

After Philippe Pétain of France signed the armistice with the Nazis, he ordered French troops in France's colonial empire to defend French territory against any aggressors—Allied or otherwise—applying a policy of "asymmetrical neutrality" in favor of the Germans.[20] French colonists in Morocco generally supported Pétain, while politically conscious Moroccans tended to favor de Gaulle and the Allies.[21]

Operation Torch, which started on 8 November 1942, was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. The Western Task Force, composed of American units led by Major General George S. Patton and Rear Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt, carried out the invasions of Mehdia, Fedhala, and Asfi. American forces captured Casablanca from Vichy control when France surrendered November 11, 1942, but the Naval Battle of Casablanca continued until American forces sank German submarine U-173 on November 16.[22]

Casablanca was the site of the Nouasseur Air Base, a large American air base used as the staging area for all American aircraft for the European Theater of Operations during World War II. The air field has since become Mohammed V International Airport.

Anfa Conference

Casablanca hosted the Anfa Conference (also called the Casablanca Conference) in January 1943. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed the progress of the war. Also in attendance were the Free France generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud, though they played minor roles and didn't participate in the military planning.

It was at this conference that the Allies adopted the doctrine of "unconditional surrender," meaning that the Axis powers would be fought until their defeat. Roosevelt also met privately with Sultan Muhammad V and expressed his support for Moroccan independence after the war.[21] This became a turning point, as Moroccan nationalists were emboldened to openly seek complete independence.[21]

Toward independence

During the 1940s and 1950s, Casablanca was a major centre of anti-French rioting.

April 7, 1947, a massacre of working class Moroccans, carried out by Senegalese Tirailleurs in the service of the French colonial army, was instigated just as Sultan Muhammed V was due to make a speech in Tangier appealing for independence.[24]

Riots in Casablanca took place from December 7–8, 1952, in response to the assassination of the Tunisian labor unionist Farhat Hached by La Main Rouge—the clandestine militant wing of French intelligence.[25] Then, on 25 December 1953 (Christmas Day), Muhammad Zarqtuni orchestrated a bombing of Casablanca's Central Market in response to the forced exile of Sultan Muhammad V and the royal family on August 20 (Eid al-Adha) of that year.[26]

Since independence

Morocco gained independence from France in 1956.[27]

Casablanca Group

January 4–7, 1961, the city hosted an ensemble of progressive African leaders during the Casablanca Conference of 1961. Among those received by King Muhammad V were Gamal Abd An-Nasser, Kwame Nkrumah, Modibo Keïta, and Ahmed Sékou Touré, Ferhat Abbas.[28][29][30]

Jewish emigration

Casablanca was a major departure point for Jews leaving Morocco through Operation Yachin, an operation conducted by Mossad to secretly migrate Moroccan Jews to Israel between November 1961 and spring 1964.[31]

1965 riots

The 1965 student protests organized by the National Union of Popular Forces-affiliated National Union of Moroccan Students, which spread to cities around the country and devolved into riots, started on March 22, 1965 in front of Lycée Mohammed V in Casablanca.[32][33][34] The protests started as a peaceful march to demand the right to public higher education for Morocco, but expanded to include concerns of laborers, the unemployed, and other marginalized segments of society, and devolved into vandalism and rioting.[35] The riots were violently repressed by security forces with tanks and armored vehicles; Moroccan authorities reported a dozen deaths while the UNFP reported more than 1,000.[32]

King Hassan II blamed the events on teachers and parents, and declared in a speech to the nation on March 30, 1965: "There is no greater danger to the State than a so-called intellectual. It would have been better if you were all illiterate.”[36][37]

In March 2000, more than 60 women's groups organized demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country.[38] About 40,000 women attended, calling for a ban on polygamy and the introduction of divorce law (divorce being a purely religious procedure at that time). Although the counter-demonstration attracted half a million participants, the movement for change started in 2000 was influential on King Mohammed VI, and he enacted a new mudawana, or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.[39]

On 16 May 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were injured when Casablanca was hit by a multiple suicide bomb attack carried out by Moroccans and claimed by some to have been linked to al-Qaeda. Twelve suicide bombers struck five locations in the city.[40]

A string of suicide bombings struck the city in early 2007.

A suspected militant blew himself up at a Casablanca internet café on 11 March 2007.[41] On 10 April, three suicide bombers blew themselves up during a police raid of their safe house.[42] Two days later, police set up barricades around the city and detained two more men who had escaped the raid.[43] On 14 April, two brothers blew themselves up in downtown Casablanca, one near the American Consulate, and one a few blocks away near the American Language Center. Only one person was injured aside from the bombers, but the Consulate was closed for more than a month.

As calls for reform spread through the Arab world in 2011, Moroccans joined in, but concessions by the ruler led to acceptance.

However, in December, thousands of people demonstrated in several parts of the city, especially the city center near la Fontaine, desiring more significant political reforms.

Geography

Casablanca is located on the Chaouia Plains which has historically been the breadbasket of Morocco.[44] Apart from the Atlantic coast, the Bouskoura forest is the only natural attraction in the city.[45] The forest was planted in the 20th century and consists mostly of eucalyptus, palm, and pine trees.[46] It is located halfway to the city's international airport.

The only watercourse in Casablanca is oued Bouskoura,[47] a small seasonal creek that until 1912 reached the Atlantic Ocean near the actual port. Most of oued Bouskoura's bed has been covered due to urbanization and only the part south of El Jadida road can now be seen. The closest permanent river to Casablanca is Oum Rabia, 70 km (43.50 mi) to the south-east.

Climate

Casablanca has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The cool Canary Current off the Atlantic coast moderates temperature variation, which results in a climate remarkably similar to that of coastal Los Angeles, with similar temperature ranges. The city has an annual average of 72 days with significant precipitation, which amounts to 412 mm (16.2 in) per year. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in the city are 40.5 °C (104.9 °F) and −2.7 °C (27.1 °F), respectively. The highest amount of rainfall recorded in a single day is 178 mm (7.0 in) on 30 November 2010.

Climate data for Casablanca (1981–2010)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)31.1(88.0)29.4(84.9)32.2(90.0)32.8(91.0)36.6(97.9)37.5(99.5)40.1(104.2)39.5(103.1)40.5(104.9)37.8(100.0)34.7(94.5)30.3(86.5)40.5(104.9)
Average high °C (°F)17.3(63.1)18.0(64.4)19.6(67.3)20.2(68.4)21.9(71.4)24.1(75.4)25.8(78.4)26.3(79.3)25.7(78.3)23.8(74.8)20.9(69.6)18.7(65.7)21.9(71.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)12.6(54.7)13.7(56.7)15.3(59.5)16.5(61.7)18.5(65.3)20.9(69.6)22.7(72.9)23.2(73.8)22.3(72.1)19.8(67.6)16.5(61.7)14.2(57.6)18.0(64.4)
Average low °C (°F)9.2(48.6)10.4(50.7)11.8(53.2)13.2(55.8)15.6(60.1)18.7(65.7)20.5(68.9)20.9(69.6)19.7(67.5)16.8(62.2)13.3(55.9)11.1(52.0)15.1(59.2)
Record low °C (°F)−1.5(29.3)−0.7(30.7)2.3(36.1)5.0(41.0)7.4(45.3)10.0(50.0)13.0(55.4)13.0(55.4)10.0(50.0)7.0(44.6)4.6(40.3)−2.7(27.1)−2.7(27.1)
Average rainfall mm (inches)68(2.7)45(1.8)38(1.5)40(1.6)15(0.6)3(0.1)1(0.0)1(0.0)9(0.4)37(1.5)86(3.4)74(2.9)415(16.3)
Average rainy days997862113791172
Averagerelative humidity(%)83838280798182838382828482
Mean monthlysunshine hours189.6188.5240.7261.5293.6285.0303.4294.1258.1234.3190.6183.12,922.5
Source #1: Pogoda.ru.net[48]
Source #2: NOAA (sun, 1961–1990)
Casablanca mean sea temperature[[CITE|50|http://www.seatemperature.org/africa/morocco/casablanca-may.htm]]
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
17.5 °C (63.5 °F)17.0 °C (62.6 °F)17.1 °C (62.8 °F)18.4 °C (65.1 °F)19.5 °C (67.1 °F)21.8 °C (71.2 °F)22.7 °C (72.9 °F)23.3 °C (73.9 °F)23.1 °C (73.6 °F)22.5 °C (72.5 °F)20.4 °C (68.7 °F)18.5 °C (65.3 °F)

Economy

Boulevard des FAR (Forces Armées Royales)

Boulevard des FAR (Forces Armées Royales)

Port of Casablanca

Port of Casablanca

The Grand Casablanca region is considered the locomotive of the development of the Moroccan economy. It attracts 32% of the country's production units and 56% of industrial labor. The region uses 30% of the national electricity production. With MAD 93 billion, the region contributes to 44% of the industrial production of the kingdom. About 33% of national industrial exports, MAD 27 billion, comes from the Grand Casablanca; 30% of the Moroccan banking network is concentrated in Casablanca.[51]

One of the most important Casablancan exports is phosphate.

Other industries include fishing, fish canning, sawmills, furniture production, building materials, glass, textiles, electronics, leather work, processed food, spirits, soft drinks, and cigarettes.[52]

The Casablanca and Mohammedia seaports activity represent 50% of the international commercial flows of Morocco. Almost the entire Casablanca waterfront is under development, mainly the construction of huge entertainment centres between the port and Hassan II Mosque, the Anfa Resort project near the business, entertainment and living centre of Megarama, the shopping and entertainment complex of Morocco Mall, as well as a complete renovation of the coastal walkway. The Sindbad park is planned to be totally renewed with rides, games and entertainment services.[53]

Royal Air Maroc has its head office at the Casablanca-Anfa Airport.[54] In 2004, it announced that it was moving its head office from Casablanca to a location in Province of Nouaceur, close to Mohammed V International Airport.[55] The agreement to build the head office in Nouaceur was signed in 2009.[56]

The biggest CBD of Casablanca and Maghreb is in the North of the town in Sidi Maarouf near the mosque of Hassan II and the biggest project of skycrapers of Maghreb and Africa Casablanca Marina.

Administrative divisions

Casablanca is a commune, part of the region of Casablanca-Settat. The commune is divided into eight districts or prefectures, which are themselves divided into 16 subdivisions or arrondissements and one municipality. The districts and their subdivisions are:[57]

  1. Aïn Chock

  2. Aïn Sebaâ - Hay Mohammadi (عين السبع الحي المحمدي) – Aïn Sebaâ (عين السبع), Hay Mohammadi (الحي المحمدي), Roches Noires (روش نوار).

  3. Anfa (أنفا) – Anfa (أنفا), Maârif (المعاريف), Sidi Belyout (سيدي بليوط).

  4. Ben M'Sick (بن مسيك) – Ben M'Sick (بن مسيك), Sbata (سباته).

  5. Sidi Bernoussi (سيدي برنوصي) – Sidi Bernoussi (سيدي برنوصي), Sidi Moumen (سيدي مومن).

  6. Al Fida - Mers Sultan (الفداء – مرس السلطان) – Al Fida (الفداء); Mechouar (المشور) (municipality), Mers Sultan (مرس السلطان).

  7. Hay Hassani (الحي الحسني) – Hay Hassani (الحي الحسني).

  8. Moulay Rachid (مولاي رشيد) – Moulay Rachid (مولاي رشيد), Sidi Othmane (سيدي عثمان).

Neighborhoods

The list of neighborhoods is indicative and not complete:

  • 2 Mars

  • Ain Chock

  • Ain Diab

  • Ain Sebaa

  • Belvédère

  • Beausejour

  • Bouchentouf

  • Bourgogne

  • Californie

  • Centre Ville (downtown)

  • C.I.L.

  • Derb Ghalaf

  • Derb Sultan Al Fida

  • Derb TaZI

  • Al Hank

  • Hay Al Mohammadi

  • Ghandi

  • Gauthier

  • Habous

  • Hay Dakhla ("Derb Lihoudi")

  • Hay Farah

  • Hay El Baraka

  • Hay El Hana

  • Hay Moulay Rachid

  • La Colline

  • Bouskoura

  • Laimoun (Hay Hassani)

  • Lissasfa

  • Maârif

  • Palmiers

  • Old Madina (Mdina Qdima)

  • Mers Sultan

  • Nassim

  • Oasis

  • Oulfa

  • Polo

  • Racine

  • Riviera

  • Roches Noires

  • Salmia II

  • Sbata

  • Sidi Bernoussi

  • Sidi Maarouf

  • Sidi Moumen

  • Sidi Othmane

Demographics

The commune of Casablanca recorded a population of 3,359,818 in the 2014 Moroccan census.[2] About 98% live in urban areas. Around 25% of them are under 15 and 9% are over 60 years old. The population of the city is about 11% of the total population of Morocco. Grand Casablanca is also the largest urban area in the Maghreb. 99.9% of the population of Morocco are Arab and Berber Muslims.[58] During the French protectorate in Morocco, European Christians formed almost half the population of Casablanca.[19] Since independence in 1956, the European population has decreased substantially.

Judaism in Casablanca

Jews have a long history in Casablanca. A Sephardic Jewish community was in Anfa up to the destruction of the city by the Portuguese in 1468. Jews were slow to return to the town, but by 1750, the Rabbi Elijah Synagogue was built as the first Jewish synagogue in Casablanca. It was destroyed along with much of the town in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.[4]

Approximately 28,000 Moroccan Jews immigrated to the State of Israel between 1948 and 1951, many through Casablanca.[59] Casablanca then became a departure point in Operation Yachin, the covert Mossad-organized migration operation from 1961–1964.

Today, the Jewish cemetery of Casablanca is one of the major cemeteries of the city, and many synagogues remain in service, but the city's Jewish community has dwindled.

The Moroccan Jewish Museum is a museum established in the city in 1997.[60]

Tourism

Casablanca has an amusement park with a zoo known as "Parc Sindibad".[61][62]

  • Possible Barbary lion at Parc Sindibad

  • Casablanca Beach

Architecture

The historic Old Medina, the original walled city of Casablanca rebuilt by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah after the earthquake of 1755, represents Ad-Dār Al-Bayḍāʾ before French colonization. It was largely destroyed in the French bombardment of 1907. It attracts fewer tourists than the medinas of cities such as Fes and Marrakech. However, it has undergone some restoration in recent years. Included in this project were the western walls of the medina, its sqala, or bastion, and its clock tower rebuilt in the image of the one from 1908.

The French period Ville Nouvelle (New Town) of Casablanca was designed by the French architect Henri Prost, and was a model of a new town at that time. The main streets radiate south and east from what is now United Nations Square, previously the souq kbir (السوق الكبير), the main market forming just outside the ramparts of the medina. Henri Prost, Albert Laprade, Marius Boyer, and August Cadet were some of the early planners and architects of the city.[45]

The former administrative square, now Muhammad V Square, is surrounded by buildings in a style called Neo-Mauresque, or Neo-Moorish, which combines Mauro-Andalusi and Art Deco architecture.

The Habous (or New Medina) is a neighborhood designed by French architects in neo-Moorish style during French protectorate.[64] Among its sights are:

  • Mahkamat al-Pasha

  • Moulay Youssef Mosque

  • Muhammadi Mosque

  • Royal Palace

  • Olive souq etc.[65]

The Arab League Park (formerly called Parc Lyautey) is the city's largest public park. On its edge is the Sacred Heart Church of Casablanca. It is no longer in use for religious purposes, but it is open to visitors and is a splendid example of Neo-Gothic architecture.

Morocco's permanent delegation to UNESCO submitted a nomination file to get Casablanca's 20th century architecture classified as a World Heritage Site.[66] Casamémoire is an organization that has been working to protect and promote this architectural heritage since 1995.[67]

Notre-Dame de Lourdes Church is a modernist Catholic church that was built in 1954 by architect Achille Dangleterre and engineer Gaston Zimmer.

The main attraction of Notre-Dame de Lourdes church is the glasswork of world-famous stained glass artist Gabriel Loire.[65]

An iconic site on Ain Diab's corniche is the small island ribat of Sidi Abderrahman. Before 2013, the only way to reach the island was to walk across at low tide. Nowadays there's a bridge.[68] This outcrop contains the tomb of Sidi Abderrhamane Thaalibi, a Sufi from Baghdad and the founder of Algiers. He is considered a saint in Morocco.[69] Because of this, many Moroccans make informal pilgrimages to this site "to reflect on life and to seek religious enlightenment". Some believe that the saint possessed magical powers, so his tomb still possesses these powers. People come and seek this magic to be cured. Non-Muslims may not enter the shrine.

Casablanca is home to the Hassan II Mosque, designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau. It is situated on a promontory on the Atlantic Ocean. The mosque has room for 25,000 worshippers inside, and a further 80,000 can be accommodated in the mosque's courtyard. Its minaret is the world's tallest at 210 metres (690 feet). The mosque is also the largest in North Africa, and the third-largest in the world.[70] Work on the mosque started in 1980, and was intended to be completed for the 60th birthday of the former Moroccan king, Hassan II, in 1989. However, the building was not inaugurated until 1993. Authorities spent an estimated $800 million in the construction of the building.

Education

Colleges and universities

Public: University of Hassan II Casablanca

Private:

  • Université Mundiapolis

  • Université Internationale de Casablanca

Primary and secondary schools

International schools:

  • Belgium: École Belge de Casablanca

  • French: Collège Anatole France Lycée Lyautey Groupe Scolaire Louis Massignon Lycée La Résidence Lycée Maïmonide (FR) Lycée Léon l'Africain École Normale Hébraïque École Al Jabr

  • Italian: Scuola "Enrico Mattei"

  • Spanish: Instituto Español Juan Ramón Jiménez

  • American: Casablanca American School American Academy Casablanca George Washington Academy

Places of worship

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques.[71] There are also Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat (Catholic Church), Evangelical Church in Morocco (World Communion of Reformed Churches).

Sports

Association football

Players from Raja (left) and Wydad (right) during a Casablanca derby match in 2008.

Players from Raja (left) and Wydad (right) during a Casablanca derby match in 2008.

Casablanca is home to two popular football clubs, Wydad Casablanca[72] and Raja Casablanca.[73] Raja's symbol is an eagle and Wydad's symbol is a goose. These two popular clubs have produced some of Morocco's best players, such as: Salaheddine Bassir, Abdelmajid Dolmy, Baddou Zaki, Aziz Bouderbala, and Noureddine Naybet. Other football teams on top of these two major teams based in the city of Casablanca include Rachad Bernoussi, TAS de Casablanca, Majd Al Madina, and Racing Casablanca.

Tennis

Casablanca hosts The Grand Prix Hassan II, a professional men's tennis tournament of the ATP tour. It first began in 1986, and is played on clay courts type at Complexe Al Amal.

Notable winners of the Hassan II Grand-Prix are Thomas Muster in 1990, Hicham Arazi in 1997, Younes El Aynaoui in 2002, and Stanislas Wawrinka in 2010.

Hosting

Casablanca staged the 1961 Pan Arab Games, the 1983 Mediterranean Games, and games during the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations. Morocco was scheduled to host the 2015 African Nations Cup, but decided to decline due to Ebola fears. Morocco was expelled and the tournament was held in Equatorial Guinea.[74]

Venues

  • Stade Larbi Zaouli

  • Stade Mohamed V

  • Stade Sidi Bernoussi

  • Complexe Al Amal de Casablanca

The Grand Stade de Casablanca is the proposed title of the planned football stadium to be built in the city. Once completed in 2014, it will be used mostly for football matches and will serve as the home of Raja Casablanca, Wydad Casablanca, and the Morocco national football team. The stadium was designed with a capacity of 93,000 spectators, making it one of the highest-capacity stadiums in Africa. Once completed, it will replace the Stade Mohamed V. The initial idea of the stadium was for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, for which Morocco lost their bid to South Africa. Nevertheless, the Moroccan government supported the decision to go ahead with the plans. It will be completed in 2025. The idea of the stadium was also for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, for which Morocco lost their bid to Canada, Mexico and United States. It is now hoping for the 2030 FIFA World Cup which Morocco is co-bidding with either African neighbors Tunisia and Algeria or two European nations Spain and Portugal

Culture

Music

Nass El Ghiwane, led by Laarbi Batma, came out of Hay Mohammadi in Casablanca.[75] Issam Harris is a rapper from Derb Sultan.[76]

Casablanca hosts numerous music festivals, such as Jazzablanca and Boulevard.[77][78]

Literature

Driss Chraïbi's novel The Simple Past takes place in Casablanca. Mohamed Zafzaf lived in Casablanca. Casablanca's International Book Fair is held annually in February.

Art

Rebel Spirit published The Casablanca Guide (الدليل البيضاوي, Le Guide Casablancais) a comic book about life in Casablanca.[79]

Sbagha Bagha is a street art festival during which murals are created on the sides of apartment buildings.[80]

Photography

Casablanca has a thriving street photography scene.[81] Yoriyas is prominent among photographers capturing the economic capital's street scenes, and has attracted international attention.[82]

Transport

Rapid Transit

, or Casablanca Tramway

The Casablanca Tramway is the rapid transit tram system in Casablanca. As of 2019, the network consists of two lines covering 47.5 km (30 mi), with 71 stops; further lines (ط3 and ط4) are under construction.[83][84]

Since the 1970s, Casablanca had planned to build a metro system to offer some relief to the problems of traffic congestion and poor air quality.[85][86] However, the city council voted to abandon the metro project in 2014 due to high costs, and decided to continue expanding the already operating tram system instead.[87]

Air

Casablanca's main airport is Mohammed V International Airport, Morocco's busiest airport. Regular domestic flights serve Marrakech, Rabat, Agadir, Oujda, Tangier, Al Hoceima, and Laayoune, as well as other cities.

Casablanca is well-served by international flights to Europe, especially French and Spanish airports, and has regular connections to North American, Middle Eastern and sub-Saharan African destinations.

New York City, Montreal, Paris, Washington D.C., London and Dubai are important primary destinations.

The older, smaller Casablanca-Anfa Airport to the west of the city, served certain destinations including Damascus, and Tunis, and was largely closed to international civilian traffic in 2006. It has been closed and destroyed to build the "Casablanca Finance City", the new heart of the city of Casablanca. Casablanca Tit Mellil Airport is located in the nearby community of Tit Mellil.

Coaches

Compagnie de Transports au Maroc (CTM) coaches (intercity buses) and various private lines run services to most notable Moroccan towns, as well as a number of European cities. These run from the Gare Routière on Rue Léon l'Africain in downtown Casablanca.

Taxis

A grand taxi of Casablanca parked on Rue Chaouia.

A grand taxi of Casablanca parked on Rue Chaouia.

Registered taxis in Casablanca are coloured red and known as petit taxis (small taxis), or coloured white and known as grands taxis (big taxis). As is standard Moroccan practice, petits taxis, typically small-four door Dacia Logan, Peugeot 207, or similar cars, provide metered cab service in the central metropolitan areas. Grands taxis, generally older Mercedes-Benz sedans, provide shared mini-bus like service within the city on predefined routes, or shared intercity service. Grands taxis may also be hired for private service by the hour or day.

Trains

A tram on Casablanca's T1 line passes in front of Casa-Voyageurs railway station.

A tram on Casablanca's T1 line passes in front of Casa-Voyageurs railway station.

Casablanca is served by three principal railway stations run by the national rail service, the ONCF.

Casa-Voyageurs is the main intercity station, from which trains run south to Marrakech or El Jadida and north to Mohammedia and Rabat, and then on either to Tangier or Meknes, Fes, Taza and Oujda/Nador. It also serves as the southern terminus of the Al-Boraq high speed line from Tangier. A dedicated airport shuttle service to Mohammed V International Airport also has its primary in-city stop at this station, for connections on to further destinations.

Casa-Port serves primarily commuter trains such as the Train Navette Rapide (TNR or Aouita) operating on the Casablanca – Kenitra rail corridor, with some connecting trains running on to Gare de Casa-Voyageurs. The station provides a direct interchange between train and shipping services, and is located near several port-area hotels. It is the nearest station to the old town of Casablanca, and to the modern city centre, around the landmark Casablanca Twin Center. Casa-Port station is being rebuilt in a modern and enlarged configuration. During the construction, the station is still operational. From 2013, it will provide a close connection from the rail network to the city's new tram network.

Casa-Oasis was originally a suburban commuter station which was fully redesigned and rebuilt in the early 21st century, and officially reopened in 2005 as a primary city rail station. Owing to its new status, all southern intercity train services to and from Casa-Voyageurs now call at Casa-Oasis. ONCF stated in 2005 that the refurbishment and upgrading of Casa-Oasis to intercity standards was intended to relieve passenger congestion at Casa-Voyageurs station.

Notable people

Merieme Chadid led an international scientific program to install a major astronomical observatory in Antarctica.

Merieme Chadid led an international scientific program to install a major astronomical observatory in Antarctica.

  • Amal Ayouch (born 1966) – stage and film actress

  • Salaheddine Bassir – Moroccan footballer

  • Laarbi Batma — Moroccan musician and artist, founding member of Nas El Ghiwan

  • Larbi Benbarek – Moroccan footballer

  • Miriem Bensalah-Chaqroun – Moroccan businesswoman

  • Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes – French footballer

  • Frida Boccara – French singer, Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1969

  • Merieme Chadid – Moroccan astronomer

  • Soufiane Choubani – Founder of the Moroccan National Debate Team

  • Jean-Charles de Castelbajac – French fashion designer

  • Dizzy DROS – Moroccan rapper

  • Gad Elmaleh – French/Canadian comedian

  • La Fouine – Moroccan-French rapper

  • El Haqed – Moroccan rapper

  • Serge Haroche – French physicist who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics

  • Shatha Hassoun – Moroccan/Iraqi singer

  • Lydia Hatuel-Czuckermann – Israeli Olympic fencer

  • Hicham Mesbahi – Moroccan boxer

  • French Montana – American rapper

  • Nawal El Moutawakel – Olympic champion

  • Noureddine Naybet – Moroccan footballer

  • Mostafa Nissaboury – Moroccan poet

  • Hakim Noury – Moroccan film director

  • Maurice Ohana – French composer

  • Jean Reno – French Hollywood actor

  • Daniel Sivan – professor

  • Alain Souchon – French songwriter

  • Frank Stephenson – award-winning automobile designer

  • Hassan Saada – Moroccan boxer arrested for alleged rape before Olympic match[88]

  • Sidney Taurel – naturalized American CEO of Eli Lilly and Company from 1998 to 2008

  • Richard Virenque – French cyclist

  • Muhammad Zarqtuni – Moroccan nationalist and resistance leader

  • Abdallah Zrika – Moroccan poet

Casablanca, an American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz

Casablanca, an American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz

  • The 1942 film Casablanca (starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart) is supposed to have been set in Casablanca, although it was filmed entirely in Los Angeles and doesn't feature a single Arab or North African character with a speaking role.[89] The film depicts Casablanca as the scene of a power struggle between competing European powers, which had much more to do with the Tangier of the time.[90] The film has achieved worldwide popularity since its release. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, it won three, including Best Picture.

  • A Night in Casablanca (1946) was the 12th Marx Brothers' movie. The film stars Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx. It was directed by Archie Mayo and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee. The film contains the song "Who's Sorry Now?", with music by Ted Snyder and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. It is sung in French by Lisette Verea playing the part of Beatrice Rheiner, and then later sung in English. Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" is played twice, once by Chico on piano as an introduction to the "Beer Barrel Polka", and again by Harpo on the harp.

  • The city is featured in The Mysterious Caravan (1975), volume 54 in the original Hardy Boys series.

  • Casablanca is the setting for several chapters in Doubleshot, a 2000 James Bond novel by Raymond Benson. In the novel, one of the characters mentions that the 1942 film was shot in Hollywood and not on location.

  • Casablanca is one of the key locations in the 2006 video game Dreamfall, as it is where the primary protagonist of the game, Zoë Castillo, lives. Although the city is imagined in the year 2219, much of the present-day architecture is used for inspiration.

  • Casablanca is the setting for the first act of the 2016 World War II romantic thriller film Allied starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.

International relations

*See also *

Twin towns – sister cities

Casablanca is twinned with:

See also

  • Rabat Zoo

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