When Mark and I first arrive in a new city, we like to book a tour with a local guide. For us, this is the perfect way to pick up tips about the best places to eat and sights to see. It helps us really get under the skin of a place. We often use Urban Adventures, an Intrepid company. They are a pleasure to deal with. The booking process is easy. Their guides are friendly and extremely knowledgeable. We have always had great experiences with them. This is my review of Urban Adventure’s Walking Tour of Casablanca, Morocco.
In this article
Essentials
- Name of Tour – The Medina and Beyond
- Operator – Urban Adventures
- Number of People – Maximum 12
- Duration – 4 hours
- Itinerary – View Hassan II Mosque, see Rick’s Café, visit the medina, sample pastries and mint tea.
- Cost – US$45 per person
What Happened on Our Tour?
Meet and Greet
The starting point for our walking tour of Casablanca was outside Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Morocco and the third-biggest in the world. Due to its vast size, it took us a good few minutes to locate Isham, our guide. Fortunately, he had given an ‘Urban Adventures’ placard to an elderly gentleman to hold up – just in case we were waiting on the wrong side (which we were!).
Isham immediately put us at our ease and gave us an introduction to Casablanca’s colourful history. A visit to the mosque wasn’t included in our tour and so we had planned to return later in the day. However, as we were the only guests on the tour, Isham offered to show us around there and then. It was an unexpected bonus early in the day!
The Tour
The Medina
From the mosque, we went by car to Rick’s Café, an hommage to the bar made famous in the movie ‘Casablanca’. It wasn’t open, but it provided a good photo opportunity and the perfect starting point for a walk around the city’s medina and markets.
Isham pointed out the five things you will find in every district in every city in Morocco:
- A water fountain – this harks back to the days when not every home had running water. Nowadays, the upkeep of many of these ornate fountains is funded by private individuals, including the king himself.
- A mosque
- A koranic school
- A public bakery – people prepare their bread at home and then bake it in the communal oven.
- A hamman – most Moroccans still attend the public baths once a week.
We visited the central market where we learned that 600 varieties of fish are caught in Moroccan waters. Walking through the colourful displays of fresh produce, we also discovered that Morocco is self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables. It used to grow all its own cereals and grains, too, but, due to massive population growth in recent years, it now has to import these from Russia and the USA.
We walked through a wholesale market specialising in traditional clothes. Traders come here from all over North Africa to buy stock.
My favourite market was the olive market. I’ve never seen so many olives of so many different varieties in one place! They were beautifully displayed giving us so many opportunities to take photos! The aromas were incredible. In between the bowls piled high with luscious olives, were stacks of vibrant yellow preserved lemons. Everything was priced at around 20 dirhams per kilo (about £1.60) – so inexpensive!
The Royal Palace
Our next stop was at the Royal Palace. The Moroccan royal family live in the country’s capital, Rabat, but stay here when they visit Casablanca. It isn’t open to the public so we could only glimpse it through the gates.
The Old Districts of Casablanca
Our walking tour of Casablanca took us through some of the city’s oldest streets.
We were delighted by the intricately carved wooden doors. Homelife is sacred in Morocco, so many of the houses we saw had tiny windows set high up in the walls. These provide ventilation but also protect the privacy of the families who live there.
Casablanca has many streets of homes purpose-built for residents of other cities as an incentive for them to come and help rebuild the city after an earthquake destroyed it in 1755. These large houses can’t be sold. They pass down through families. Today, as many as twenty or thirty people share these homes. Between them, they pay around €150 per month in rent!
Tastings
Throughout our walk, we had the opportunity to taste local delicacies.
We tried cactus fruit from a street cart. It was very sweet, but refreshing nevertheless.
At Patisserie Bennis, the most famous producer and seller of almond-flavoured pastries in Casablanca, we tried some of the delicious sweetmeats. We bought a small selection which we took to a café around the corner to eat with our mint tea. Isham showed us how to pour the tea into the glasses and then back into the pot. You should do this between five and seven times from a height in order to create the right amount of froth. Then, leave it to stand for three minutes before drinking. It seemed like a bit of a faff, but the result was incredible!
Place Mohammed V
From the old part of the city, we transferred by car to Casablanca’s main square. This is where all of the city’s civic offices are. There are magnificent fountains and neat gardens providing a pleasant place for local office workers to enjoy some fresh air during their lunch breaks. We enjoyed chatting to a traditionally-dressed water seller who happily posed for a photo – in exchange for a small tip, of course!
Mauresque Architecture
Our tour ended on Boulevard Mohammed V. Here, we could admire fine examples of Mauresque (Moorish) architecture. This blend of French colonial and traditional Moroccan styles was developed in the 1920s and 1930s. It was heavily influenced by the art deco and art nouveau movements and has resulted in ornate wrought-iron balconies, rounded exterior corners and decorative facades and friezes, many with coloured tilework. Some of these beautiful buildings have fallen into disrepair, but there is extensive renovation work going on, demonstrating the city’s desire to smarten up and appeal to the 21st-century traveller.
Isham left us at a restaurant he recommended for lunch. He wasn’t wrong! Mark’s plate of poissons friture and my chicken tagine were both delicious!
Our Guide
Apart from the fact that he fancied himself as a bit of a David Bailey and I hate having my picture taken, Isham was great! He was friendly and knowledgeable. Born and bred in Casablanca, he was clearly passionate about his city and wanted us to understand its history and culture. He exceeded our expectations in terms of what he showed us and what we learned. He went over the allotted time, but he didn’t seem to mind.
As we have always found with Urban Adventures, they employ the right people!
What did we Think of the Tour?
We loved it! We felt it was excellent value for money. After it, we were better equipped to make the most of our time in Casablanca. We would definitely recommend Urban Adventure’s ‘Medina and Beyond’ Tour to all first-time visitors to this incredible city.
Ready to Book Your Own Tour? Click Here:
READ MY COMPLETE MOROCCO TRAVEL GUIDE
Check out my Morocco colouring books!
Unlike most colouring books on the market, mine, suitable for both adults and older children, are full of line images created from photos I have taken on my travels. This means that they are highly detailed. They are not line drawings where you can colour between every line. The pictures invite you to be creative. Apply a colour wash with watercolour. Use coloured pencils to create texture. Blend colours together. Add detail with a fine ink pen. The choice is yours! Create your own work of art! When you’re happy, remove it from the book. Stick it on the fridge as a reminder of a place you’ve already been to or somewhere that’s on your bucket list. You could even get it framed. Display it on the wall for people to admire.
Here is a selection of my Morocco titles:
If you like what you’ve read, PIN IT!!
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