Renewing Passports in Casablanca

Our passports will expire in April, 2010 and instead of renewing them before we left in August, 2009, we decided to renew them while in Morocco. That decision makes this blog a bit more interesting now because I can say, "We renewed our passports in Casablanca" rather than, "We renewed our passports at the El Toro post office in Orange County."

With forms filled out and money in hand, we took the train to Casablanca. Even though we arrived at the embassy gates forty-five minutes late, some very kind people let us in to submit our application and pay our fees. For a few minutes, we were back on American soil! We were told it would take seven days to get our new passports, so we decided to travel further north hoping that by the time we made the return trip, our passports would be ready.

We spent three days in Casablanca and had lunch at Rick's Cafe (I ordered, "Obama's Chili Con Carne"), bought a warm jacket for the soon-to-be cold weather in Marrakech, and looked up some open-air markets that were listed in our guidebook. I was tempted to buy loads of fresh vegetables, but my suitcase was already bursting.

We also toured one of the most impressive feats of modern architecture I have ever seen: The Hassan II Mosque. It is the second largest mosque in the world, the largest being in Mecca, and two-thirds of it is built over the Atlantic Ocean! From our hotel, it dominates the medina (old city) and at night it is beautifully lit.

It can hold 25,000 worshipers, has a retracting roof, a cedar ceiling, titanium and bronze doors, Venetian chandeliers, Carrara marble columns, and is meticulously decorated with intricate designs made by thousands of talented, Moroccan artisans.

It rained the day of the tour, so all the photos turned out even better, with the wet marble courtyard reflecting the mosque and all of its detailed tilework and beautiful Moroccan character.

After three great days in Casablanca, we hopped on another train. Our next stop will be Rabat, the capital of Morocco!