126 wanderlust.co.uk April 2020redtramstocrossthewaterin
bluerowingboats.
MybasewasTheReposeinthe
heartofSalé’smedievalmedina,
alovinglyrestoredseven-roomriad
runbyEnglishexpatJanandher
husbandRachid.Itfeltlikestayingat
afriend’shouse,withtheadvantage
ofsuperbvegetariancooking.Aftera
leisurelybreakfastontheplant-filled
terracetoasoundtrackofcompeting
muezzin(thecalltoprayer),After
followingJantotheKoranicschool,
itsinteriorembellishedwithcarved
cedarwood,dazzlingzellijtilesand
ornatestucco,Islippedthroughthe
timelesssouksenvelopedinthe
aromaoffreshly-bakedbread,passed
stallspiledhighwithplumpolivesand
pyramidsofaromaticspices.Followingafternoonprayers,acrowd
begantogatherinthetree-shaded
SoukElGhezel,thelargestsquarein
themedina,wheretraditionally
skeinsofwoolwereboughtandsold.
Butthatdaytherewasadifferentkind
ofauction,arrangedbywomen,
chieflyforwomen,whoemploymen
toshowoffthegoods–fromrichly
embroideredkaftanstomoreprosaic
potsandpans–andtakethemoney.
Later,Jandespatchedmetothe
old-schoolneighbourhoodhammam,
whereIwasledtothefirstofthehot,
hotterandhottesttiledrooms.Shafts
oflightfromthestar-shapedholesin
thedomedceilingspiercedthesteam
haze,wherelocalwomenofallages
loungedaroundinvariousstagesof
undress,washingthemselveswithblacksoap enriched with olive oil, combing
their hair and catching up on the gossip.
Like a child at bath time, I surrendered
my limbs to the lady employed to
scrub me briskly with a coarse mitt
until, satisfied, she showered me with
buckets of warm water and I emerged
withbaby-softskin.TheWhiteCity
It’sstillsurprisingthatCasablanca,
aboutanhoursouthagain,isoften
overlookedbyvisitors.Notonlyisit
Morocco’seconomichubandmost
populousmetropolis,butthe‘White
City’alsoboastsoneofHollywood’s
greatestunocialPRcampaigns.But
whilepeoplemaybe(over)familiar
withtheclassic 1942 movie,thefact
thatthecity’sstreetsareeffectivelyan
alfrescomuseumofarchitectureis
lesswellknown.Fromthe
whitewashed19th-centurymedinato
thegrandboulevardsoftheFrench
colonialera,Casablancarewards
visitorswhoexploreonfoot.
Finishedin1993,andoneofonly
twomosquesinthecountryopento
thepublic,the210m-highminaret‘I followed my host to the Koranic school,
then slipped through the souks enveloped
in the aroma of bread and aromatic spices’
Placeofworship
(clockwisefromabove)
TheHassanIIMosque;
oneofthemuralsin
Azemmour;entrance
totheCitéPortugaise,
ElJadida;skeinsofwool
weretraditionallybought
andsoldinSoukElGhezel;
Azemmour;thewalled
medinaisawarrenof
windingstreets;theGrand
TheatreofCasablanca;
theKoranicschoolinSalé;
wanderingthesouks⊳
⊲