A day spent touring storied and exotic Casablanca
Morocco's largest city is newly accessible with an Air Canada year-round, non-stop, seven-hour flight from Montreal.
On cue, an hour before sunset, there’s an explosion of activity on Lalla Meriem Beach. Surfers catch a distant wave. Swimmers amp up their splashing. Soccer and volleyball games break out on the wide swath of dark, fine sand. Arabian horses trot back and forth. And, the ubiquitous camel appears. The heat of the North African day has started to dissipate and it’s time to frolic.
The surreal scenario prompts me to gravitate to Mostafa Lmalki and his camel Rgrariya.
Rgrariya is friendly and appreciates a pat on the neck and scratch behind the ear.
He’s not at all the spitting, biting, ornery camel I’d been warned about.
Perched atop Rgrariya, with Lmalki leading, we lope across the sand to the Atlantic.
Following the water’s edge, I savour the scene and can hardly believe I’m in storied and exotic Casablanca.
Only hours before, my wife and I had arrived in Morocco’s largest city, well-rested after flying on an Air Canada Airbus 333 non-stop from Montreal.
The route has been so popular since the airline started flying it seasonally under its discount Rouge banner last year that Air Canada opted to expand to year-round service on the main airline.
“We’re already seeing a spike in Canadian guests as a result,” says Four Seasons Hotel Casablanca public relations director Jihane Ayed.
“They love that we’re a luxury Canadian brand and we’re an urban oasis on the Atlantic. Plus, Morocco seems to be on everyone's bucket list right now.”
We settled in Room 512 of the hotel, which overlooks the courtyard pool and the beach where I became acquainted with the camel.
On Ayed’s recommendation, we hit Casablanca’s big-three tourist attractions on a day-long tour.
With room for 25,000 worshippers inside and 80,000 on the courtyard, the Hassan II Mosque, named after current King Mohamed VI’s father, is the third largest in the world after Mecca and Medina, both in Saudi Arabia.
But Hassan does have the tallest minaret tower on the planet at 210 metres.
The souks (market) inside the Old City’s Medina walls bustle with locals and tourists alike buying everything from djellabas (traditional robe for men and women) and pointy Moroccan slippers to olives and filigreed brass lamps.
We cap off the day with dinner at Rick’s Cafe, the restaurant and bar inspired by the “gin joint” Humphrey Bogart’s character famously owned in the 1942 Oscar-winning movie Casablanca.
The film may have been shot entirely on a Hollywood set, but that didn’t stop former American diplomat Kathy Kriger from recreating the look in a stylish white mansion in the namesake city.
Tourist trap label aside, Rick’s serves good food (order the Moroccan roasted lemon chicken), has an extensive wine list (sip the Moroccan white wine from Coteaux de l'Atlas) and you can enjoy the live music — a jazz trio played while we dined. There’s a piano player most other times, who definitely gets asked to play the movie’s signature tune, “As Time Goes By.”
Check out AirCanada.com, FourSeasons.com and VisitMorocco.com.