Casablanca was a surprise - everything I had read said there was not an enormous amount for travellers to do, but with our plane leaving from there we chose to spend a night to check it out. There is not the depth of interest that Marrakech has, however the best thing to do in Casablanca is to spend a few glorious hours walking the city centre to view the enormous amount of Art Deco buildings - they are fascinating! Casablanca has an air of "faded glamour" - very faded indeed as these days the place is filled with traffic fumes and many buildings are in disrepair. The style is not entirely Art Deco - in fact it is a melding of various styles - firstly French colonial design (it was a French protectorate from 1912 - 1956) added to traditional Moroccan style - the resulting combination became known as "Mauresque" architecture. Then it is heavily influenced by Art Deco so the buildings embrace decorative details such as ornate wrought iron balconies, detailed plaster work and intricate linear symmetry. They are graceful and elegant and I think are best described by the term 'faded glamour'. If you are a Art Deco enthusiast then this place is certainly worth a visit for a day or so.
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| Imagine this building cleaned - it would be utterly glamourous! |
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| What a beautiful house! The palms trees frame it perfectly and the lines are graceful and elegant |
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| The dining room of our hotel Le Doge which was in Art Deco style |
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| A newer version, but in keeping with the rest of the city |
