While finalizing our itinerary, we knew this was going to a long day. The plan for the day was to go from Marrakech to Casablanca and see the Hasan II Mosque, then head east toward Meknes, where we planned to stop for a few hours, before hitting the road again and making it to Fes – our final destination for the day.

We started early and were picked up by Soufiane in his trusted black van. After a quick goodbye to Marrakech, we hit the road and headed to Casablanca. Casablanca is the largest and busiest city in Morocco, and upon entering it, I felt as if we were transported back to India. The roads, traffic, shops, hoardings, all felt very familiar. We only had time to visit the Hassan II Mosque, which happens to be one of the largest in the world. Its minaret at 210 meters is the worlds tallest and has a laser mounted on top which directs its light towards Mecca. The walls are of hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque’s outside ground. (Source: Wikipedia)

TIP: Ensure you check the guided tours timings on the official Hasan II mosque website and plan to be there around that time. From what we could tell, this is the only way to see the interiors.

We made it just in time to join the 11:00 am tour, which lasted for about an hour. The mosque is as beautiful outside as it is inside, so we spent another hour admiring and capturing it from every possible angle. It was a beautiful day (we were told that it is not uncommon to find cloudy skies in Casablanca on most days), so we considered ourselves lucky and enjoyed seeing the enormous and grand structure against the clear blue skies. We stopped for a quick lunch at McDonalds (it’s always fun to experience the subtle differences in the Mc Donald burgers when you step outside the US), enroute to Meknes and by the time we arrived it was late afternoon.

The first sight to greet us was the Bab Mansour gate. This is one of the most beautiful gates in the continent (and perhaps in the world) and was constructed in 1732 and named after El Mansour, the architect who was a Christian rebel that converted to Islam. Bab Mansour is extremely well preserved and provides some great photo opportunities. Out timing seemed to be perfect as well, as the evening sun had lit up this amazing piece of architecture, and it looked nothing short of stunning.

TIP: Right in front of the gate is a rooftop cafe that not only offers great view of the Bab Mansour gate, but also of Place El-Hedim – the large square in front of the gate.

We enjoyed some coffee at the nearby roof top café, and chatted with the owner who spoke pretty good English. He also provided directions to the Bou Inania Madrasa, which was our next stop. This Koranic school was established by the Merinids in the 14th century, and as soon as we entered it we were captivated by the splendid architecture and beauty that surrounded us. This was the first madrasa that I had visited and it more than made up for missing the Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakesh, which was unfortunately closed for renovation while we were there.

TIP: Go up to the rooftop of the Bou Inania Madrasa, which will allow you to get some good views of the nearby mosque and its minaret.

From the madrasa we made our way back to Place El-Hedim, while crossing the Grand Mosque just across the street. As with many of the nation’s holy places, non-Muslim visitors were not allowed inside the building. Across from the square is the Dar Jamai – This former 19th-century palace now houses the Museum of Moroccan Art. The museum was closed by the time we got there, however we did enjoy the exteriors and the hustle bustle surrounding it, before making it back to our van. We had also planned to do the Heri el Souani and Moulay Ismail Mausoleum. However, we ran out of time (and energy) to do the former and the latter was closed for renovations.

It was a whirlwind tour of Meknes, but completely worth the time. We were back on the road in no time, and another 45 minutes later, we were finally at our Riad in Fes. We started the day in Marrakesh and ended it in another great city in this beautiful country.