Morocco Photos, page 1

Note: Border images--which include decorative art/architecture elements, ortoseras fossils, market stall displays, palm tree trunks, and other general items-- appear at left of each photo row; but these are from all over Morocco and not necessarily from the specific building or site identified in photo captions.

King Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca

interior, King Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca completed in 1933 and believed to be the largest Muslim monument outside of Mecca.

It requires over 200 full-time workers to maintain and clean the mosque; definitely it's an ongoing (i.e., never ending!) process.

Morocco's 350-year-old dynasty, the world's oldest next to the Japanese imperial dynasty, claims to be directly descended from the prophet Mohammed. The relatively young king, aged 43, Mohammed VI, like those monarchs before him, has his picture plastered everywhere and palaces in every major town in the country. He came to the throne just 6 years ago. By granting new rights to women and strengthening civil liberties, the ruler of this country of 30 million on Africa's northern edge, which is 99 percent Muslim, plans to democratize Morocco through a tolerant interpretation of the Koran. We were also told that Moroccan policies will strengthen its ties with Europe, with African nations, and with the Middle East, rather than aligning itself with just one continent or just with other Islamic nations. This palace is in Rabat, in the so-called Royal City or compound, which is access restricted, well-guarded, and served by 2000 full-time staff. While Casablanca is the commercial center of Morocco, Rabat is the administrative capital. It was established as such by the French in 1912.

Karim, the local guide in Rabat, was delighted that he'd chosen to wear his Banff baseball cap, when he learned there were two Canadians in our group.

The Hassan Tower, the grandiose minaret of a vast yet incomplete mosque, is Rabat’s most famous landmark. Begun in 1195, the minaret was intended to be the largest in the Muslim world, soaring some 86m (260ft) into the sky. Construction was abandoned, however, upon the death of the sultan, Yacoub al-Mansour, in 1199 and the tower instead rises to just 44m (140ft). The many columns around Hassan's Tower are said to have been rustled from the Roman site at Volubilis, which we visited a few days after Rabat.

Even the street lamps are highly stylized and decorated.

Guards at the Hassan Tower site.

The mosque and mausoleum of Mohammed V, the grandfather of the present king of Morocco, which is one of the few sacred sites in the country that non-Muslims are allowed to enter.

A much photographed street and doorway inside Rabat's Kasbah des Oudaias.