Today was the first day of our two week adventure in Morocco. We landed in the Casablanca Airport early in the morning, and immediately bussed over to the city center. On the drive over, I was surprised to see the variety in urban development. The rural houses of Casablanca all seemed consistent in their size and style of architecture, being small and heavily structured with concrete. I also was shocked to see what looked like a school on the way to Casablancas city. The school was small and concrete, but had many of the aspects that a American school would include, like flags in the front of the building and a courtyard for recess. As we drove closer to the city center, I was surprised by the different styles of architecture found in the suburban neighborhoods. Some were modern, while many others followed a traditional Moroccan style. Driving closer to our final destination, I glanced out the window to see the Technopark Maroc building, a site that we will all be visiting on our on our second trip to Casablanca. I’m very excited to journey into the building and learn about the development of these technological businesses.

We finally arrived our destination in Casablanca, the Hassan II Mosque. Getting the first glance of this beautiful Mosque took my breath away. The architecture was stunning, and the green roofs complimented the blue sunny sky perfectly. Getting to walk around the outside of the Mosque and look out into the sea was exactly what I needed after the long flights. As I circled the outside of Hassan II, I thought how interested it was that the buildings architecture was seemingly so old, and yet in such good shape. When our lovely tour guide arrived to show us the inside, she told our group that the construction of Hassan II Mosque was started only 40 years ago! I was shocked by how young the building was given the style it was built in. As we walked in from the extreme wind outside, I noticed how calming the Mosque made me feel. Getting to take my shoes off to walk on the carpets felt more of a privilege than a hassle. I felt connected to the Mosque and like I was welcome to learn about the history and culture. Another unique aspect that I found interesting was the lack of icons or religious figures. As a Roman Catholic who has visited many churches in her day ( including the Vatican), it is customary to take notice of statues of religious figures in famous artwork and murals. It was different to walk into a building of pray and worship and not see any images of a icon or figure that they pray to.