Today was the first day of Plus3 Morocco starting in Casablanca. While driving from the airport to the main city area, I was surprised by the wide variety of buildings I saw. Some were more modern, while others had an older look in terms of structure and materials. During the ride, I realized that I was not able to reasonably guess whether a building was a business, residential building, or other type of establishment, unlike at home where I get a general sense of the building type based on signage and structure. Throughout the trip, I hope to gain insight into what elements, both outside and inside, make a Moroccan building what it is. We also passed by Casablanca Technopark, one of our upcoming site visits. It looked very interesting and I am excited to get a closer look.

Our group visited the Hassan II Mosque today, which is the third largest mosque in the world. While being beautiful architecture-wise, the most interesting fact I learned during the tour is that the area in the mosque designated for prayer faces Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This particular aspect reflects the careful design and planning that went into building the mosque.

I had never visited a mosque before, so the most unique part of the experience was removing my shoes before entering. At the entrance to the mosque, there was a man handing out bags for our shoes, and after we took them off we were able to walk around on the carpets and marbled floors. Although people can visit the mosque even if they are not there to pray, having everyone remove their shoes demonstrates the importance of respecting the space for the people who do pray.