Our first stop was visiting Hassan II Mosque in the morning. It is a fine example of pure Moroccan architecture, and it is the only one in the city that non-Muslims may visit. This mosque is famous for its exquisite and intricate Islamic architecture, which is a blend of traditional Moroccan and modern styles. The mosque can accommodate up to 25,000 worshippers at a time. It is the largest mosque in Morocco and the third largest mosque in the world, after Masjid Al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca and Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina.
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| Hassan II Mosque |
Completed in 1993, Hassan II Mosque was designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau and built by Bouygues. The mosque is built on a promontory (a port of a plateau, overlooking lowland) looking out to the Atlantic Ocean. The floor is made from glass, so the ocean below can be viewed and worshippers can pray over the sea. Unfortunately, this wonderful feature is primarily intended for royal use and is not accessible to visitors. The walls are of hand-crafted marble. The roof of the Mosque is retractable so that it can be opened for worshippers to see the stars at night. With the exceptions of the imported white granite columns and glass chandeliers from Murano, near Venice, Nearly all the materials are from Morocco.
The idea to build the Hassan II Mosque was first conceived in 1984. They began building in 1989, and incredibly finished just 6 years later in 1993. Hassan II Mosque boasts electric heated floors for when it gets chilly in winter. As well as possibly the most impressive technical feature, a vast electric sliding roof. The roof opens in just 3 seconds and shuts in only 2 and was installed instead of air conditioning for hotter days when the mosque is full. 1/3 of the Hassan II mosque is actually over the Atlantic sea, a feature inspired by a verse in the Qur’an which says “the throne of God was upon the water”.
The tour guide shown us the Prayer Hall and the Ablution Hall. The Hassan Mosque claims to have the tallest minaret in any mosque in the world. The minaret is also topped with a light that faces east toward Mecca illuminating the path to the most holy of Islamic cities.
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| Prayer Hall, the Hassan II Bisque |
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| Interior of the Hassan II Mosque |
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| Ablution Hall, Hassan II Mosque |
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| In front of the Mable Fountains Representing Lotus Flowers in the Ablution Hall |
Then, we traveled to Rabat which is Morocco’s capital. On the way we stopped by a seafood restaurant near Plateforme du Sémaphore (Semaphore Platform) which is located in Kasbah des Oudaïas right at the end of Rue Jamaa. It is an open place above the river and there is an impressive view over it.
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| Seafood Restaurant by the Beach |
Then, we visited nearby Kasbah od the Udayas located on a hill at the mouth of the Bou Regreg opposite Salé, and adjacent to the Medina quarter of Rabat. It is listed, along with other sites in Rabat, as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| The walls of the kasbah and the main Almohad gate |
We stopped at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. Mohammed V died in 1961. Construction of his mausoleum was commissioned by Hassan II. The mausoleum stands on an elevated platform at the southeastern corner of the esplanade.
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| Mausoleum of Mohammed V |
Sultan Mohamed V ruled over Morocco for two terms. The first was from the year 1927 to 1953 and again from 1957 to the year 1961. He is remembered and noted for his efforts in the fight for Morocco’s independence. Both his sons, King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah, were buried alongside him. The Mausoleum of Mohamed V is located in the Yacoub Al Mansour Square and stands across from the Hassan Tower, another building that was commission by King Hassan II.
Hassan Tower is the minaret of an incomplete mosque, if completed, would have been the largest in the western Muslim world. The minaret was left standing at a height of 44 meters. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 348 columns being constructed. The tower, along with the remains of the mosque and the modern Mausoleum of Mohammed V, forms an important historical and tourist complex in Rabat. We had free time for photos in the Yacoub Al Mansour Square.
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| Hassan Tower and Part of It's Columns |
After we checked into our hotel, we had a nice dinner at the hotel.
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