The City
Casablanca is the largest city of Morocco and is the chief port. Located in the central-western part of the country on the Atlantic ocean, it is the most cosmopolitan city with its economic and commercial centre. Through the mix of the city’s colonial French legacy and Arab culture, it offers lots of diverse things to do and see. This could be seen well in the 1942 film Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart as the movie underlined the city’s colonial status at the time—depicting it as the scene of a power struggle between competing European powers.
Amidst the art deco buildings, old stone medina alleys, long-standing souks (markets) and edgy galleries, visitors can find museums, palaces, and the second largest mosque in the world.
A little history
Casablanca was founded and settled by berbers by at least the seventh century BC. It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. In the early 15th century after the town became an independent state once again, it was targeted by the Portuguese, who bombarded the town which had led to its destruction in 1468.[8] The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a military fortress in 1515. The town that grew up around it was called Casa Branca, meaning “white house” in Portuguese.
The town was finally reconstructed by Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah (1756–1790), the grandson of Moulay Ismail and an ally of George Washington, with the help of Spaniards from the nearby emporium. The town was called الدار البيضاء ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ, the Arabic translation of the Spanish Casa Blanca.
In the 19th century, the area’s population began to grow as it became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry in Britain and by 1921, the population rose to 110,000.
Casablanca’s weather is warm in the summer with cool variations which result in a climate very similar to that of Los Angeles.
To get the latest weather forecast in Casablanca click on the today’s weather were you can toggle between Fahrenheit and Centigrade.