Classicals

Completed in 1993 as king Hassan II’s monumental gift to Casablanca. A city he thought was lacking in spiritual essence. He said, “I wish Casablanca to be endowed with a large, fine building of which it can be proud until the end of time ... I want to build this mosque on the water, because God's throne is on the water. Therefore, the faithful who go there to pray, to praise the creator on firm soil, can contemplate God's sky and ocean.” It took 6,000 traditional craftsmen 5 years to complete the Zellige tiling all over the mosque. And the effort of 35,000 men totalling 50 million hours of labour to complete the mosque. The ceiling of the great hall sits at a height of 60 meters with 40 meter high arches below. To help visualize, you can basically fit a 20 story building beneath the carved ceiling. That also means it’s tricky to notice people standing inside. If you look to the bottom left of this image, you’ll notice a man in white standing there.

The 14th century school of Abu al-Hassan in Salé.

The intricately carved Atlas cedar wood retractable roof at the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca.

Details matter

College campuses when knowledge and spirituality went hand in hand. 🇲🇦 16th century Islamic college from the Saadian era.

Sculpted Mahogany, Atlas Cedar, and stained glass. A gem of modern moorish architecture crowns the hall wherein lays the former king, Mohammed V. The Mausoleum was commissioned by his son and successor king Hassan II in 1961.

Sculpted Mahogany, Atlas Cedar, and stained glass. A gem of modern moorish architecture crowns the hall wherein lays the former king, Mohammed V. The Mausoleum was commissioned by his son and successor king Hassan II in 1961.

🚨 BREAKING: Morocco are AFCON Champions. The federation have ANNULED Senegal’s win.

To highlight the scale once again - if you look closely (top right image), you will notice two men standing. They barely surpass the height of that tiny detail in that small corner of the roof. King Hassan II didn’t just commission a monumental mosque - he intentionally used the project to revive, preserve, and modernize Morocco’s traditional crafts which were endangered in the 80’s. This project revived traditional apprenticeship chains and centuries old technical methods/knowledge. All while advancing and adapting it to modern engineering and unprecedented scales. Some also suggest he tackled rampant unemployment, while reviving domestic supply chains and industries.