Greetings from the White House
Let me keep this short as I am struggling with the French keyboard.
I had a redeye departure from Dubai this morning and arrived in Casablanca (Addar Albeydha, meaning the White House) this afternoon. I have a room in the old city or Ancienne Medina overlooking the port and the famous Hassan II mosque. Well, Casablanca being a modern city (in relative terms) is more of an entry point rather than anything of interest ... and the the Ancienne Medina is a big JOKE after old Sana'a.
What a pity ... I don't speak French ... it is the second language here. English is spoken by some, particularly those in the tourist trade. My Arabic isn't that useful as they speak very differently here ... after all, it is 9 hours by air to the Gulf. Did you know that Dubai-Casablanca is further than Dubai-London!?
Anyway, I have been making do with a mix of reading French (with guesswork it is better than me reading Arabic) ... then speaking English and/or Modern Standard Arabic (not the Moroccan dialect). Yes, I'm taking the social highground by speaking the Sultan's Arabic rather than the local dialect ;-)
The hotel is located in a little square on the edge of the Medina. Decoration is colourful, modern and funky ... looks great in pictures but quite good in real life. The theme is modern Moroccan in much of the public area ... I like it.
Handy walking distance to most things you'd want to do in town. Free broadband internet and continental breakfast (including freshly squeezed juice by the friendly staff).
Many rooms will give you a glimpse of the sea and port, or the Hassan II mosque.
I guess this place is average with its pricing by Casablanca standards ... Casa (and this place) is quite expensive by my standards.
Next to the hotel are various convenience stores and a hammam ... perfect for the cold winter days.
Strangely the hammam is men in the morning and women in the afternoon ... it doesn't have the alternating men's and women's days ... and there's no chance of soothing your tired muscles at night after a hard day's walk.
