Arrival Without a Red Carpet
Casablanca didn’t really welcome us.. It simply let us pass through. No postcard scenes, no curated tourist narrative. Instead: streets that function, people moving through their day, and us somewhere in between.
Two Women in the City
We were two women, traveling intuitively. And quite quickly, something stood out: at first glance, the city seems to belong to men. They sit in cafés, lean against walls, talk, observe. Even in hospitality, it was men only. No exception. From the hotel to cafés and restaurants, it was men who welcomed and served us. The streets feel like a public space with an unspoken structure.
Where Are Other Women?
Women? Barely visible. Only at the market do they appear – between crates of fruit, fabrics, quick, practiced movements. The energy shifts there. Briefly. Then it fades back into the rhythm of the city. They move with purpose, almost blending into the flow rather than standing out. It feels like stepping into a different layer of the city, one that reveals itself only in passing.
It almost makes you wonder if they’re not meant to be seen. To simply sit, to enjoy. As if their space lies elsewhere. Perhaps in the private, the domestic, or in brief appearances like the market.
Being Seen
And us? We were seen. Often. Longer, more directly, without disguise. But: never approached. Never harassed. It felt more like a quiet acknowledgment of our presence. A silent “you don’t belong here – but you’re allowed to be.”
A City That Doesn’t ‘Perform’
That contrast stays with you. A sense of unfamiliarity without hostility. Of roles that aren’t explained, yet clearly felt. Of a city that doesn’t stage itself for visitors (in the four days that we spent in Casablanca we only saw two groups of tourists – both Chinese) and feels all the more honest because of it.
Looking Back
Casablanca isn’t a place that opens up to please. It’s a place that lets you look – and looks back. Maybe that’s what makes it so intense: You’re not part of the scene. But you’re not excluded either. You’re simply there. And that’s enough.
My Personal Guide to Casablanca
If you find yourself in Casablanca, here are a few places that stayed with me. Not as must-sees, but as moments and atmospheres:
Stayed in
- Hotel de Paris: simple, central, a good base to drift from, with a café downstairs
Where to eat & pause
- Al-Mounia: warm, traditional, and ‘woman-friendly’
- Rick’s Café: a bit cinematic, a bit nostalgic
Places to wander
- Arab League Park: a green pause in the middle of the city
- Medina of Casablanca: the old town / historic quarter of a city, home to its traditional market, the souk. Busy, raw, and full of everyday life. Best scenery for your pictures
- The promenade: for air, light, and a different rhythm by the sea
Art & architecture
- Villa des Arts: quiet, contemporary, a contrast to the streets
- Sacré-Cœur Cathedral: striking, almost surreal in this setting
Mosques & spiritual landmarks
- Hassan II Mosque: monumental, impossible to ignore. Instagramable 😉
- Jamaa Chleuh Mosque and Ould el-Hamra Mosque
It is not a checklist. Just places that shaped how the city felt to us. Bye, Casablanca! Here’s looking at you, kid.
Next, we continued to Essaouira and Marrakesh…
