Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and the country's economic and business center. Located on the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the
urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
, and over 4.27 million in the
Greater Casablanca
Grand Casablanca or Greater Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء الكبرى; Amazigh: ''Tamnaḍt Tameqqṛant n Anfa'') was one of the sixteen former regions of Morocco that existed from 1997 to 2015. Located in coastal northwestern Mo ...
, making it the most populous city in the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
.
Casablanca is Morocco's chief port, with the
Port of Casablanca
The Port of Casablanca ( , ) refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Casablanca's harbours and which handle Casablanca's shipping. The port is located near Hassan II Mosque.
The Port ...
being one of the largest artificial ports in the world, and the second largest port in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, after
Tanger-Med
Tanger Med (in Arabic: طنجة المتوسط ) is a Moroccan industrial port complex, located 45 km northeast of Tanger and opposite of Tarifa, Spain (15 km north) on the Strait of Gibraltar, with handling capacities of 9 million containers, one ...
( east of
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
). Casablanca also hosts the primary
naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...
for the
Royal Moroccan Navy
ber, ⴰⴷⵡⴰⵙ ⴰⴳⴻⵍⴷⴰⵏ ⵏ ⵢⵉⵍⴻⵍ
, image =
, caption = Royal Moroccan Navy Seal
, start_date = active since: 11th century
current form: 30 Apr ...
.
Casablanca is considered a Global
Financial Centre
A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to ta ...
, ranking 54th globally in the
Global Financial Centres Index
The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
rankings for the year 2022, outperforming many cities such as
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
,
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, and
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. Casablanca is ranked among the Emerging International contenders, and it is considered the largest
financial center
A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to t ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The leading Moroccan companies and many of the larger American and European corporations doing business in the country have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca. Recent industrial statistics show Casablanca is the primary industrial zone of the nation.
Etymology
Anfa
Before the 15th century, the settlement at what is now Casablanca had been called ''Anfa'', rendered in European sources variously as El-Anfa, Anafa or Anaffa, Anafe, Anife, Anafee, Nafe, and Nafee.
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab
The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...
ascribed the name to the ''Anfaça'', a branch of the tribe of the Maghreb, though the sociologist André Adam refuted this claim due to the absence of the third syllable.
Nahum Slouschz
Nahum Slouschz ( he, נחום סלושץ, links=no) (November 1872 – December 1966) was a Russian-born Israeli writer, translator and archaeologist. He was known for his studies of the "secret" Jews of Portugal and the history of the Jewish com ...
gave a
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
etymology, citing the ''Lexicon'' of Gesenius: ''anâphâh'' (a type of bird) or ''anaph'' (face, figure), though Adam refuted this arguing that even a Judaized population would still have spoken
Tamazight
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber communi ...
. Adam also refuted an
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
etymology, (''anf'', "nose"), as the city predated the linguistic
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation ( ar, تعريب, ') describes both the process of growing Arab influence on non-Arab populations, causing a language shift by the latter's gradual adoption of the Arabic language and incorporation of Arab culture, aft ...
of the country, and the term ''anf'' was not used to describe geographic areas. Adam affirmed a Tamazight etymology—from ''anfa'' "hill," ''anfa'' "promontory on the sea," ''ifni'' "sandy beach," or ''anfa'' "threshing floor"—although he determined the available information insufficient to establish exactly which. The name Anfa is now rendered in
Neo-Tifinagh
Tifinagh ( Tuareg Berber language: or , ) is a script used to write the Berber languages. Tifinagh is descended from the ancient Libyco-Berber alphabet. The traditional Tifinagh, sometimes called Tuareg Tifinagh, is still favored by the Tuare ...
as ⴰⵏⴼⴰ.
The name "Anfa" was used in maps until around 1830—in some until 1851—which Adam attributes to the tendency of cartographers to replicate previous maps.
Casablanca
When Sultan
Mohammed ben Abdallah
''Sidi'' Mohammed ben Abdallah ''al-Khatib'' ( ar, سيدي محمد بن عبد الله الخطيب), known as Mohammed III ( ar, محمد الثالث), born in 1710 in Fes and died on 9 April 1790 in Meknes, was the Sultan of Morocco from 175 ...
(–1790) rebuilt the city after its destruction in the
earthquake of 1755
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...
, it was renamed "''ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ'' " ( ''The White House''), though in
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
use it was pronounced "''Dar al-Baiḍā''" ( literally ''House of the White,'' although in
Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic ( ar, العربية المغربية الدارجة, translit=al-ʻArabīya al-Maghribīya ad-Dārija ), also known as Darija (), is the dialectal, vernacular form or forms of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi ...
vernacular it retains the original sense of ''The White House'').
The origins of the name "Casablanca" are unclear, although several theories have been suggested. André Adam mentions the legend of the
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
and settled in Casablanca with his wife Lalla al-Baiḍāʾ ( ''White Lady''). The villagers of Mediouna would reportedly provision themselves at "Dar al-Baiḍāʾ" ( ''House of the White'').
In fact, on a low hill slightly inland above the ruins of Anfa and just to the west of today's city centre, it appears there was a
white-washed
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used.
...
structure, possibly a Sufi zawiya that acted as a landmark to sailors. The Portuguese cartographer
Duarte Pacheco Duarte may refer to:
* Duarte (surname), person's surname (or composed surname) and given name
* Duarte, California, United States
* Duarte Province, Dominican Republic
* Pico Duarte
Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Dominican Republic, on th ...
wrote in the early 16th century that the city could easily be identified by a tower, and nautical guides from the late 19th century still mentioned a "white tower" as a point of reference. The Portuguese mariners
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
d the modern Arabic name to "Casa Branca" ( ''White House'') in place of Anfa. The name "Casablanca" was then a
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
of the Portuguese name when the Spanish took over trade through the
Iberian Union
pt, União Ibérica
, conventional_long_name =Iberian Union
, common_name =
, year_start = 1580
, date_start = 25 August
, life_span = 1580–1640
, event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession
, event_end = Portuguese Restoration War
, ...
.
During the
French protectorate in Morocco
The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...
, the name remained Casablanca (). The city is still nicknamed ''Casa'' by many locals and outsiders to the city. In the Arabic world, is still called ''Ad-dār al-Bayḍāʾ''.
History
Early history
The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by
Berbers
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
by at least the seventh century BC. It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. In his book '' Description of Africa'',
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
refers to ancient Casablanca as "
Anfa
Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ar, أنفا; es, Anafe; pt, Anafé) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans un ...
", a great city founded in the Berber kingdom of
Barghawata
The Barghawatas (also Barghwata or Berghouata) were a Berber tribal confederation on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, belonging to the Masmuda confederacy. After allying with the Sufri Kharijite rebellion in Morocco against the Umayyad Caliphate, ...
in 744 AD. He believed Anfa was the most "prosperous city on the Atlantic Coast because of its fertile land." Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by the
Almoravid
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that s ...
s in 1068. Following the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century,
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribes of
Hilal
Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to:
*Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent
** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar
* Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia
Arts ...
and
Sulaym
The Banu Sulaym ( ar, بنو سليم) is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Is ...
descent settled in the region, mixing with the local Berbers, which led to widespread
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation ( ar, تعريب, ') describes both the process of growing Arab influence on non-Arab populations, causing a language shift by the latter's gradual adoption of the Arabic language and incorporation of Arab culture, aft ...
.S. Lévy, ''Pour une histoire linguistique du Maroc'', in ''Peuplement et arabisation au Maghreb occidental: dialectologie et histoire'', 1998, pp.11–26 () During the 14th century, under the
Merinid
The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ...
s, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids were ousted by a
popular revolt
This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role.
Background
The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including:
...
in 1465.
Portuguese conquest and Spanish influence
In the early 15th century, the town became an independent state once again, and emerged as a safe harbour for pirates and privateers, leading to it being targeted by the Portuguese, who bombarded the town which led to its destruction in 1468. 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
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
.
Between 1580 and 1640, the Crown of Portugal was integrated to the Crown of Spain, so Casablanca and all other areas occupied by the Portuguese were under Spanish control, though maintaining an autonomous Portuguese administration. As Portugal broke ties with Spain in 1640, Casablanca came under fully Portuguese control once again. The Europeans eventually abandoned the area completely in 1755 following an
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
which destroyed most of the town.
The town was finally reconstructed by
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Mohammed ben Abdallah
''Sidi'' Mohammed ben Abdallah ''al-Khatib'' ( ar, سيدي محمد بن عبد الله الخطيب), known as Mohammed III ( ar, محمد الثالث), born in 1710 in Fes and died on 9 April 1790 in Meknes, was the Sultan of Morocco from 175 ...
(1756–1790), the grandson of
Moulay Ismail
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the se ...
and an ally of
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, with the help of Spaniards from the nearby emporium. The town was called ''ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ'' (الدار البيضاء), the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
translation of the Portuguese ''Casa Branca''.
Colonial struggle
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
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and shipping traffic increased (the British, in return, began importing
gunpowder tea
Gunpowder tea (; pronounced ) is a form of tea in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. Its English name comes from its resemblance to grains of gunpowder. This rolling method of shaping tea is most often applied either to d ...
, used in Morocco's national drink,
mint tea
Maghrebi mint tea (Maghrebi Arabic: , ''atay''; ar, الشاي بالنعناع, aš-šhāy bin-na'nā'; ), also known as Moroccan mint tea and Algerian mint tea, is a North African green tea prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar.
It is ...
). By the 1860s, around 5,000 residents were there, and the population grew to around 10,000 by the late 1880s. Casablanca remained a modestly sized port, with a population reaching around 12,000 within a few years of the French conquest and arrival of French colonialists in 1906. By 1921, this rose to 110,000, largely through the development of shanty towns.
Bombardment of Casablanca
The
Treaty of Algeciras
The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...
of 1906 formalized French preeminence in Morocco and included three measures that directly impacted Casablanca: that French officers would control operations at the customs office and seize revenue as collateral for loans given by France, that the French holding company '' La Compagnie Marocaine'' would develop the
port of Casablanca
The Port of Casablanca ( , ) refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Casablanca's harbours and which handle Casablanca's shipping. The port is located near Hassan II Mosque.
The Port ...
, and that a French-and-Spanish-trained police force would be assembled to patrol the port.
To build the port's breakwater,
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
track was laid in June 1907 for a small
Decauville
Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel ...
locomotive to connect the port to a quarry in Roches Noires, passing through the sacred Sidi Belyout graveyard. In resistance to this and the measures of the 1906 Treaty of Algeciras, tribesmen of the Chaouia attacked the locomotive, killing 9
Compagnie Marocaine
''La Compagnie Marocaine'' (the Moroccan Company) was a French colonial holding company founded in 1902 for the purpose of exploiting Morocco.
History
In 1902, a group of industrialists led by Eugène Schneider II founded the company with the p ...
laborers—3 French, 3 Italians, and 3 Spanish.
In response, the French bombarded the city in August 1907 with multiple gunboats and landed troops inside the town, causing severe damage and killing between 600 and 3,000 Moroccans. Estimates for the total casualties are as high as 15,000 dead and wounded. In the immediate aftermath of the bombardment and the deployment of French troops, the European homes and the ''
Mellah
A ''mellah'' ( or 'saline area'; and he, מלאח) is a Jewish quarter of a city in Morocco. Starting in the 15th century and especially since the beginning of the 19th century, Jewish communities in Morocco were constrained to live in ''mellah'' ...
'', or Jewish quarter, were sacked, and the latter was also set ablaze.
As
Oujda
Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...
had already been occupied, the bombardment and military invasion of the city opened a western front to the French military conquest of Morocco.
File:Derailed locomotive in Casablanca 1907.jpg, A man inspects the derailed
Decauville
Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel ...
locomotive at the scene of the attack that served as the pretext for the French bombardment of Casablanca in 1907.
File:الدار البيضاء 1907 01.jpg, A postcard showing the French cruiser '' Gloire'' recoiling from firing artillery at the city during the bombardment of Casablanca August 1907.
File:قائد الدار البيضاء محتجز على متن سفينة فرنسية.jpg, The
Qaid
Qaid ( ar , قائد ', "commander"; pl. '), also spelled kaid or caïd, is a word meaning "commander" or "leader." It was a title in the Norman kingdom of Sicily, applied to palatine officials and members of the ''curia'', usually to those w ...
of Casablanca,
Si Boubker Ben Bouzid Slaoui
Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Zaid as-Slawi () was the pasha, or ''qaid'', of Casablanca, Morocco and the representative of the Makhzen in the city at the time of the French bombardment and invasion of the city August 5-7, 1907.
Biography
He was origina ...
, captive on the French cruiser '' Galilée''.
File:الدار البيضاء 1907 مقبرة جماعية.jpg, Moroccan cadavers in a
mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
in 1907.
French rule and influence
French control of Casablanca was formalized March 1912 when the
Treaty of Fes
The Treaty of Fes ( ar, معاهدة فاس, ), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sherifien Empire (), was a treaty signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid ...
established the French ''Protectorat''. Under French imperial control, Casablanca became a port of colonial extraction.
General
Hubert Lyautey
Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...
assigned the planning of the new colonial port city to
Henri Prost
Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner. He was noted in particularly for his work in Morocco and Turkey, where he created a number of comprehensive city plans for Casablanca, Fes, Marrakesh ...
. As he did in other Moroccan cities, Prost designed a European ''ville nouvelle'' outside the walls of the
medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
. In Casablanca, he also designed a new "'' ville indigène''" to house Moroccans arriving from other cities.
Europeans formed almost half the population of Casablanca.Albert Habib Hourani, Malise Ruthven (2002). " A history of the Arab peoples '". Harvard University Press. p.323.
A 1937-1938
typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
outbreak was exploited by colonial authorities to justify the appropriation of urban spaces in Casablanca. Moroccans residing in
informal housing
Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...
were cleared out of the center and displaced, notably to .
World War II
After
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...
of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
signed the
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
with the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, he ordered French troops in France's colonial empire to defend French territory against any aggressors—
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
or otherwise—applying a policy of "asymmetrical neutrality" in favour of the Germans. French colonists in Morocco generally supported Pétain, while politically conscious Moroccans tended to favour
de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
and the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
.
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
, which started on 8 November 1942, was the British-American invasion of
French North Africa
French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...
during the North African campaign of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The Western Task Force, composed of American units led by
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
and
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Henry Kent Hewitt
Henry Kent Hewitt (February 11, 1887 – September 15, 1972) was the United States Navy commander of amphibious operations in north Africa and southern Europe through World War II. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and graduated from the Unit ...
, carried out the invasions of
Mehdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as ...
,
Fedhala
Mohammedia ( ar, المحمدية, al-muḥammadiyya; ber, ⴼⴹⴰⵍⴰ, Fḍala), known until 1960 as Fedala, is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Casablanca-Settat. It hosts the most i ...
, and Asfi. American forces captured Casablanca from Vichy control when France surrendered November 11, 1942, but the
Naval Battle of Casablanca
The Naval Battle of Casablanca was a series of naval engagements fought between United States Navy, American ships covering the Operation Torch, invasion of North Africa and Vichy France, Vichy French ships defending the Neutrality (international ...
continued until American forces sank German submarine U-173 on November 16.
Casablanca was the site of the
Nouasseur Air Base
Nouasseur Air Base near Casablanca in Morocco, was a United States Air Force base from 1951 to 1963. It was designed for B-36 and B-47 bombers but never came into use, and also housed repair units for a period. Today, Nouasseur AB is known as M ...
, a large American air base used as the staging area for all American aircraft for the
European Theatre of Operations
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...
during World War II. The airfield has since become
Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...
Casablanca Conference
The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. In attendance were U ...
) in January 1943. Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
discussed the progress of the war. Also in attendance were the
Free France
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
generals
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
and
Henri Giraud
Henri Honoré Giraud (18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French general and a leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War until he was forced to retire in 1944.
Born to an Alsatian family in Paris, Giraud graduated from ...
, though they played minor roles and didn't participate in the military planning.
It was at this conference that the Allies adopted the doctrine of "unconditional surrender," meaning that the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
would be fought until their defeat.
Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
* Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Rooseve ...
also met privately with Sultan Muhammad V and expressed his support for Moroccan independence after the war. This became a turning point, as Moroccan nationalists were emboldened to openly seek complete independence.
Toward independence
During the 1940s and 1950s, Casablanca was a major centre of anti-French rioting.
April 7, 1947, a
massacre
A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
of working class Moroccans, carried out by
Senegalese Tirailleurs
The Senegalese Tirailleurs (french: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal,
French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: t ...
in the service of the
French colonial army
The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...
, was instigated just as Sultan
Muhammed V
Abu Abdallah Muhammad V () (4 January 1339 – 16 January 1391), known by the regnal name al-Ghani bi'llah ( ar, الغني بالله, al-Ghanī bi-ʾllāh, He who is contented with God), was the eighth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada i ...
was due to make a speech in
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
appealing for independence.
Riots
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...
in Casablanca took place from December 7–8, 1952, in response to the assassination of the Tunisian labor unionist
Farhat Hached
Farhat Hached (; 2 February 1914 – 5 December 1952) was a Tunisian labor unionist and independence activist assassinated by the '' Main Rouge'', a French terrorist organization operated by French foreign intelligence.
He was one of the leader ...
by ''
La Main Rouge ''La Main Rouge'' ( en, The Red Hand) was a French terrorist organization operated by the French foreign intelligence agency ( External Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service), or SDECE, in the 1950s. Its purpose was to eliminate the supporte ...
''—the clandestine militant wing of
French intelligence
This is a list of current and former French intelligence agencies.
Currently active
*DGSE: Directorate-General for External Security – ''Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure''. It is the military foreign intelligence agency, whi ...
. Then, on 25 December 1953 (Christmas Day),
Muhammad Zarqtuni
Muhammad Zarqtuni ( ar, مُحَمَّدُ الزَرْقْطُوْنِي, french: Mohammed Zerktouni) (1927-June 18, 1954) was a Moroccan nationalist born in Casablanca, Morocco. He was active in the Moroccan Nationalist Movement and is considere ...
orchestrated a bombing of Casablanca's
Central Market Central Market may refer to:
*Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton
Fresh food markets
* Adelaide Central Market, Australia
* Cardiff Central Market, Wales
*Central Market, Hong Kong
* Central Market, Casablanca, Morocco
* Riga Central ...
in response to the forced exile of Sultan Muhammad V and the royal family on August 20 (
Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...
,
Modibo Keïta
Modibo Keïta (4 June 1915 – 16 May 1977) was the first President of Mali (1960–1968) and the Prime Minister of the Mali Federation. He espoused a form of African socialism.
Youth
Keïta was born in Bamako-Coura, a neighborhood of Bama ...
, and
Ahmed Sékou Touré
Ahmed Sékou Touré (var. Sheku Turay or Ture; N'Ko: ; January 9, 1922 – March 26, 1984) was a Guinean political leader and African statesman who became the first president of Guinea, serving from 1958 until his death in 1984. Touré was am ...
,
Ferhat Abbas Ferhat is a Turkish given name and the Turkish spelling of the Persian name Ferhad ( fa, فرهاد, ''farhād''). It may refer to:
Given name Ferhad
* Ferhad Ayaz (born 1994), Turkish-Swedish footballer
* Ferhad Pasha Sokolović 16th-century Ott ...
.
Jewish emigration
Casablanca was a major departure point for Jews leaving Morocco through
Operation Yachin
Operation Yakhin was an operation to secretly emigrate Moroccan Jews to Israel, conducted by Israel's Mossad between November 1961 and spring 1964. About 97,000 left for Israel by plane and ship from Casablanca and Tangier via France and Italy. ...
, an operation conducted by
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
to secretly migrate
Moroccan Jews
Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
National Union of Popular Forces
The National Union of Popular Forces ( ar, الاتحاد الوطني للقوات الشعبية; , UNFP) was founded in 1959 in Morocco by Mehdi Ben Barka and his entourage, because they found that the Istiqlal Party was not radical enough.
E ...
-affiliated National Union of Moroccan Students, which spread to cities around the country and devolved into riots, started on March 22, 1965, in front of
Lycée Mohammed V
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
in Casablanca.Par Omar Brouksy, Que s'est-il vraiment passé le 23 mars 1965? , ''Jeune Afrique'', 21 March 2005 Archived The protests started as a peaceful march to demand the right to public higher education for Morocco, but expanded to include concerns of laborers, the unemployed, and other marginalized segments of society, and devolved into vandalism and rioting.Miller, ''A History of Modern Morocco'' (2013), pp. 162 168 169. The riots were violently repressed by security forces with tanks and armored vehicles; Moroccan authorities reported a dozen deaths while the UNFP reported more than 1,000.
King
Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to:
People
*Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name
*Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...
blamed the events on teachers and parents, and declared in a speech to the nation on March 30, 1965: "There is no greater danger to the State than a so-called intellectual. It would have been better if you were all illiterate."
1981 riots
On June 6, 1981, the Casablanca Bread Riots took place. Hassan II appointed the French-trained interior minister
Driss Basri
Driss Basri ( ar, إدريس البصري ', 8 November 1938 in Settat – 27 August 2007) was a Moroccan politician who served as interior minister from 1979 to 1999. After General Oufkir's death in 1972, and then Ahmed Dlimi's death in 1983, Dr ...
as hardliner, who would later become a symbol of the Years of Lead, with quelling the protests. The government stated that 66 people were killed and 100 were injured, while opposition leaders put the number of dead at 637, saying that many of these were killed by police and army gunfire.
''Mudawana''
In March 2000, more than 60 women's groups organized demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country. About 40,000 women attended, calling for a ban on
polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
and the introduction of
divorce law
This article is a general overview of divorce laws around the world. Every nation in the world allows its residents to divorce under some conditions except the Philippines (though Muslims in the Philippines have the right to divorce) and the Vatic ...
(divorce being a purely religious procedure at that time). Although the counter-demonstration attracted half a million participants, the movement for change started in 2000 was influential on
King Mohammed VI
Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II.
Upon ascending to the throne, Moha ...
, and he enacted a new ''
mudawana
The ''Mudawana Ousra'' (or ''Moudawana Ousra'', ar, المدوّنة, lit=code), short for ''mudawwanat al-aḥwāl al-ousaria-shakhṣiyyah'' (, ), is the personal status code, also known as the family code, in Moroccan law. It concerns issu ...
'', or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.
Further history
On 16 May 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were injured when Casablanca was hit by a multiple suicide bomb attack carried out by Moroccans and claimed by some to have been linked to
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
. Twelve suicide bombers struck five locations in the city.
Another series of suicide bombings struck the city in early 2007. These events illustrated some of the persistent challenges the city faces in addressing poverty and integrating disadvantaged neighborhoods and populations. One initiative to improve conditions in the city's disadvantaged neighborhoods was the creation of the
Sidi Moumen Cultural Center
The Sidi Moument Cultural Center () is a community center located in the Sidi Moumen neighborhood on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region ...
.
As calls for reform spread through the Arab world in 2011, Moroccans joined in, but concessions by the ruler led to acceptance. However, in December, thousands of people demonstrated in several parts of the city, especially the city center near la Fontaine, desiring more significant political reforms.
Geography
Casablanca is located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia Plains, which have historically been the
breadbasket
The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; and C ...
of Morocco. Apart from the Atlantic coast, the
Bouskoura
Bouskoura ( ar, بو سكورة, bū skūra; ber, ⴱⵓⵙⴽⵓⵔⴰ, buskura) is a city in Morocco, situated in the suburb area of Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al ...
forest is the only natural attraction in the city. The forest was planted in the 20th century and consists mostly of
eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
,
palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
, and
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
trees. It is located halfway to the city's international airport.
The only watercourse in Casablanca is ''oued Bouskoura'', a small seasonal creek that until 1912 reached the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
near the actual port. Most of oued Bouskoura's bed has been covered due to urbanization and only the part south of
El Jadida
El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the re ...
road can now be seen. The closest permanent river to Casablanca is Oum Rabia, to the south-east.
Climate
Casablanca has a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Csa''). The cool
Canary Current
The Canary Current is a wind-driven surface current that is part of the North Atlantic Gyre. This eastern boundary current branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows southwest about as far as Senegal where it turns west and later jo ...
off the Atlantic coast moderates temperature variation, which results in a climate remarkably similar to that of coastal
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, with similar temperature ranges. The city has an annual average of 72 days with significant precipitation, which amounts to per year. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in the city are and , respectively. The highest amount of rainfall recorded in a single day is on 30 November 2010.
Economy
The
Grand Casablanca
Grand Casablanca or Greater Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء الكبرى; Amazigh: ''Tamnaḍt Tameqqṛant n Anfa'') was one of the sixteen former regions of Morocco that existed from 1997 to 2015. Located in coastal northwestern Mo ...
region is considered the locomotive of the development of the Moroccan economy. It attracts 32% of the country's production units and 56% of
industrial labor
In sociology, industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a population growth, large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the ...
. The region uses 30% of the national electricity production. With MAD 93 billion, the region contributes to 44% of the industrial production of the kingdom. About 33% of national industrial exports, MAD 27 billion, comes from the Grand Casablanca; 30% of the Moroccan banking network is concentrated in Casablanca.
Casablanca is considered a global
financial centre
A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to ta ...
, ranking 53rd globally in the
Global Financial Centres Index
The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
for the year 2021, outperforming many cities such as
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
,
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
,
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
,
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
,
Kuwait City
Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...
,
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, and
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. Casablanca is ranked among the emerging international contenders, and it is the largest financial center in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
One of the most important Casablancan exports is phosphate. Other industries include fishing, fish canning, sawmills, furniture production, building materials, glass, textiles, electronics, leather work, processed food, spirits, soft drinks, and cigarettes.
The
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
and
Mohammedia
Mohammedia ( ar, المحمدية, al-muḥammadiyya; ber, ⴼⴹⴰⵍⴰ, Fḍala), known until 1960 as Fedala, is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Casablanca-Settat. It hosts the most imp ...
seaports activity represent 50% of the international commercial flows of Morocco. Almost the entire Casablanca waterfront is under development, mainly the construction of huge entertainment centres between the port and Hassan II Mosque, the Anfa Resort project near the business, entertainment and living centre of Megarama, the shopping and entertainment complex of
Morocco Mall
Morocco Mall ( ar, مول المغرب) is the largest shopping mall in Africa with 190 000m² of floor space in Casablanca, Morocco. Morocco Mall, which opened on December 1, 2011, was designed by Architect Davide Padoa of Design International, a ...
, as well as a complete renovation of the coastal walkway. The Sindbad park is planned to be totally renewed with rides, games and entertainment services.
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc (; ar, الخطوط الملكية المغربية, , literally ''Royal Moroccan Lines'' or ''Royal Moroccan Airlines''; ber, ⴰⵎⵓⵏⵉ ⴰⵢⵍⴰⵍ ⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏ ⵏ ⴰⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ, ''Amuni Aylal Age ...
has its head office at the Casablanca-Anfa Airport. In 2004, it announced that it was moving its head office from Casablanca to a location in Province of Nouaceur, close to
Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...
. The agreement to build the head office in Nouaceur was signed in 2009.
The largest CBD both in Casablanca and the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
is in
Sidi Maarouf
''Sidi'' or ''Sayidi'', also Sayyidi and Sayeedi, ( ar, سيدي, Sayyīdī, Sīdī (dialectal) "milord") is an Arabic masculine title of respect. ''Sidi'' is used often to mean "saint" or "my master" in Maghrebi Arabic and Egyptian Arabic. Wi ...
, near the Hassan II Mosque.
Administrative divisions
Casablanca is a commune, part of the region of
Casablanca-Settat
Casablanca-Settat ( ar, الدار البيضاء - سطات, ad-dār al-bayḍāʾ - siṭṭāt; ber, ⴰⵏⴼⴰ - ⵙⵟⵟⴰⵜ, anfa - sṭṭat) is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 20,166 km² ...
. The commune is divided into eight districts or prefectures, which are themselves divided into 16 subdivisions or arrondissements and one municipality. The districts and their subdivisions are:
#
Aïn Chock
Aïn Chock ( ar, عين الشق ) is a district, arrondissement and southern suburb of Casablanca, in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco, on the road to El Jadida. It is known for hosting the faculties of the Hassan II University
Hassan II ...
Aïn Sebaâ
Aïn Sebaâ ( ar, عين السبع) is an arrondissement of eastern Casablanca, in the Aïn Sebaâ - Hay Mohammadi district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the western ...
(عين السبع),
Hay Mohammadi
Hay Mohammadi or Hay Mohammedi ( ar, الحي المحمدي) is an arrondissement of eastern Casablanca, in the Aïn Sebaâ - Hay Mohammadi district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 156,501 inhabitants.
Notable res ...
Anfa
Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ar, أنفا; es, Anafe; pt, Anafé) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans un ...
(أنفا) –
Anfa
Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ar, أنفا; es, Anafe; pt, Anafé) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans un ...
(أنفا),
Maârif
Maârif or El Maârif ( ar, المعاريف, lit=the notables) is a neighborhood of Casablanca, in the Anfa district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 180,394 inhabitants.
History
In 1949, the Algerian musician Sali ...
(المعاريف),
Sidi Belyout
Sidi Belyout ( ar, سيدي بليوط) is an arrondissement of Casablanca, in the Anfa district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb re ...
(سيدي بليوط).
#
Ben M'Sick
Ben M'Sick or Ben Msik ( ar, بن مسيك) is a district of southern Casablanca, in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North ...
(بن مسيك) –
Ben M'Sick
Ben M'Sick or Ben Msik ( ar, بن مسيك) is a district of southern Casablanca, in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North ...
(بن مسيك),
Sbata
Sbata ( ar, سباتة) is an arrondissement of Casablanca, in the Ben M'Sick district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of ...
(سباته).
#
Sidi Bernoussi
Sidi Bernoussi ( ar, سيدي البرنوصي) is a district and suburb of northeastern Casablanca, in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. The district covers an area of 38.59 square kilometres (14.9 square miles) and as of 2010 had 503,522 ...
(سيدي برنوصي) –
Sidi Bernoussi
Sidi Bernoussi ( ar, سيدي البرنوصي) is a district and suburb of northeastern Casablanca, in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. The district covers an area of 38.59 square kilometres (14.9 square miles) and as of 2010 had 503,522 ...
(سيدي برنوصي),
Sidi Moumen
Sidi Moumen ( ar, سيدي مومن) is an arrondissement and northeastern suburb of Casablanca, in the Sidi Bernoussi district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 289,253 inhabitants. It contains shanty towns from where ...
(سيدي مومن).
#
Al Fida - Mers Sultan
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
(الفداء – مرس السلطان) –
Al Fida
Al Fida ( ar, الفداء) is an arrondissement of Casablanca, in the Al Fida - Mers Sultan district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 186,754 inhabitants. It contains the municipality of Mechouar
Mechouar or meshwar ...
(الفداء);
Mechouar
Mechouar or meshwar (; ; ) is a type of location, typically a courtyard within a palace or a public square at the entrance of a palace, in the Maghreb (western North Africa) or in historic al-Andalus (Muslim Spain and Portugal). It can serve vario ...
(المشور) (municipality), Mers Sultan (مرس السلطان).
#
Hay Hassani
Hay Hassani ( ar, الحي الحسني) is a district, arrondissement and suburb of southwestern Casablanca, in the Berrechid Province of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the ...
(الحي الحسني) –
Hay Hassani
Hay Hassani ( ar, الحي الحسني) is a district, arrondissement and suburb of southwestern Casablanca, in the Berrechid Province of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the ...
Sidi Othmane
Sidi Othmane ( ar, سيدي عثمان ) is an arrondissement of southeastern Casablanca, in the Moulay Rachid district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost cou ...
(سيدي عثمان).
Neighborhoods
The list of neighborhoods is indicative and not complete:
* 2 Mars
* Ain Chock
*
Ain Diab
Ain Diab ( ar, عين الذئاب) is a commune located at the Corniche of Casablanca, Morocco. The commune is affluent and famous for the fashionable stretch of coastline known as the Corniche. There are numerous hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, ...
Belvédère
Belvédère (; oc, Barver; it, Belvedere) is a commune in the Vésubie valley north of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. The village of Belvédère is located at the entrance of the Gordolasque valley on the edge ...
Bouskoura
Bouskoura ( ar, بو سكورة, bū skūra; ber, ⴱⵓⵙⴽⵓⵔⴰ, buskura) is a city in Morocco, situated in the suburb area of Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al ...
*
Bourgogne
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
La Colline
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
*
Derb Ghallef
Derb Ghallef is a district in Casablanca, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic ...
*
Derb Sultan
Derb Sultan (Arabic: درب السلطان) is one of the largest and oldest neighborhoods in Casablanca. It is part of the prefecture of district Al Fida-Mers Sultan. It is known for being one of the cradles of colonial resistance against the F ...
Gauthier Gauthier () is a French name of Germanic origin, corresponding to the English given name Walter (name), Walter.
People with the given name
*Gauthier de Costes, seigneur de la Calprenède
*Gauthier de Brienne, Counts Walter III of Brienne, Walter IV ...
Habous
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or ''mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable ...
*
El Hank
Suffix beginning with P
''Empire Pacific''
''Empire Pacific'' was a 984- GRT (1,200 DWT) coaster which was built by Burntisland Shipbuilding Company Ltd. Sold in 1949 to the Straits Steamship Co Ltd, Singapore and renamed ''Buloh''. Sold in ...
Hay El Baraka
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
Hay El Mohammadi
Hay is Graminoid, grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, domestic goat, goats, and sheep, or ...
*
Hay Farah
Hay is Graminoid, grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, domestic goat, goats, and sheep, or ...
*
Hay Moulay Rachid
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
*
Hay Salama
Hay Salama is a ''quartier'' of Casablanca, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Oce ...
*
Hubous
The Hubous ( ''al-Hubous'' or حَي الأَحْباس ''Hay al-Aḥbās''), or colloquially Habous, is one of the older neighborhoods of Casablanca, Morocco. Its development dates back to 1916, in the early stages of the French protectorate in ...
*
Inara
Arwa Damon (born September 19, 1977) is an American journalist who is a senior international correspondent for CNN International, CNN, based in Istanbul. From 2003, she covered the Middle East as a freelance journalist, before joining CNN in 20 ...
Maârif
Maârif or El Maârif ( ar, المعاريف, lit=the notables) is a neighborhood of Casablanca, in the Anfa district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 180,394 inhabitants.
History
In 1949, the Algerian musician Sali ...
Nassim Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to:
Company
*Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...
*
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
*
Old Madina
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
*
Oulfa
Oulfa is a ''quartier'' (neighborhood) of Casablanca, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atl ...
*
Palmiers
A palmier (, from French, short for ''feuille de palmier'' 'palm tree leaf'), pig's ear, palm heart, or elephant ear is a French pastry in a palm leaf shape or a butterfly shape, sometimes called ''palm leaves'', ''cœur de France'', ''French ...
*
Polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
*
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
*
Riviera
''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...
Sbata
Sbata ( ar, سباتة) is an arrondissement of Casablanca, in the Ben M'Sick district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of ...
*
Sidi Bernoussi
Sidi Bernoussi ( ar, سيدي البرنوصي) is a district and suburb of northeastern Casablanca, in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. The district covers an area of 38.59 square kilometres (14.9 square miles) and as of 2010 had 503,522 ...
*
Sidi Maârouf
Sidi Maârouf is a '' neighborhood'' of Casablanca, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the ...
*
Sidi Moumen
Sidi Moumen ( ar, سيدي مومن) is an arrondissement and northeastern suburb of Casablanca, in the Sidi Bernoussi district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 289,253 inhabitants. It contains shanty towns from where ...
*
Sidi Othmane
Sidi Othmane ( ar, سيدي عثمان ) is an arrondissement of southeastern Casablanca, in the Moulay Rachid district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost cou ...
Demographics
The commune of Casablanca recorded a population of 3,359,818 in the
2014 Moroccan census
The 2014 Moroccan census was held in Morocco between 1 September and 20 September 2014. The census was conducted by the High Planning Commission.population of Morocco
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Morocco, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The popul ...
.
Grand Casablanca
Grand Casablanca or Greater Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء الكبرى; Amazigh: ''Tamnaḍt Tameqqṛant n Anfa'') was one of the sixteen former regions of Morocco that existed from 1997 to 2015. Located in coastal northwestern Mo ...
is also the largest
urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
in the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
. 99.9% of the population of Morocco are Arab and Berber Muslims. During the
French protectorate in Morocco
The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...
,
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
formed almost half the population of Casablanca. Since Moroccan independence in 1956, the European population has decreased substantially. The city also is still home to a small community of
Moroccan Christians
Moroccan may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to the country of Morocco
* Moroccan people
* Moroccan Arabic, spoken in Morocco
* Moroccan Jews
See also
* Morocco leather
Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Mar ...
, as well as a small group of foreign
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community was in
Anfa
Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ar, أنفا; es, Anafe; pt, Anafé) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans un ...
up to the destruction of the city by the Portuguese in 1468. Jews were slow to return to the town, but by 1750, the Rabbi Elijah
Synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was built as the first Jewish synagogue in Casablanca. It was destroyed along with much of the town in the
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...
.
Approximately 28,000
Moroccan Jews
Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to the
State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
between 1948 and 1951, many through Casablanca. Casablanca then became a departure point in
Operation Yachin
Operation Yakhin was an operation to secretly emigrate Moroccan Jews to Israel, conducted by Israel's Mossad between November 1961 and spring 1964. About 97,000 left for Israel by plane and ship from Casablanca and Tangier via France and Italy. ...
, the covert
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
-organized migration operation from 1961 to 1964. In 2018 it was estimated that there were only 2,500
Moroccan Jews
Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
living in Casablanca, while according to the
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...
there were only 1,000
Moroccan Jews
Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
remaining.
Today, the
Jewish cemetery of Casablanca
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
is one of the major cemeteries of the city, and many synagogues remain in service, but the city's Jewish community has dwindled. The Moroccan Jewish Museum is a museum established in the city in 1997.
Université Mundiapolis Université Mundiapolis ( ar, جامعة العالمیة) is a private university in Casablanca, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks ...
Lycée Lyautey
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
**
Groupe Scolaire Louis Massignon
A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation.
Air and aviation groups
The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches ...
Lycée Maïmonide
Ecole Maimonides, Maïmonide is a French international secondary school in Casablanca, Morocco. A part of the AEFE school network, it serves the levels ''collège'' and ''lycée'' (junior and senior high school).FR)
** Lycée Léon l'Africain
** École Normale Hébraïque
**
École Al Jabr
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
Casablanca American School
Casablanca American School is a coeducational, nursery through grade twelve private day school in Casablanca, Morocco. It is located in the suburban Californie neighborhood.
History
The school was founded in 1973 and was the first school in ...
George Washington Academy
George Washington Academy (GWA) is located in Casablanca, on the southern edge of the city close to Dar Bouazza, Morocco. It is a PK-12 private American school.
Overview
GWA opened in 1998 with 52 students; today GWA has roughly 900 students from ...
places of worship
A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
are
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
mosques. Some of the city's
synagogues
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
, such as
Ettedgui Synagogue
The Ettedgui Synagogue is a synagogue in the medina of Casablanca, Morocco. It was rededicated by King Mohammed VI of Morocco on December 20, 2016, after it was restored. A government grant of about $844,000 funded the restorations, according t ...
, also remain. There are also
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
churches; some remain in use — particularly by the West African migrant community — while many of the churches built during the colonial period have been repurposed, such as Church of the Sacred Heart.
Sports
Association football
Casablanca is home to two popular football clubs:
Wydad Casablanca
Wydad Athletic Club ( ar, نادي الوداد الرياضي, ) commonly referred to as Wydad AC and known as Wydad, or simply as WAC, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional football team that ...
and
Raja Casablanca
Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional Footb ...
—which are
rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
. Raja's symbol is an eagle and Wydad's symbol is a star and crescent, a symbol of Islam. These two popular clubs have produced some of Morocco's best players, such as:
Salaheddine Bassir
Salaheddine Bassir ( ar, صلاح الدين بصير; born 5 September 1972) is a Moroccan former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker.
He played for a few clubs, including Raja C ...
,
Abdelmajid Dolmy
Abdelmajid Dolmy (; 20 August 1953 – 27 July 2017) was a Moroccan footballer who played as a midfielder. He was nicknamed "Maestro".
Career
Dolmy played club football for Raja Casablanca in the Botola. He also played for the Morocco nation ...
,
Baddou Zaki
Ezzaki Badou ( ar, الزاكي بادو; born 2 April 1959), nicknamed Zaki, is a Moroccan football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He manages CS Chebba.
Playing career
Born in Sidi Kacem, Zaki represented AS ...
,
Aziz Bouderbala
Abdelaziz El Idrissi Bouderbala ( ar, عبد العزيز الإدريسي بودربالة; born December 26, 1960) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 ...
, and
Noureddine Naybet
Noureddine Naybet ( ar, نور الدين نيبت; born 10 February 1970) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He played in Spain (Deportivo de La Coruña) and Portugal for Sporting CP and England for To ...
. Other football teams on top of these two major teams based in the city of Casablanca include
Rachad Bernoussi
Club Rachad Bernoussi is a Moroccan football club currently playing in the second division. The club was founded in 1961 and is located in the town of Casablanca. They play in the Complexe Bernoussi, and their president is Hicham Chbora.
Curren ...
,
TAS de Casablanca
Tihad Athlétique Sport de Casablanca ( ar, نادي الاتحاد البيضاوي) is a Moroccan football club based in Casablanca. Of the many clubs based in Casablanca, they are one of the most popular behind Wydad Casablanca, Raja Casabl ...
,
Majd Al Madina
Majd or Magd ( ar, مجد) is an Arabic name which means "glory" or "praise". It may refer to:
Organisations
* Majd Movement, a political party in Lebanon
* Al Majd SC, a former Lebanese football club
* Al-Majd SC, a Syrian football club
* Almajd ...
, and
Racing Casablanca
Racing Athletic Club Casablanca ( ar, نادي الرسينغ الرياضي) is a Moroccan football club currently playing in the Botola 2. The club was founded in 1917 under the name of Racing Athlétic de Casablanca, but in 1969 the name was ...
.
Tennis
Casablanca hosts The
Grand Prix Hassan II
The Grand Prix Hassan II is an annual men's tennis tournament on the ATP Tour and is currently part of the ATP Tour 250 series. The event is played on clay courts and was held annually at the Complexe Al Amal in Casablanca, Morocco through 2015, ...
, a professional men's tennis tournament of the ATP tour. It first began in 1986, and is played on clay courts type at
Complexe Al Amal
The Complexe Al Amal is a tennis complex in Casablanca, Morocco. The complex is the host of the annual ATP Tour stop, the Grand Prix Hassan II. The stadium court has a capacity of 5,500 people.
See also
* List of tennis stadiums by capacity
...
.
Notable winners of the Hassan II Grand-Prix are
Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967) is an Austrian former world No. 1 tennis player. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, he won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was called "The King of Clay". In addition, he won eig ...
in 1990,
Hicham Arazi
Hicham Arazi ( ar, هشام أرازي; born 19 October 1973) is a former male tennis player from Morocco. He played professionally from 1993 to the end of 2007. The left-hander reached his career-high ATP Tour singles ranking of world No. 22 o ...
in 1997,
Younes El Aynaoui
Younes El Aynaoui ( ar, يونس العيناوي) (born 12 September 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Morocco.
He is a five-time singles winner on the ATP Tour and reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 14 in Mar ...
in 2002, and
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ATP rankings, ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His ca ...
1983 Mediterranean Games
The IX Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض المتوسط 1983), commonly known as the 1983 Mediterranean Games, were the 9th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Casablanca, Morocco, from 3 to 17 September 1983, ...
, and games during the
1988 Africa Cup of Nations
The 1988 African Cup of Nations was the 16th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Morocco, who replaced original host Zambia. Just like in 1986, the field of eight teams was split into tw ...
Ebola
Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...
fears. Morocco was expelled and the tournament was held in
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
Stade Mohamed V
The Mohammed V Stadium ( ar, ملعب محمد الخامس, french: Stade Mohammed V) is a multi-purpose stadium which is part of the Mohammed V Athletic Complex () which is named after King Mohammed V and situated at the heart of Casablanca, Mo ...
*
Stade Sidi Bernoussi
Stade Sidi Bernoussi is a multi-use stadium in the Sidi Bernoussi district of Casablanca, Morocco. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 people.
The stadium is home of Rachad Bernoussi
Club Rach ...
Grand Stade de Casablanca
Grand Stade de Casablanca is a proposed title of the planned football stadium (soccer stadium) to be built in Casablanca, Morocco. Once completed in 2025, it will be used mostly for football matches and will serve as the home of the Morocco natio ...
is the proposed title of the planned football stadium to be built in the city. Once completed in 2025, it will be used mostly for football matches and will serve as the home of
Raja Casablanca
Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional Footb ...
,
Wydad Casablanca
Wydad Athletic Club ( ar, نادي الوداد الرياضي, ) commonly referred to as Wydad AC and known as Wydad, or simply as WAC, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional football team that ...
, and the
Morocco national football team
The Morocco national football team,french: Équipe du Maroc de football nicknamed "the Barbary lion, Atlas Lions", represents Morocco in men's international Association football, football competitions. It is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Foo ...
. The stadium was designed with a capacity of 93,000 spectators, making it one of the highest-capacity stadiums in Africa. Once completed, it will replace the
Stade Mohamed V
The Mohammed V Stadium ( ar, ملعب محمد الخامس, french: Stade Mohammed V) is a multi-purpose stadium which is part of the Mohammed V Athletic Complex () which is named after King Mohammed V and situated at the heart of Casablanca, Mo ...
. The initial idea of the stadium was for the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, for which Morocco lost their bid to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. Nevertheless, the Moroccan government supported the decision to go ahead with the plans. It will be completed in 2025. The idea of the stadium was also for the
2026 FIFA World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three No ...
, for which Morocco lost their bid to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is now hoping for the
2030 FIFA World Cup
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be the 24th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The event will mark the centennial of the first World Cup.
Host ...
which Morocco is co-bidding with either African neighbors
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
Haja El Hamdaouia
Haja El Hamdaouia ( ar, الحاجة الحمداوية; 28 October 1930 – 5 April 2021) was a Moroccan singer and songwriter, known for singing Moroccan Chaabi and Aita.
Biography
El Hamdaouia was born in 28 October 1930 and grew up in Der ...
, one of the most iconic figures in
aita
Aita (also spelled ''Eita'' in Etruscan inscriptions) is the name of the Etruscan equivalent to the Greek Hades, the god of the underworld.
Images
Aita is a relatively late addition to the Etruscan pantheon, appearing in iconography and in Et ...
music, was born in Casablanca.
Nass El Ghiwane
Nass El Ghiwane () are a musical group established in 1970 in Casablanca, Morocco. The group, which originated in avant-garde political theater, has played an influential role in Moroccan chaabi (or ''shaabi'').
Nass El Ghiwane were the first ...
, led by
Larbi Batma
Laarbi Batma (or Laarbi Batma) ( ar, العربي باطما; born in Chaouia; 1948 - 7 February 1997) was a Moroccan musician, poet, singer, writer, actor, and the front man of the group Nass El Ghiwane.
Early life
Batma grew up in the Hay ...
, came out of
Hay Mohammadi
Hay Mohammadi or Hay Mohammedi ( ar, الحي المحمدي) is an arrondissement of eastern Casablanca, in the Aïn Sebaâ - Hay Mohammadi district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 156,501 inhabitants.
Notable res ...
in Casablanca. Naima Samih of Derb Sultan gained prominence through the program ''Mawahib'' ().
Abdelhadi Belkhayat
Abdelhadi Belkhayat (born 1940) is a Moroccan singer of Arabo-Andalusian and popular Moroccan music. He is mostly remembered for his song "Ya bent Nass" which has since been made famous again by many young Moroccan and Arab artists, also his musi ...
and
Abdelwahab Doukkali
Abdelwahab Doukkali ( ar, عبد الوهاب الدكالي; born 2 January 1941) is a Moroccan composer and performer. He was born in Fes, one of the 13 children of a conservative family. At the age of 18, in 1959, he went to Rabat, where he wor ...
are musicians specializing in traditional Moroccan
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
Abdelaziz Stati
Abdelaziz al-'Arbaoui (), commonly known as Stati (), is a Moroccan singer born in Laaounate, Sidi Bennour Province in 1961. His name "Stati" comes from the fact that he has a sixth finger on his left hand.
Mawazine stampede
A stampede broke o ...
,
Abdellah Daoudi
Abdullah may refer to:
* Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname
* Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village
* ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan
* '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
, and
Said Senhaji
Saïd Senhaji (; 1968) is a ''chaabi'' singer from Casablanca, Morocco. His roots go back to Taounate
:''This article refers to the city of Taounate; for the province see Taounate Province.''
ar, تاونات
, nickname =
, ...
are notable
Moroccan chaabi
Chaabi (lit. "popular") refers to several types of popular music of Morocco, combining rural and urban folk music.
The genre started out as street music performed in squares and ''souks'', and can be heard in cafés, at restaurants and at weddi ...
Attarazat Addahabia Attarazat Addahabia () was a band founded in 1968 by Abdelakabir Faradjallah in Casablanca, Morocco. Abdelakabir Faradjallah led the band, which was made up of members of three generations of his family.
''Al Hadaoui''
In 1972, Attarazat Addahab ...
, a Moroccan funk band, in 1968. Fadoul, another funk band, formed in the 1970s.
Hoba Hoba Spirit
Hoba Hoba Spirit is a musical fusion band based in Casablanca, Morocco that was formed in 1998. It is composed of Adil Hanine (drummer), Anouar Zehouani (guitarist), Saâd Bouidi (Bass guitar), Reda Allali - (vocalist and guitarist) and Othmane H ...
also formed in Casablanca, and is still based there. Casablanca has a thriving hiphop scene, with artists such as
El Grande Toto
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
,
Don Big
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
* Don (river), a river in European Russia
* Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
* Don, Dang, a v ...
,
7liwa
7liwa (Arabic: حليوة), real name Ihab Ikbal (Arabic: إيهاب إقبال; born January 19, 1996) is a Moroccan rapper. He is known since 2016.
Biography
7liwa was born in 1996 in Casablanca, he began his musical career in 2012.
In 201 ...
L'Boulevard
L'Boulevard (:, Arabe:) is an urban music festival held annually in Casablanca, Morocco. A segment named ''Tremplin'' (trampoline) is held in the form of a competition, allowing young musical groups to gain exposure to a larger audience. There a ...
, as well as a museum dedicated to
Andalusi music
Andalusi classical music ( ar, طرب أندلسي, ṭarab ʾandalusī; es, música andalusí), also called Andalusi music or Arab-Andalusian music, is a genre of music originally developed in al-Andalus by the Muslim population of the region ...
Francesco Cavalli
Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque music, Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverd ...
's '' L'Ormindo'' is a 17th century Venetian opera set between Anfa and
Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
.
The French writer
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...
is associated with Casablanca.
Driss Chraïbi
Driss Chraïbi (July 15, 1926 – April 1, 2007) was a Moroccan author whose novels deal with colonialism, culture clashes, generational conflict and the treatment of women and are often perceived as semi-autobiographical.
Born in El Jadida an ...
's novel ''The Simple Past'' takes place in Casablanca. Mohamed Zafzaf lived in Maarif while writing and teaching at a high school.
Lamalif
''Lamalif'' was a monthly Moroccan political and cultural magazine published in French between 1966 and 1988.
History and profile
Lamalif was launched in 1966 by Zakya Daoud and her husband Mohamed Loghlam. It took its title from two Arabic ...
, a radical leftist political and cultural magazine, was based in Casablanca.
Casablanca's International Book Fair is held at the fair grounds opposite
Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque ( ar, مسجد الحسن الثاني, french: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the List of largest mosques, 7th largest in the world. Its ...
annually in February.
Theater
Tayeb Saddiki
Tayeb Saddiki (; 5 January 1939 – 5 February 2016) was a Moroccan theatre director and one of the most iconic and prominent Arab artists, and is considered among the foremost Arab dramatists of the twentieth century. Trained in classical Wes ...
, described as the father of Moroccan theater, grew up in Casablanca and made his career there.
Hanane el-Fadili
Hanane el-Fadili () is a Moroccan actress and comedian. She was born on May 2, 1974, in Casablanca, Morocco. She specializes in parody, focusing on famous personalities and controversial figures. She addresses social and political issues relevant ...
and
Hassan El Fad
Hassan El Fad (born 24 November 1962) is a Moroccan actor and comedian born in Casablanca. He is known for his humor and comedy shows. He plays the saxophone.
His first one-man show was called ''Ninja''. After the success of ''Ninja'', El Fad sp ...
are popular comedians from Casablanca.
Gad Elmaleh
Gad Elmaleh ( ar, جاد المالح, Latn, ar, Gād el-Māleḥ; born 19 April 1971) is a Moroccan-Canadian stand-up comedian and actor who achieved fame in France, Morocco and the United States. He is best known in the French-speaking wor ...
is another comedian from Casablanca, though he has made his career abroad.
Visual art
The
École des Beaux-Arts of Casablanca
The School of Fine Arts of Casablanca (, ) is a fine arts school established in 1919 in Casablanca, Morocco. It was the origin of the nativist modernist Casablanca School art movement led by faculty members Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Melehi, and Moh ...
was founded in 1919 by a French Orientalism, Orientalist painter named Édouard Brindeau de Jarny, who started his career teaching drawing at
Lycée Lyautey
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
. The Casablanca School—a Modernism, Modernist art movement and collective including artists such as Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Melehi, and Mohammed Chabâa—developed out of the
École des Beaux-Arts of Casablanca
The School of Fine Arts of Casablanca (, ) is a fine arts school established in 1919 in Casablanca, Morocco. It was the origin of the nativist modernist Casablanca School art movement led by faculty members Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Melehi, and Moh ...
in the late 1960s.
The Academy of Traditional Arts, part of the
Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque ( ar, مسجد الحسن الثاني, french: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the List of largest mosques, 7th largest in the world. Its ...
complex, was founded October 31, 2012.
L'Uzine is a community-based art and culture space in Casablanca.
Rebel Spirit (artist), Rebel Spirit published ''Casablanca Guide, The Casablanca Guide'' (, ) a comic book about life in Casablanca.
Sbagha Bagha is a street art festival during which murals are created on the sides of apartment buildings.
Photography
Postcard companies such as Léon & Lévy were active in Casablanca. Gabriel Veyre also worked and eventually died in Casablanca.
Marcelin Flandrin (1889-1957), a French military photographer, settled in Casablanca and recorded much of the early colonial period in Morocco with his photography. With his staged nude postcard photos taken in Casablanca's Bousbir, colonial brothel quarter, Flandrin was also responsible for disseminating the Orientalism, orientalist image of Moroccan women as sexual objects.
Casablanca has a thriving street photography scene. Yoriyas is prominent among photographers capturing the economic capital's street scenes, and has attracted international attention.
Film
In the first half of the 20th century, Casablanca had many movie theaters, such as Cinema Rialto, Cinema Lynx and Cinema Vox (Casablanca), Cinema Vox—the largest in Africa at the time it was built.
The 1942 American film Casablanca (film), ''Casablanca'' is set in Casablanca and has had a lasting impact on the city's image, despite being filmed in the US. ''Salut Casa!'' was a propaganda film brandishing France's purported colonial triumph in its Civilizing mission, ''mission civilizatrice'' in the city.
Mostafa Derkaoui, Mostafa Derkaoui's revolutionary independent film ''About Some Meaningless Events'' (1974) took place in Casablanca. It was the main subject of Ali Essafi, Ali Essafi's documentary ''Before the Dying of the Light''.
''Love in Casablanca'' (1991), starring Abdelkarim Derqaoui and Muna Fettou, is one of the first Moroccan films to deal with Morocco's complex realities and depict life in Casablanca with verisimilitude. Nour-Eddine Lakhmari's Casanegra (film), ''Casanegra'' (2008) depicts the harsh realities of Casablanca's working classes. The films ''Ali Zaoua'' (2000), Horses of God, ''Horses of God'' (2012), and Razzia (2017 film), ''Razzia'' (2017) of Nabil Ayouch—a French director of Moroccan heritage—deal with street crime, terrorism, and social issues in Casablanca, respectively. The events in Meryem Benm'Barek-Aloïsi's 2018 film Sofia (2018 film), Sofia revolve around an illegitimate pregnancy in Casablanca. Ahmed El Maanouni, Hicham Lasri, and Said Naciri are also from Casablanca.
Architecture
Casablanca's architecture and urban development are historically significant. The city is home to many notable buildings in a variety of styles, including traditional Moroccan architecture, various colonial architectural styles, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Moorish Revival architecture, Neo-Mauresque, Streamline Moderne, Modern architecture, Modernism, Brutalist architecture, Brutalism, and more. During the French Protectorate in Morocco, French Protectorate, the French government described Casablanca as a "laboratory of urbanism."
The work of the ''Groupe des Architectes Modernes Marocains'' (GAMMA) on public housing projects—such as Carrières Centrales in
Hay Mohammadi
Hay Mohammadi or Hay Mohammedi ( ar, الحي المحمدي) is an arrondissement of eastern Casablanca, in the Aïn Sebaâ - Hay Mohammadi district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 156,501 inhabitants.
Notable res ...
—in a style described as vernacular modernism influenced Modern architecture, modernist architecture around the world.
Casamémoire and MAMMA. are two organizations dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of the city's architectural heritage.
Transport
Rapid transit
The Casablanca tramway, Casablanca Tramway is the rapid transit tram system in Casablanca. As of 2019, the network consists of two lines covering , with 71 stops; further lines (T3 and T4) are under construction.
Since the 1970s, Casablanca had planned to build a Casablanca Metro, metro system to offer some relief to the problems of traffic congestion and poor air quality. However, the city council voted to abandon the metro project in 2014 due to high costs, and decided to continue expanding the already operating Casablanca Tramway, tram system instead.
Air
Casablanca's main airport is
Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...
Oujda
Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...
,
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
, Al Hoceima, and Laayoune, as well as other cities.
Casablanca is well-served by international flights to Europe, especially French and Spanish airports, and has regular connections to North American, Middle Eastern and sub-Saharan African destinations. New York City, Montreal, Paris, Washington D.C., London and Dubai are important primary destinations.
The older, smaller Casablanca-Anfa Airport to the west of the city, served certain destinations including Damascus and Tunis, and was largely closed to international civilian traffic in 2006. It was eventually demolished to make way for construction of the "Casablanca Finance City", the new heart of the city of Casablanca. Casablanca Tit Mellil Airport is located in the nearby community of Tit Mellil.
Coach buses
''Compagnie de Transports au Maroc'' (Compagnie de Transports au Maroc, CTM) offers private intercity coach buses on various lines run servicing most notable Moroccan towns, as well as a number of European cities. These run from the CTM Bus Station on Leo Africanus Street near the
Central Market Central Market may refer to:
*Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton
Fresh food markets
* Adelaide Central Market, Australia
* Cardiff Central Market, Wales
*Central Market, Hong Kong
* Central Market, Casablanca, Morocco
* Riga Central ...
in downtown Casablanca. Supratours, an affiliate of ONCF, also offers coach bus service at a slightly lower cost, departing from a station on Wilad Zian Street. There is another bus station farther down on the same street called the Wilad Zian Bus Station; this station is the country's largest bus station, serving over 800 buses daily, catering more to Morocco's lower income population.
Taxis
Registered Taxicab, taxis in Casablanca are coloured red and known as ''petits taxis'' (small taxis), or coloured white and known as ''grands taxis'' (big taxis). As is standard Moroccan practice, ''petits taxis'', typically small-four door Dacia Logan, Peugeot 207, or similar cars, provide metered cab service in the central metropolitan areas. ''Grands taxis'', generally older Mercedes-Benz sedans, provide shared mini-bus like service within the city on predefined routes, or shared intercity service. ''Grands taxis'' may also be hired for private service by the hour or day.
Trains
Casablanca is served by three main railway stations run by the national rail service, the ONCF.
is the main intercity station, from which trains run south to Marrakech or El Jadida and north to
Mohammedia
Mohammedia ( ar, المحمدية, al-muḥammadiyya; ber, ⴼⴹⴰⵍⴰ, Fḍala), known until 1960 as Fedala, is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Casablanca-Settat. It hosts the most imp ...
and Rabat, and then on either to Tangier or Meknes,
Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
, Taza and
Oujda
Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...
/Nador. It also serves as the southern terminus of the Al-Boraq high speed line from Tangier. A dedicated airport shuttle service to
Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...
also has its primary in-city stop at this station, for connections on to further destinations.
serves primarily commuter trains such as the Train Navette Rapide (TNR or Aouita) operating on the Casablanca – Kenitra rail corridor, with some connecting trains running on to Gare de Casa-Voyageurs. The station provides a direct interchange between train and shipping services, and is located near several port-area hotels. It is the nearest station to the old town of Casablanca, and to the modern city centre, around the landmark Casablanca Twin Center. Casa-Port station is being rebuilt in a modern and enlarged configuration. During the construction, the station is still operational. From 2013, it will provide a close connection from the rail network to the Casablanca Tramway, city's new tram network.
Oasis railway station, Casa-Oasis was originally a suburban commuter station which was fully redesigned and rebuilt in the early 21st century, and officially reopened in 2005 as a primary city rail station. Owing to its new status, all southern intercity train services to and from Casa-Voyageurs now call at Casa-Oasis. ONCF stated in 2005 that the refurbishment and upgrading of Casa-Oasis to intercity standards was intended to relieve passenger congestion at Casa-Voyageurs station.
Tourism
Although
Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...
receives most international flights into Morocco, international tourism in Casablanca is not as developed as it is in cities such as Fes, Morocco, Fes and Marrakech.
The
Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque ( ar, مسجد الحسن الثاني, french: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the List of largest mosques, 7th largest in the world. Its ...
, which is the second largest mosque in Africa and the seventh largest in the world, is the city's main tourist attraction.Kingfisher Geography encyclopedia. . Page 137 Visitors also come to see the city's rich architectural heritage.
Popular sites for national tourism include shopping centers such as
Morocco Mall
Morocco Mall ( ar, مول المغرب) is the largest shopping mall in Africa with 190 000m² of floor space in Casablanca, Morocco. Morocco Mall, which opened on December 1, 2011, was designed by Architect Davide Padoa of Design International, a ...
, Anfa Place, the Marina Shopping Center, and the Tachfine Center. Additional sites include the Corniche and the beach of
Ain Diab
Ain Diab ( ar, عين الذئاب) is a commune located at the Corniche of Casablanca, Morocco. The commune is affluent and famous for the fashionable stretch of coastline known as the Corniche. There are numerous hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, ...
, and parks such as the Arab League Park or the Sindibad theme park.
File:غسق الليل في رمضان من على شاطئ عين الذئاب في مدينة الدار البيضاء المغربية.jpg, Sunset at Ain Diab, Ain Diab Beach
File:Касабланка - panoramio (3).jpg, Casablanca Beach
File:مبنى بأسلوب استعماري فرنسي شارع الحسن الثان.jpeg, Colonial architecture near United Nations Square (Casablanca), UN Square
File:Hassan 2 Mosque.jpg,
Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque ( ar, مسجد الحسن الثاني, french: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the List of largest mosques, 7th largest in the world. Its ...
File:Arab League Park, Casablanca.jpg, Arab League Park
Notable people
*Lahcen Abrami - Former footballer
*Amine Atouchi - Moroccan footballer
*Khalil Azmi - Former Moroccan goalkeeper
* Amal Ayouch (born 1966) – stage and film actress
* Wissam Baraka – Moroccan footballer
*
Salaheddine Bassir
Salaheddine Bassir ( ar, صلاح الدين بصير; born 5 September 1972) is a Moroccan former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker.
He played for a few clubs, including Raja C ...
– Moroccan footballer
* Laarbi Batma – Moroccan musician and artist, founding member of Nass El Ghiwane, Nas El Ghiwan
* Larbi Benbarek – Moroccan footballer
*Badr Benoun - Moroccan footballer
* Miriem Bensalah-Chaqroun – Moroccan businesswoman
* Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes – French footballer
* Frida Boccara – French singer, Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1969
*
Aziz Bouderbala
Abdelaziz El Idrissi Bouderbala ( ar, عبد العزيز الإدريسي بودربالة; born December 26, 1960) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 ...
- Former Moroccan footballer
* Merieme Chadid – Moroccan astronomer
*Mustapha Chadili - Former goalkeeper
*Achraf Dari – Moroccan footballer
* Jean-Charles de Castelbajac – French fashion designer
* Nabil Dirar – Moroccan footballer
*
Abdelmajid Dolmy
Abdelmajid Dolmy (; 20 August 1953 – 27 July 2017) was a Moroccan footballer who played as a midfielder. He was nicknamed "Maestro".
Career
Dolmy played club football for Raja Casablanca in the Botola. He also played for the Morocco nation ...
- Former Moroccan footballer
* Dizzy DROS – Moroccan rapper
*Issam El Adoua - Moroccan footballer
*Badr El Kaddouri - Former Moroccan footballer
*Talal El Karkouri - Former Moroccan footballer
*
Gad Elmaleh
Gad Elmaleh ( ar, جاد المالح, Latn, ar, Gād el-Māleḥ; born 19 April 1971) is a Moroccan-Canadian stand-up comedian and actor who achieved fame in France, Morocco and the United States. He is best known in the French-speaking wor ...
– French/Canadian comedian
* Bouchaib El Moubarki - Former Moroccan footballer
* Youssef Fertout - Moroccan manager
* La Fouine – Moroccan-French rapper
*Khalid Fouhami - Former gmoroccan oalkeeper
*Mohamed Fouzair - Moroccan footballer
* El Haqed – Moroccan rapper
* Serge Haroche – French physicist who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics
* Shatha Hassoun – Moroccan/Iraqi singer
* Lydia Hatuel-Czuckermann – Israeli Olympic fencer
* Mouhcine Iajour - Moroccan footballer
* Nadir Lamyaghri - Former Moroccan goalkeeper
*Hamza Mendyl – Moroccan footballer
* Hicham Mesbahi – Moroccan boxer
* French Montana – American rapper
* Nawal El Moutawakel – Olympic champion
* Hakim Mouzaki - Moroccan footballer
* Abderrahim Najah - International Basketball player
*
Noureddine Naybet
Noureddine Naybet ( ar, نور الدين نيبت; born 10 February 1970) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He played in Spain (Deportivo de La Coruña) and Portugal for Sporting CP and England for To ...
– Moroccan footballer
* Mostafa Nissaboury – Moroccan poet
* Hakim Noury – Moroccan film director
* Maurice Ohana – French composer
* Faouzia, Faouzia Ouihya – Moroccan-Canadian singer
* Jean Reno – French Hollywood actor
* Youssef Rossi - Former Moroccan footballer
* Abdelilah Saber - Former footballer
* Youssef Safri - Moroccan football manager
* Jamal Sellami - Moroccan football manager
* Daniel Sivan – professor
* Alain Souchon – French songwriter
* Frank Stephenson – award-winning automobile designer
* Hassan Saada – Moroccan boxer arrested for alleged rape before Olympic match
* Sidney Taurel – naturalized American CEO of Eli Lilly and Company from 1998 to 2008
* Richard Virenque – French cyclist
*
Muhammad Zarqtuni
Muhammad Zarqtuni ( ar, مُحَمَّدُ الزَرْقْطُوْنِي, french: Mohammed Zerktouni) (1927-June 18, 1954) was a Moroccan nationalist born in Casablanca, Morocco. He was active in the Moroccan Nationalist Movement and is considere ...
– Moroccan nationalist and resistance leader
* Abdallah Zrika – Moroccan poet
*Soufiane Choubani – Founder of the Moroccan National Debate Team
In popular culture
* The 1942 film ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca'' (starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart) is supposed to have been set in Casablanca, although it was filmed entirely in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and doesn't feature a single Arab or North African character with a speaking role. The film depicts Casablanca as the scene of power struggle between various foreign powers, which had much more to do with the Tangier of the time. The film has achieved worldwide popularity since its release. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, it won three, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture.
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946) was the 12th Marx Brothers' movie. The film stars Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx. It was directed by Archie Mayo and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee. The film contains the song "Who's Sorry Now? (song), Who's Sorry Now?", with music by Ted Snyder and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. It is sung in French by Lisette Verea playing the part of Beatrice Rheiner, and then later sung in English. Franz Liszt, Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" is played twice, once by Chico on piano as an introduction to the "Beer Barrel Polka", and again by Harpo on the harp.
* The city is featured in ''The Mysterious Caravan'' (1975), volume 54 in the original The Hardy Boys, Hardy Boys series.
* Casablanca is the setting for several chapters in ''Doubleshot'', a 2000 James Bond novel by Raymond Benson. In the novel, one of the characters mentions that the 1942 film was shot in Hollywood and not on location.
* Casablanca is one of the key locations in the 2006 video game ''Dreamfall'', as it is where the primary protagonist of the game, Zoë Castillo, lives. Although the city is imagined in the year 2219, much of the present-day architecture is used for inspiration.
* Casablanca is the setting for the first act of the 2016 World War II romantic thriller film ''Allied (film), Allied'' starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
Twin towns – sister cities
Casablanca is Sister city, twinned with:
* Bordeaux, France
* Busan, South Korea
* Chicago, United States
* Dakar, Senegal
* Dubai, United Arab Emirates
*
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Indonesia
* Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
* Muscat, Oman
* Nouadhibou, Mauritania
* Shanghai, China
Casablanca also has cooperation agreements with:
* Abuja, Nigeria
* Amman, Jordan
* Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Barcelona, Spain
* Buenos Aires, Argentina
* Hebron, Palestine
*
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
Open Air Museum of 20th century architecture *
{{Authority control
Casablanca,
Prefecturial capitals in Morocco
Regional capitals in Morocco
Municipalities of Morocco
Populated places established in the 7th century BC