OLD MEDINA

Heading towards the port, one crosses the old boulevard Houphouët-Boigny, lined with palm trees, fruit, vegetable and spice stalls as well as shops that present tourists with the country's handicrafts. On the right, near the Casa Port station, there is a craft centre and the Sidi Belyout sanctuary, the city's patron saint who is said to have lived during the Almohad period. On the left, still opposite the port, appears the old medina, the cradle of Casablanca, quite recent since it dates from the 19th century, with its cubic and white houses of Hispanic style. It differs in this sense from the traditional medinas of the imperial cities, which are built in an Arab-Muslim style. To enter, you walk along the Boulevard des Almohades, dominated on your left by the Sqala, a fortified bastion dating from the 18th century, with its cannons pointing towards the sea and Bab el-Mersa, until you find on your left a small square dominated by the tomb of Sidi Allal al-Kaïraouani, the city's first saint. Then Sidi Bousmara, another marabout. Finally, close by, stands the oldest mosque in Casablanca, Jamâa al-Atiq, built by Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah in the year 1200 of the Hegira. Going back down to the centre of the old medina, we walk along what was, at the beginning of the century, the city centre of Casablanca. The visit of the medina ends once the big gate of Bab el-Kebir is crossed. You will then find yourself on the Place des Nations Unies, designed by the French architect Henri Prost.