on out flight to togo we had a 16 hour layover in casablanca, morocco! i had read something obscure online about the possibility of an airline-provided hotel for such layovers, and indeed, after a quick inquiry after arrival we were being whisked away to the three star “hotel relax” near the airport! after getting some sleep, we headed into the sprawling city of casablanca. before leaving we had watched the film casablanca to stoke us for the experience, though it isn’t particularly enlightening with regard to the city today. casablanca is a modern and huge city of about six million, honestly without a whole lot to see for a tourist. we went to the hassan II mosque, which is a massive and ornate mosque, the largest in morocco, on the atlantic. it was completed only within the last decade or so, and was built using different types of marble and rock from all the corners of morocco. notably, it also has the world’s tallest minaret. we then stopped by morocco’s largest mall before heading back to the airport. solid layover! then a short stop-over in cotonou, benin before touching down in togo!
