CASABLANCA, MOROCCO

We got to Casablanca late last Thursday, and have been enjoying perfect weather and long walks around the city. Even though we were only here for a day last April, we have noticed a lot of progress in terms of the construction of buildings and new public spaces. Right now everything is a bit of a ghost town since it is the end of Ramadan. Only a small percentage of restaurants and places to eat/break fast at night are open, and primarily only fast food chains are open during the day - kids do not take part in the month of fasting. Supermarkets and most bakeries remain open, as people purchase food later in the day to prepare for breaking fast at home with their families. Today is the last day of fasting and then tomorrow is Eid al-Fitr, the festival of breaking fast. Eid is followed by a few additional days of holiday, as a lot of people travel to spend time with their families. It will be interesting to see what is open for business the rest of the week. Assuming the city will remain fairly quiet through the weekend. The weather here is great - sunshine starting at around 5:15am, warm during the day, cools down around 5pm.