Casablanca (الدار البيضاء), Morocco

Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, al Dar al-Bayda) is the biggest city in Morocco as well as its main port. The city covers 324 sq km (125.1 sq mi) and has a population of 2.9 million people (2011 estimate) within a metropolitan area of 3.6 million. The city is the economic and business hub for Morocco. It observes the Western European Time zone (UTC+0) and in summer the Western European Summer Time (UTC+1).

Casablanca is located in the Chawiya plain, the main food-producing region of Morocco. The name Casablanca means "white house" in Spanish. It is believed that the Spanish name was derived from an older Portuguese name for the city, Casa Branca.

Gate into the medina of Casablanca
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entree_medina_Casa.jpg
Sammyday


Casablanca experiences a Mediterranean climate with strong moderating influence of the Atlantic Ocean. The warmest month is August, when the average high temperature reaches 26.7°C (80.1°F). Coldes month is January, when the average low temperature drops to 7.2°C (45°F). December is the wettest month with 146 mm (5.75 in) of precipitation.

The area around Casablanca has been inhabited by Berber tribes since the 7th century BC. There was a port here established by Phoenicians. It was called Anfa. The port became a small independent kingdom of the same name. The area was conquered by the Romans around AD 40 but was returned to local rule after two centuries.

In 1068 the town of Anfa was conquered by the Almoravids. By the 15th century, it became an independent state once again. But as it provided shelter to pirates, the town was destroyed by the Portuguese, which then built a fortress in the area in 1515, and called it Casa Branca.

Fishing boat in the Port of Casablanca
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casablancca_port_de_peche_%281%29.jpg
Remi Jouan


In the 18th century, Sultan Mohammed rebuilt the town with help from the Spanish, and it was then called Casablanca. By the turn of the 20th century, it has grown into a moderate size city of around 100,000 people. The city came under French Protectorate, and was depicted in the 1942 movie of the same name.

After Morocco gained independence, Casablanca developed its tourism industry while at the same time maintained its position as the economic and business center for Morocco. In recent years, the city was hit by suicide bombings linked to al-Queda. This took place in 2003 and 2007.

Visiting Casablanca

The Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) is the biggest airport in Morocco and the gateway to Casablanca. It receives flights from major cities in Europe as well as from New York City, Canada, and many cities in the Arab world and Africa.

Places of Interest in Casablanca

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

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