The stately columns rose in orderly ranks, bearing the weight of the arches that crowned the Hassan II Mosque

Pillars in Grande Mosquée Hassan II — Pillars of the Hassan II Mosque

The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca was, as expected, enormous. Known as one of Morocco’s national symbols, it is the largest mosque on the African continent, with a minaret that soars to 210 meters. An information board proclaimed it to be the tallest religious structure in the world, though I can’t say whether that’s true or not. In any case, it’s hardly a height contest; perhaps the French architect who designed it simply insisted, “Make it the tallest in the world,” and left it at that.

From the courtyard, as I walked further in, I was confronted with long rows of columns linked by arches. The limestone and marble construction resembled an endless geometric pattern of straight and curved lines, repeated to the point of bewilderment. It almost felt as though the architect had been solving problems from a geometry textbook, only to abandon the answers midway, leaving the unsolved riddle carved into stone.

The shadows of the columns fell neatly across the floor, sharpened by the midday sun. The floor’s mosaic patterns overlapped with the shadows, and before long I began to feel as though I myself were a chess piece standing on a giant board. Just then, a figure draped in black robes crossed beneath one of the arches, appearing like a shadow lost inside the maze of geometry.

Grande Mosquée Hassan II on Google Map

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