Casablanca: Hassan II Mosque and American Language Center

Our first stop of the day, Hassan II Mosque. The mosque is the seventh largest in the world and is located right on the Atlantic Ocean. It is an awe-inspiring place of worship with the tallest minaret in the world. It took seven years and 10,000 craftsmen to construct.

This was my first visit to a mosque. In addition to being beautiful, it was a very peaceful place. We were able to wonder through the entire space. I was surprised to see that there wasn't a pulpit, or similar structure, for the imam.

Michel Pinseau, the architect, quoted the Quran in describing the mosque. "The throne of Allah was built on water."

Another stop in Casablanca was the American Language Center. We had lunch, and I had Moroccan chicken pie. This is one of the dishes I was hoping to have while in Morocco. And it was wonderful!

The afternoon was spent learning about the Teacher Training Program at the American Language Center. It was a pleasure to spend the afternoon talking about teaching and teacher training with the educators involved in the training programs at ALC. It was interesting to learn about teacher programs. Teachers working through these programs would be able to teach at private schools rather than public schools.

While at the American Language Center, I had the privilege of meeting Mounia Ngote, ALC Rabat senior teacher. After the planned activities, we spent much of our time together talking about National Geographic Educator Certification. Mounia recently completed her capstone and earned her certification. I have thought about National Geographic certification, and Mounia has promised to help and support me!

Here is a link to her capstone project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD-PkK-rnjk