The road runs along the coast, and has greatly reduced the traveling time between those two important centers of power. Casablanca is expanding at an ever-increasing rate. At the beginning of the century, it was only a small town which had grown up from nothing. Since then, Casa, as it is known, has gradually become a huge, sprawling metropolis with an official population of four million and an actual population which is probably larger. It is now the fourth biggest city in Africa after Cairo, Alexandria, and Lagos, and people are still descending on it in great numbers from the poorer parts of Morocco to find work, which is in short supply elsewhere. As a result, the city continues to expand in every direction, and the streets grow ever more crowded during the day. But it is still a place of boundless energy and hope, and like so many cities whose streets are supposedly paved with gold, it is a place of striking contrast between wealth and poverty. The opulent splendor of some of its more affluent suburbs makes Beverly Hills look down-at-heel by comparison, and even the poorest districts are full of life and color. In the space of a few minutes, you will see descendants of leading families from Fes and Marrakech who have started their own businesses here, as well as elderly property developers and youthful stock-exchange traders. But you will also see the old men in the medina, the children cleaning shoes, and the Berber peasants from the distant Atlas mountains living in exile here and trying to earn a crust. The two groups may rub shoulders in the crowded streets, but they live in two different worlds.

 Casablanca is a western-style city. The center, with its skyscraper apartment and office blocks, its wide boulevards jammed solid with cars, and its large gardens and spacious esplanades, is the fruit of western city planning. The area where the main street joins the Boulevard Roudani, next to the new Twin Center office block, has been called the Champs-Elysees of Casablanca because of its high concentration of fashionable shops, restaurants, bars, and department stores. Further on, past the Parc de la Ligue Arabe, the Place des Nations-Unies forms the administrative center of the city.

 The kasbah is surrounded by magnificent ochre-colored buildings. The Palais de Justice and the prefecture overlook an immense boulevard which is always thronged with people, and from here there is a superb view of the sunset, with the pinkish-bronze light bringing a deep glow to the walls of the buildings. As you continue along the Avenue Hassan II towards the port, the numerous avenues and boulevards leading off the Place Mohamed V make it the city's busiest crossroads. The nearby ancient medina, like those in other Moroccan cities, is a labyrinth of open, narrow streets crowded with all kinds of shops and small businesses. Snack stalls, restaurants, and sellers of household utensils, clothes, and tobacco compete for the attention of the crowds of passers-by who fill the streets of the medina.

 Beyond the port, which forms a large extension to the old nucleus of Casablanca along the ocean to the south, is the formidable Hassan II Mosque. This was inaugurated on 30 August 1993, and marks the westernmost outpost of Islam; after Mecca, it is the biggest place of worship in the Muslim world. The mosque is a gigantic, majestic building with a minaret 200 meters (650 if) high. Its prayer hall is 20,000 square meters (216,000 sq if) in area, with space for up to 25,000 worshippers, and its esplanade holds up to 80,000 people. The mosque was paid for by contributions from every Moroccan citizen, and thus symbolizes the unity of the nation and its people. It also shows that traditional Moroccan craftsmanship is alive and well: some 10,000 master craftsmen and apprentices were involved in constructing and decorating the building.

 The corniche of Casablanca, further to the south, is home to countless public baths, smart restaurants, nightclubs, and even a jazz bar. At night, when the streets of central Casablanca are deserted and families are spending time together at home, this area pulsates with he kind of night-time pleasures which Europeans take for granted, but which have little place in the Muslim world.