The a la Menthe a Casablanca Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anfa

Anfa (the name means 'hill' in Berber) was a Berber settlement as early as the 10th century BC. The Phoenicians, and later the Romans, used it as a port. The Portuguese destroyed it in 1468 and built a new city on its ruins which they named "Casabranca," Portuguese for "White House." Later, they abandoned it and Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah rebuilt it with the help of the Spaniards, placing its center in the spot where the old Anfa was.

Its name became Casablanca which remained unchanged through French occupation and subsequent independence in 1956.

The locals call it just Casa.

Answer: true

Casablanca had been a port city since the Roman times but its need for a bigger port became more essential in the 19th century with the export of wool to the British and the importation of tea. When the French claimed the city in 1906, the population and business begun expanding and initially, a small extension to the harbor was designed.

It consisted of only ten hectares of enclosed, protected water. By the end of construction, in 1938, a total of 125 hectares of water was enclosed and numerous piers and docks built.

In later years, even more extensions have taken place to facilitate the shipping of phosphates, citrus fruits, textiles and canned fish. As of 2015, the deep-sea port of Tanger-Med is the largest industrial port in Morocco.

Answer: Lisbon

Lisbon's 1755 earthquake was one of the deadliest earthquakes, claiming, in Lisbon alone, between 10,000 and 100,000 victims. Its epicenter was in the Atlantic ocean, between Lisbon and Rabat, Morocco, and its magnitude was 8.5 to 9.0 on the Richter scale. Tsunamis as tall as 20 metres high devastated the Atlantic shores of Northern Africa and travelled as far as Martinique and Barbados.

The tsunami destroyed the largest part of Casablanca, which, abandoned by the Portuguese, laid in ruins until Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah started the reconstruction in the late 1700s.

Answer: Hassan II Mosque

The desire of Moroccan king Hassan II to provide Casablanca with an outstanding monument is what initiated the construction of the mosque in 1986. Situated on the edge of the water, on an elevated platform and outlooking the Atlantic ocean, Hassan II Mosque is one of the most lavish and grand mosques in the world.

It stands at 210m tall and part of its floor is made of glass, so a worshipper can kneel and pray over the water, a privilege only the royal family can enjoy. A laser beam shines from the top of the minaret towards Mecca and the sliding roof opens to the sky on special occasions. All the materials came from different areas of Morocco except for the glass chandeliers which came from the island of Murano in Venice.

It can accommodate up to 105,000 worshippers in its inside and courtyard grounds.

Its estimated cost was $800 million.

Answer: Gunpowder tea

Gunpowder tea is a Chinese green tea which comes in small pellets. Originally, the individual tea leaves were rolled by hand but today they are rolled by machines. Smaller and more tightly rolled pellets are an indication of higher quality tea. It is believed that the use of gunpowder tea was first introduced to Northern Africa by the British in the 18th century.

Moroccan tea is prepared in a very traditional way. The tea leaves are allowed to steep for at least fifteen minutes and then the strained liquid is boiled with the sugar. The mint leaves are added towards the end. The tea is very strong, sweet and aromatic and the way it is poured from up high, produces foam in the glass.

Answer: Plastic surgery clinics

Casablanca has a long standing tradition in plastic surgery. This tradition started in the 1950s with French gynecologist Georges Burou, a pioneer in sex reassignment surgery for transwomen. At a time when these types of operations were illegal in Europe, Georges Burou performed them in Casablanca, rather successfully, and his method laid the foundation for the perfection of the procedure in later years.

Many skilled plastic surgeons followed in Dr Burou's footsteps, catering mainly to the growing need for rhinoplasties, tummy tucks and breast implants. For one third of the cost of a plastic surgery in a European country, a whole family can enjoy a vacation in the sun while a parent gets a tummy tuck or a nose job.

The demand is so great that business is spreading to neighboring Algeria.

Answer: Mausoleum

The shrine is the mausoleum of Sidi Abder Rahman El Thaelebi, a marabout (Maghrebi Holy man), who was an enlightened spiritual leader and the founder of Algiers. The Shrine is located in the sea and can be accessed during low tide. While non-Muslims are not permitted inside the shrine, one can admire it from the outside during a stroll on the sandy beach.

The Corniche, the seaside neighborhood where the shrine is located, was once a very upscale neighborhood, with shops, restaurants and clubs. It is a bit rundown nowdays and the hubbub of the city has moved further North to Boulevard de l' Ocean Atlantique.

Answer: True

Owned by The Usual Suspects company, Rick's Café opened in 2004 in a traditional 1930s Moroccan mansion in Casablanca's Old Medina. It was designed after the movie's Rick's Café, complete with an original 1930s Pleyel piano. The cuisine is mainly French with an emphasis on seafood but one can also find Rick's cheesecake and brownies.

Answer: Jean Reno

Jean Reno was born in Casablanca in 1948 as Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez to Andalusian-Spanish parents who moved to North Africa to escape Franco's dictatorship and seek work. He moved to Paris when he was 17 years old as Juan Moreno but as he started working in the movie industry, he adopted the French version of his name Jean and shortened his last name to Reno.

He joined the French Army for a short time in order to become a French citizen. Nowdays, he divides his time between Paris and Los Angeles.

Answer: Athens, Greece

The distance between Casablanca and Athens is 2,856 km, between Casablanca and Istanbul 3,310 km, between Casablanca and Jeddah 4,760 km and between Casablanca and Saint Petersburg 4,014 km. I would have thought Jeddah would be a lot closer to Casablanca than Saint Petersburg! Casablanca is also twinned with Chicago, Tokyo and Montreal, among others.