Casablanca – Pictures of Casablanca’s unusually deserted boulevards and streets recently went viral on social media, raising the question: what could have emptied the streets of a city as overpopulated as Casablanca?
It is Ramadan. A few moments before the call for Al Maghrib prayer, which signals the end of Muslims’ daily fast, the streets of Casablanca, commonly swarming with people and vehicles, resembled the ghostly setting of Will Smith’s film “I Am Legend.”
Ramadan is the only month in which the vibrant streets and hectic boulevards of Casablanca, normally clamoring with all sorts of noises, speak the language of utter silence.
Take time to go out in the street for a few minutes before or during the Iftar meal, and you will see places like Boulevard Mohammed V, one of the economic capital’s most lively boulevards, literally deserted—like a charming version of the desolate setting in the movie “Silent Hill.”
Not even the most decisive soccer matches in the history of the Moroccan national team could ever entirely empty the streets of Casablanca the way a moment as ephemeral as Ramdan’s Iftar meal could.
No event or occasion can also guarantee to bring together all members of a family at a specific time of the day like Ramadan.
The Iftar meal in Ramadan frees all Muslims from all their time-consuming and routine commitments, thus granting them the now-rare delight of spending quality time with their families and loved ones.
All Photos courtesy of Brahim Taougar
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