Casablanca is the largest city of Morocco, located in the western part of the country on the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the largest city in the Maghreb, as well as one of the largest and most important cities in Africa, both economically and demographically.
The name of the city derives from the Portuguese word combination meaning "White house" (Blanca "white", Casa "house"). The present Spanish version came when the Portuguese kingdom was integrated to the Spanish kingdom. The city is now nicknamed Casa by many locals.
The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the 7th century BC. It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. In his book Wasf Afriquia, Al-Hassan al-Wazzan refers to ancient Casablanca as "Anfa", a great city founded in the Berber kingdom of Barghawata in 744 AD.
The writer believed Casablanca was the most "prosperous city on the Atlantic coast because of its fertile land. Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by the Almoravids in 1068. Following the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century, Arab tribes of Hilal and Sulaym descent were settled in the region. During the 14th century, under the Merinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids was ousted by a popular revolt in 1465.
Casablanca was an important strategic port during World War II and hosted the Casablanca Conference in 1943, in which Churchill and Roosevelt discussed the progress of the war. Casablanca was the site of a large American air base, which was the staging area for all American aircraft for the European Theater of Operations during World War II.
Morocco gained independence from France on 2 March 1956. In 1983, Casablanca hosted the Mediterranean Games. The city is now developing a tourism industry. Casablanca has become the economic and business capital of Morocco, while Rabat is the political capital.
Like always , i will post some pictures of this beautiful city on my facebook page , and i do not own all this informations on my blog , something is from some arabic books and some is from the Internet , thank you
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