The Café Culture

Morocco is all about the cafes, especially Casablanca. Cafes are pretty much on every corner.  There are actually two on my street right in front of my apartment.  At these cafes, if you are lucky they serve Fresh juice, but most of the standard cafes(not the Posh ones) serve coffee, Moroccan tea, water, or soda.  The posh cafes will all have French menus with your same typical French menu of Café lattes, paninis, crepes, and salads. 

Who is going to these cafes?

The cafes are mostly made for the men of Casablanca.  There are many cafes that are “For men only” and women are forbidden to enter.  At these cafes, you have all kind of men from business men to old men to married men to security guards.  You have nice upscale cafes and the cafes that are filled with Moroccan futbol fans and shisha lovers. The cafe seats are all facing outward towards the streets, like Paris, and when women pass by the men just sit and stare. For me, I actually walk on the streets and avoid the sidewalks because it makes me feel uncomfortable. 

 In my book, Tahrir Shah mentioned how many of the men hang out at these cafes to escape from the “reality” of their life.  It is a place for them to break from their wife and family commitments.  It is a place that lacks responsibility and productivity.  You will just see people sit there for hours with coffee and never reading a book, writing, or doing something.  They just sit and relax.   

Being an American, this is a difficult concept for me to grasp. I understand relaxing, but sitting at a café for 2-3 hours a day just sitting around? Yes, they have phones that they talk on or use WIFI, but many cafes do not have WIFI and no smart phones.  I think this whole cafe culture is okay if you are 50 and older, but when you are younger there must be something you can be doing with your time.  For example, Mr. Casa loved the cafes. His friends and him would meet there everyday and just sit and talk and talk.  While he was employed, a few of his friends were not employed.  It seemed a bit concerning that they were so relaxed and proud of not working and sitting and chilling at a café.

 When we first met, I remember one day in the beginning we went to a café two times in the same day.  That was 3 hours from my day just sitting.  I recall feeling annoyed the second time when we went to the Moroccan mall because I would rather be walking around the mall than sitting.   For me, I can not just sit in the café when I know I should be doing other things and truly busy Moroccans can’t either.  But for some Moroccans they do not have jobs and this all they have to do to fill their time-this is sad, unfortunate, and true. 

Side Note: My one friend actually told me that some people do not finish their coffee, leave it in the café, and come back later in the day.  This is sad for people who cannot afford to buy another cup of coffee.  I wonder what another kind of reasoning could be for this. 

Anyways, Casablanca and Cafes are like two peas in a pod. Over the years and years, they have grown to love each other very much.  I understand they have love for their coffee and cafes-the coffee in Casablanca is fabulous, but as a foreigner I try to keep my coffee contact to a minimum. Cafes are a huge part of the culture and you can not avoid them completely, but you can balance them out appropriately with the rest of your hobbies and commitments.