Forget the movie.  Big, crowded, Rick’s cafe nowhere to be found. The synagogue in the old Medina was closed by the time we landed at 3:00 pm. The Hassan II Mosque was open, though, and surprisingly we were permitted inside for a private tour with a someone from the museum on the premises.  A beautiful and spiritual space, ecumenical in its design adopting the floor plan of the great cathedrals and the balcony concept for women to pray, similar to orthodox synagogues.  Built in the nineties by the King with money raised by the Muslim population, it is stunning – huge marble pillars, crystal chandeliers, elaborate metalwork fixtures in the room for ablutions.  The guide spoke French and given his corrections of Ibrahim’s translations (Ibrahim is our guide for the whole trip), I suspect he spoke English as well.  But my own French was passable enough to get the gist of his explanations.  The room for ablutions downstairs was equally impressive.  Dozens of fountains sculpted as lotus flowers, water bubbling up from the center of the flower then cascading down the separation between the petals in rivulets, each forming a washing station as it streamed into a pool below.  Unfortunately, I forgot to put a card in the camera so a few iPhone shots had to do.