Let's set off together to discover two districts in the south of Casablanca: Oasis and Riviera, two residential districts with a long-standing European identity.

As an extension of the Maarif district, the Oasis district in Casablanca is often considered to be one of the oldest residential areas of the cityIt owes its name to the many palm trees that adjoined the small farms and orchards at the beginning of the 20th century.

From the 1940s, agricultural activity gives way to a vast residential complex of villas, built by wealthy city dwellers near the Carmelite monastery of Saint Joseph. This monastery has been home to Carmelite nuns since 1937. In this area, you can still see a few Art Deco or neo-Moorish villas, which are now threatened with destruction under pressure from land speculation. From the 1950s, shops gradually opened in the area. A large wooden market painted green was built on the Place de la Division Leclerc. A trolleybus line provides access to the city centre. After Operation Torch in 1942, the area welcomed many Americans from the Nouaceur military base.

After Independence, the Oasis district became sportsman's paradise : WAC and RCA, the two biggest football clubs in Casablanca, but also RUC, COC, Al Amal and CAFC set up and developed large sports complexes there. The district also hosts a unique museum in the Arab world, the Museum of Moroccan Judaism, created in 1997.

Further up Ghandi Boulevard, the Riviera district is a garden city experiment in the heart of Casablanca. Designed by the architect Alexandre Courtois between 1953 and 1955, it consists of 400 apartments classified as HBM (Habitat Bon Marché): all surfaces are provided, from the studio for singles to the five-room family apartment. The city even has 33 small villas, in order to guarantee social diversity. All the accommodation is distributed in the heart of a large wooded park with a bucolic atmosphere.

Want to know more? Get on board with CitizOn for this guided tour of the Oasis and Riviera districts.