City history
Founded as the Amazigh settlement of Anfa, Casablanca evolved into Morocco's economic metropolis while navigating over a century of colonial and national time zone adjustments.
Chapter one
Indigenous name
"Hill, promontory, or high place"
Anfa was the ancient Amazigh settlement located on the Atlantic promontory where Casablanca now stands. In Tamazight dialects, the name denotes an elevated coastal topography.
Hill or promontory
The original Amazigh name for the coastal settlement, which served as a major port and capital of the Barghawata kingdom until its destruction by Portuguese forces in 1468.
White House
Given by Portuguese colonists who built a military fortress on the ruins of Anfa in 1515. The name referred to a distinctive white building visible to mariners.
The White House
Assigned by Alaouite Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah when he rebuilt the ruined city and medina in the late eighteenth century following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
White House
Adopted by Spanish merchants trading along the Atlantic coast, then formalized globally during the French Protectorate era from 1912 onward.
Chapter two
Under the French Protectorate administration, official time across Morocco, including Casablanca, was standardized on Greenwich Mean Time, setting the baseline legal time.
Morocco introduced daylight saving time for the first time during World War I to conserve fuel and power, advancing local clocks by sixty minutes ahead of GMT.
King Hassan II promulgated a royal decree establishing Greenwich Mean Time as Morocco's legal baseline time, granting executive authority for temporary seasonal adjustments.
Moroccan Decree 2.18.855 established year-round UTC+1 as the standard legal time, keeping Casablanca permanently one hour ahead of GMT except during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Moroccan government announced Decree 2.26.530 to repeal the year-round UTC+1 framework and permanently restore Greenwich Mean Time following extensive public health and circadian reviews.
Chapter three
The Amazigh settlement of Anfa emerged as a primary urban center and maritime port in the independent Barghawata kingdom, fostering regional trade along Morocco's Atlantic coast.
French military commander Charles Dessigny ordered the construction of a twenty-meter public clock tower at the old medina entrance to standardize civilian and administrative time keeping.
Architect Marius Boyer completed the Hôtel de Ville, now the Wilaya headquarters, featuring a prominent sixty-meter square clock tower that became an administrative focal point.
Following the demolition of the damaged 1908 tower in 1948, municipal leaders constructed a faithful replica near United Nations Square to preserve Casablanca's historic skyline.
King Mohammed VI inaugurated Casablanca's modern light rail tramway system, providing synchronized, low-floor transit along a thirty-one kilometer corridor to streamline urban mobility.