Casablanca for the European Theater of Operations during World War II. In October 1930, Casablanca hosted a Grand Prix, held at the new Anfa Racecourse. In 1958, the race was held at Ain-Diab circuit "(see Moroccan Grand Prix)". Morocco gained independence from France on 1955. 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. In March 2000, more than 60 women's groups organized demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country. About 40,000
Casablanca which is "Ad-dar Al Baidaa"', although Arabic also has its own version of Casablanca (كازابلانكا, "Kāzāblānkā"). The city is still nicknamed "Casa" by many locals and outsiders to the city. In many other cities with a different dialect, it is called "Ad-dar Al-Bida", instead. The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the seventh century BC. It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. In his book Description of Africa, Leo Africanus refers to ancient Casablanca as "Anfa", a great city founded in the Berber kingdom of Barghawata