THE BOOK OF
أكادير
History, places, people, culture and food of Agadir, told by two Moroccans.
CHAPTER I
Its name means “fortified granary” in Tashelhit. A Portuguese trading post and then a Saadian port, Agadir was wiped off the map by the earthquake of 29 February 1960. Rebuilt further south, it became Morocco's seaside capital and the gateway to the Amazigh Souss.
CHAPTER II
The oldest map showing the site dates from 1325: it marks a "Porto Mesegina", after the Amazigh Mesguina (or Ksima) tribe, known since the 12th century. The name Agadir, meaning "fortified granary" in Tashelhit, first appears in 1510, as Agadir al-Harba.
In 1505 the Portuguese nobleman João Lopes de Sequeira built a wooden castle at the foot of the hill, near a spring: the colony of Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué. The district keeps the name Founti, from the Portuguese "fonte", fountain. The King of Portugal bought the castle on 25 January 1513.
The Souss tribes mounted a blockade lasting years. In 1510 Mohammed al-Qa'im, head of a sharifian family, led the resistance: his descendants founded the Saadian dynasty. In 1540 Mohammed ash-Sheikh set up cannon on the hill above the fort; the siege began on 16 February 1541 and the town fell on 12 March. Six hundred Portuguese were taken prisoner, including the governor Guterre de Monroy.
The 1541 victory pushed the Portuguese to abandon Safi and Azemmour: by 1550 they held only Mazagan, Tangier and Ceuta in Morocco. Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557-1574) built a kasbah on top of the hill, called Agadir n'Ighir, the "granary of the hill".
In the 17th century, under the Amazigh principality of Tazerwalt, the port traded with Europe: sugar, wax, copper and hides for weapons and cloth. An earthquake destroyed the town in 1731.
From 1760 Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah, wishing to punish the rebellious Souss, diverted trade to Essaouira and had Agadir's port closed. The decline lasted a century and a half: in 1789 a traveller described a ghost town of crumbling houses.
Moulay Hassan I reopened the port in 1881 to supply his 1882 and 1886 expeditions into the Souss. In 1884 Charles de Foucauld still described "a poor village, depopulated and without trade".
On 1 July 1911 Germany sent the gunboat Panther into Agadir bay to claim a share of Morocco. The Agadir crisis raised fears of war between France and Germany; the Franco-German treaty of 4 November 1911 gave France a free hand, and it established its protectorate the following year.
French troops landed on 15 June 1913 in a town of fewer than a thousand inhabitants. A port was built, then the Talborjt district, and around 1930 Agadir became an Aéropostale stop, used by Saint-Exupéry and Mermoz. The modern centre was laid out by Henri Prost from 1930, and the town lived from fishing, canneries and early tourism.
In 1960 Agadir had over 40,000 inhabitants. On 29 February, at quarter to midnight, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake lasting about fifteen seconds destroyed almost the whole city, including the old kasbah. The death toll is estimated at around 15,000, more than a third of the population.
King Mohammed V declared that the city would be reborn. It was rebuilt a little further south by Moroccan and French architects, including Jean-François Zevaco and Élie Azagury. Agadir passed half a million inhabitants in the early 21st century, with a large fishing port, long the world's leading sardine port, and one of the country's main beach resorts.
CHAPTER III
1505
Portuguese merchants build the fort of Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué.
1541
The Saadians take the fort back; the kasbah of Agadir Oufella is built on the hill.
1960
The earthquake of 29 February destroys the city; a new Agadir is built further south.
CHAPTER IV
1
The restored walls of the Saadian kasbah crown the hill at 236 m. At sunset the whole bay lights up; on the hillside, the words “God, the Nation, the King” can be read from the beach. A cable car now runs up to it.
2
A huge walled market with thousands of stalls: Souss fruit, spices, argan oil, pottery and babouches. Calmer than the souks of Marrakech, and the prices are the ones locals pay.
3
Nearly ten kilometres of golden sand, a pedestrian promenade and more than 300 days of sun a year. To the north, the fishing port, one of the world's great sardine ports, comes alive at dawn.
4
Silver jewellery, rugs, chests and manuscripts from the Souss and the Anti-Atlas: the best introduction to the region's culture before heading to Taroudant or Tafraoute.
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
Agadir is the big city of the Souss Chleuhs, who speak Tashelhit. Their music, that of the rways, singing poets backed by the rebab, is celebrated every year at the Timitar festival.
The argan tree grows wild only in south-west Morocco. Around Agadir, women's cooperatives crack the nuts by hand to extract the oil, for cooking or cosmetics.
Agadir is the heart of the Souss region, home to the Chleuh Berber people. Argan oil production and the associated women's cooperatives are culturally significant — visiting a cooperative is both authentic and supports local women economically. The Thursday Souk el Had is one of Morocco's largest weekly markets. Amazigh music (Rways tradition) is performed at festivals.
CHAPTER VII
Agadir is the capital of the Souss, Morocco's largest Amazigh-speaking region. Soussis are known as hard-working traders: they run grocery shops all over the country. Since the 1960 earthquake the rebuilt city has also drawn Moroccans from everywhere.
Tashelhit, the Amazigh language of the Souss and Anti-Atlas, is everywhere: in the souks, in rways songs and on the radio. An "azul" (hello) always brings a smile.
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
Allow 2–6 days to see Agadir without rushing. That is the length we use in our itineraries.
The best months for Agadir are October, November, December, March and April.
Per person per day, accommodation included: about $50 on a budget, $120 mid-range and $350 for a luxury stay.
Al Massira Airport (AGA) with direct European charter and scheduled flights. CTM buses from Marrakech (4h), Casablanca (8h). No train connection.
The must-sees of Agadir: Agadir Beach, Old Kasbah (Oufella), Souk el Had and Argan oil cooperative.
To taste in Agadir: Amlou, Khobz, Moroccan mint tea and Oranges with cinnamon.
The best areas to stay: Beachfront, Talborjt and Marina.
Yes, Agadir welcomes many travellers every year. The precautions are those of any tourist destination: watch your belongings in crowds, politely turn down unofficial guides, agree on a taxi fare before getting in.
Yes, Agadir is easy to visit with children.
To go further and check what we write.
