THE BOOK OF
الجديدة
History, places, people, culture and food of El Jadida, told by two Moroccans.
CHAPTER I
For more than two and a half centuries, Mazagan was a Portuguese fortress on the Atlantic. When the Portuguese left in 1769 they even took their town to Brazil. Resettled in the 19th century as El Jadida, “the new one”, its Portuguese city has been on the UNESCO list since 2004.
CHAPTER II
The site has been used as an anchorage since Antiquity. Some authors identify it with the port of Rutubis mentioned by Pliny the Elder, Rousibis in Ptolemy, or even Akra in Hanno's periplus; these are only hypotheses.
The name appears in the Middle Ages: "Mazighan" in the geographer al-Bakri in the 11th century, "Mazighen" in al-Idrisi in the 12th, Mesegan or Mazagem on European sea charts.
In 1502 the Portuguese captain Jorge de Mello, driven by a storm, took refuge in an old tower, al-Burayja. In 1514 the Portuguese built a square four-towered citadel on the site, the work of the architect brothers Diogo and Francisco de Arruda.
After Agadir fell in 1541, King John III abandoned Safi and Azemmour and concentrated his forces here: from 1541-1542 the citadel became a star-shaped fortified town with thick walls, able to house several thousand Portuguese. It held for more than two and a half centuries.
In 1769 Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah besieged the town. Lisbon ordered an evacuation, and an agreement let the Portuguese leave unharmed. But before leaving they mined the bastions: when the Moroccans entered, the explosions destroyed the walls and caused many deaths.
The Portuguese inhabitants were sent to Brazil, where they founded Nova Mazagão, in today's state of Amapá. The Moroccan town, empty and in ruins, was nicknamed al-Mahdouma, "the Ruined".
Sultan Moulay Abderrahmane, proclaimed in 1822, had the town restored and a mosque built; it then took the name El Jadida, "the New". European merchants, mainly English from Gibraltar, settled here, as did many people from the interior.
The town soon spread beyond the old Portuguese city, often called the Mellah because the Jewish community, very present, took part in the revival. In the early 20th century El Jadida, still called Mazagan by Europeans, was one of Morocco's main ports and outgrew neighbouring Azemmour.
Under the French protectorate, from 1912, a new town was built and El Jadida became one of Morocco's first beach resorts, with a casino in the 1930s. Its port declined in the face of Casablanca.
In the 1980s the large Jorf Lasfar industrial and port complex was created about twenty kilometres south. In 2004 the Portuguese City of Mazagan was listed as UNESCO World Heritage, an example of exchange between European and Moroccan cultures.
CHAPTER III
1514
The Portuguese found the fortress of Mazagan.
1769
The Portuguese leave, the last to go from Morocco; the town is later resettled as El Jadida, “the new one”.
2004
The Portuguese City is listed by UNESCO.
CHAPTER IV
1
A vaulted hall of 25 columns where a thin sheet of water reflects the light falling from the ceiling; Orson Welles filmed Othello here.
2
A walkway along the bastions, with the Sea Gate and a view of the port.
3
An hour south, a calm lagoon famous for its oysters.
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
Every autumn El Jadida hosts the big horse show, with tbourida contests from all over the kingdom.
El Jadida has a significant Jewish history — the mellah (Jewish quarter) and the Lazama synagogue remain. The city is a popular summer destination for Casablanca residents — a genuine Moroccan beach town rather than an international resort.
CHAPTER VII
El Jadida is the capital of Doukkala, an Arab farming plain known for its horses, tbourida riders and landowning families. In summer, the town fills with vacationing Casablancans.
Doukkala darija is rural and colourful; the region's sheikhat singers made aita famous.
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
Allow 1–2 days to see El Jadida without rushing. That is the length we use in our itineraries.
The best months for El Jadida are May, June, September and October.
Per person per day, accommodation included: about $30 on a budget, $75 mid-range and $200 for a luxury stay.
CTM buses from Casablanca (1.5h), Marrakech (4h), Essaouira (3h). No train.
The must-sees of El Jadida: Portuguese Cistern, Portuguese City (Cité Portugaise), El Jadida beach and Mazagan citadel walls.
To taste in El Jadida: Khobz, Moroccan mint tea, Oranges with cinnamon and Msemen.
The best areas to stay: Cité Portugaise and Beach quarter.
Yes, El Jadida 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, El Jadida is easy to visit with children.
To go further and check what we write.
