Safi — All about Safi

A medieval Atlantic port

Historians disagree on Safi's age. Some, like the Moroccan historian Mohammed al-Kanuni, identify it with Thymiaterium, a trading post founded by the Carthaginian navigator Hanno; others, such as Henri Basset and Robert Ricard, think it more recent. It is in any case mentioned by al-Bakri in the 11th century and by al-Idrisi in the 12th, who describes it as a busy port.

The region then belonged to the Barghawata confederation, which long resisted before being subdued by the Almoravids and wiped out by the Almohads around 1149. Safi became the port of Marrakech, capital of both dynasties, replacing Ribat Kuz, today's Souira Kedima.

Abu Muhammad Salih, saint of the pilgrims

In the 13th century the Sufi Abu Muhammad Salih lived in Safi; he is now the city's patron saint. He organised Moroccan pilgrims' overland journey to Mecca, setting up waystations along the route to receive them. His tomb remains an important place of visitation.

The Portuguese (1488-1541)

Safi came under Portuguese influence in 1488, and the Portuguese occupied it militarily from 1508. They built the Ksar el-Bahr, the "sea castle", and the Kechla fortress, and began a cathedral that was never finished.

Under pressure from the Saadian sharifs and lacking money and men to defend their strongholds, King John III decided in 1541 to abandon Safi and Azemmour. The Portuguese fortifications still stand today.

The ambassadors' port (1541-1765)

After the Portuguese left, Safi remained one of Morocco's safest ports and Marrakech's gateway to the sea: European ambassadors and merchants landed here. The diplomat Louis de Chénier, who lived here in 1767, described a roadstead where ships anchored safely except in winter southerly winds. In the mid-18th century the English and Dutch did most of the trade, and the monopoly of Safi's trade was granted to the Danes in 1751.

Everything changed with the founding of Mogador, today's Essaouira, in 1765: Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah concentrated trade there and required Safi's European consuls to move. Safi then lost its standing as a major port.

Sardines, phosphates and Operation Torch

In the 20th century Safi became one of the world's leading sardine ports, with its canneries. On 8 November 1942, during Operation Torch, American troops landed here because its port could take tank-carrying ships; the French garrison surrendered that same afternoon.

In 1965 the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) opened a large chemical complex here, processing phosphate from Benguerir into phosphoric acid and fertiliser. Safi also remains the capital of Moroccan ceramics, with its potters' hill.

Surfing

The Safi wave, a long powerful right, draws top surfers when the winter swell arrives.

The Asfis

Safi is a town of potters, fishermen and phosphate workers. Its people, from the Arab Abda tribe and nearby countryside, are known as direct, warm and proud of their craft.

Aita, the song of the plain

The Abda region is one of the cradles of aita, a rural song carried by the sheikhat singers. The darija is that of the Atlantic plains, rough and colourful.