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Agadir and the deep South
 Originally known as Santa
Cruz de Cap de Guè, Agadir took its actual name in
1541 when Sultan Mohamed ech Cheick conquered it back from
the Portuguese. The sole trace left of the old city is the
ancient Kasbah on the summit of Cap Ghir hill, which was
built in 1540 to siege the Portuguese fort and then used
for defence purposes. All that is left is the surrounding
walls and the monumental entrance In 1760 the port of Agadir
was closed down in favour of that of Essouira. This marked
the beginning of a long era of depression. In
1911 Agadir suddenly was known to the world again because
of the "Agadir Incident" which ended in the transfer
of Congo from France to Germany. In
the 1930 's it became an important stop of the "Aeropostale"
which sailed across the Atlantic and started coming to life
again. Agadir
was then almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 1960
and was rebuilt 3 kilometres to the South of the original
site, where it turned into an international tourist resort.
Its port is now very active again as the first fishing port
in the country and a fish auction takes place there every
afternoon.
The city
Built 3 kilometres South of the Kasbah because of the danger
of earthquakes, Agadir is now a city with large boulevards
connecting the different sections, intersected with beautiful
gardens and parks. Its tourist capacity is still growing
since new hotels are being built along the white, sandy
beach bordered with eucalyptus, thyme and tamarind trees
and protected from the waves of the ocean by Ghir Cape.
The road from
Agadir to Tan-Tan via Tiznit
 This is a 400 kilometres
trip, which will take you along the coast all the way to
the desert. As soon as you get out of Agadir you find yourself
in "real" Morocco. You will drive to the mouth
of the Massa River where you will find the "Sous-Massa"
National Park".
A green jewel in the desert, surrounded by beds of reeds and
sand banks: the ideal refuge for migrating birds. In the
Parkyou can also find wild boars, mongooses, pink flamingos,
fisher hawks and the very rare solitary Ibis..
Tiznit
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Continuing south, you will come to Tiznit that was
built in 1882 and enjoyed a very fast development
thanks to the commercial exchanges with Europe. Tiznit
was the starting point of Imperial route No 1.
The city centre
Tiznit is a walled city. Its walls measure 6 kilometres
and are made of pink stone.The heart of the city is
the mèchouar: a polygonal square devoted to
commerce.Next to it you will find the jewellery souk
with beautiful silver ware made by the Berber tribes.
Tiznit's artisans are famous for their precious work
on the scabbards of daggers and sabres. To the North
of the mèchouar there is the Great Mosque,
which is certainly worth a visit.
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Sidi Ifni
Your next stop will be Sidi Ifni. It used to be an
antique Spanish fortress that was then taken by the
Moroccans.
Today it looks like a 1930s Spanish colonial village
that sits on a plateau 50 metres above the Atlantic.
Beautiful natural caves carved out by the sea back
the local "beach of the archways". In fact
all the beaches around Sidi Ifni are not very well
known, but very clean and often completely empty of
people.
The "Beach of the Archways" at the North
of Sidi Ifni
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Goulimmie
After Sidi Ifni you will come to Goulimmie. It is known
as "the city of the blue men" because it is frequented
mostly by nomadic camel traders who traditionally wear blue
attires. Goulimmie is an important stop for the trading
caravans from Niger, Mali and Senegal. Every week Goulimmie
hosts a camel market.
Tan Tan
Finally you will arrive in Tan-Tan. Before driving towards
Tan-Tan you must obtain a permit from the authorities.
The road winds amongst great rocky planes and sandy dunes
all the way to this little town that is becoming famous
as a resort because of its peace and quiet.
The road from Agadir to Tiznit via Tarouddant
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Tarouddant |
Tarouddant
This inland road winds across the south part of Morocco
through palm tree groves and great granite rock slides.
It is one of the most interesting and least frequented
regions of Morocco.
If you continue south along the same route you
get to Tafraoute that was built at an altitude
of 1,000 metres in a natural pink stone concave valley
surrounded by palm and olive groves. It is the capital
city of the Berber tribe known as "Chleuch",
who are famous for their commercial acumen.
If you happen to be there at the end of the winter you
will witness the fantastic flowering of the almond trees
and the homonymous festival.
Past Ait Baha the road starts climbing the sides of the
Anti Atlantis and crosses the region of Ilallen, famous
for its agadirs (which in the local berber language means
"fortified village"). You can visit the one
called Tiollit.
| One of
the 27 villages of the Ait Monsour oasis |
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