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Safi, Morocco
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Safi, Morocco
Safi (Arabic: آسفي, romanized: ʾāsafī) is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of Asfi Province. It recorded a population of 308,508 in the 2014 Moroccan census. The city was occupied by the Portuguese Empire from 1488 to 1541, was the center of Morocco's weaving industry, and became a fortaleza of the Portuguese Crown in 1508. Safi is the main fishing port for the country's sardine industry, and also exports phosphates, textiles and ceramics. During the Second World War, Safi was the site of Operation Blackstone, one of the landing sites for Operation Torch.
11th-century geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi gave an explanation to the origin the name "Asafi" as he linked it to the Arabic word "Asaf" (regret); Asafi (my regret). He based this claim on a strange story about some sailors from al-Andalus who sailed to discover the other end of the Atlantic Ocean but got lost and landed on some island where the natives captured them and sent them back on their ships blindfolded. The ships eventually ended on the shores of "Safi" and locals helped the lost sailors and told them that they were two months away from their native land al-Andalus. Upon hearing this one of the sailors responded by saying: "Wa asafi" (Oh my regret). Al-Idrisi wrote that from that time the city carried the name "Asafi".
According to historians Henri Basset and Robert Ricard, Safi was not a very ancient city. It was mentioned in the writings of al-Bakri in the 11th century and of al-Idrisi in the 12th century. According to Moroccan historian Mohammed al-Kanuni, Safi can be identified with the ancient Thymiaterium or Carcunticus that was founded by the Carthaginian admiral Hanno during his Periplus, as related by Pliny the Elder.
Al-Idrisi mentions Safi as a busy port in the 12th century. At this time it served as a port for Marrakesh, the capital of the Almoravids and the subsequent Almohads, replacing the port of Ribat Kuz (present-day Souira Kedima) that had served as the main port for Aghmat in the previous century.
The city was under Portuguese rule from 1488 to 1541; it is believed that they abandoned it to the Saadians (who were at war with them), since the city proved difficult to defend from land attacks. The Sea Castle and Kechla, two Portuguese fortresses built to protect the city, are still there today.
After 1541, the city played a major role in Morocco as one of the safest and biggest seaports in the country. Many ambassadors to the Saadian and Alaouite kings during the 16th–18th centuries came to Morocco via Safi; its proximity to Marrakech, then capital of Morocco, helped expand the maritime trade in the city.
Louis De Chénier, consul of the French court in Morocco in 1767, reported that the city was the only usable seaport at the time.
A French Navy captive, Bidé de Maurville, who wrote the account of his stay in Morocco in his 1765 book Relations de l'affaire de Larache, reported the presence of an important number of foreign trading houses in the city: Dutch, Danish, British and French.
After the Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah built the city of Mogador (modern-day Essaouira), he banned foreign trade in all Moroccan ports except in his newly built city. Consequently, Safi stopped playing a leading role in the Moroccan trade.
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Safi, Morocco
Safi (Arabic: آسفي, romanized: ʾāsafī) is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of Asfi Province. It recorded a population of 308,508 in the 2014 Moroccan census. The city was occupied by the Portuguese Empire from 1488 to 1541, was the center of Morocco's weaving industry, and became a fortaleza of the Portuguese Crown in 1508. Safi is the main fishing port for the country's sardine industry, and also exports phosphates, textiles and ceramics. During the Second World War, Safi was the site of Operation Blackstone, one of the landing sites for Operation Torch.
11th-century geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi gave an explanation to the origin the name "Asafi" as he linked it to the Arabic word "Asaf" (regret); Asafi (my regret). He based this claim on a strange story about some sailors from al-Andalus who sailed to discover the other end of the Atlantic Ocean but got lost and landed on some island where the natives captured them and sent them back on their ships blindfolded. The ships eventually ended on the shores of "Safi" and locals helped the lost sailors and told them that they were two months away from their native land al-Andalus. Upon hearing this one of the sailors responded by saying: "Wa asafi" (Oh my regret). Al-Idrisi wrote that from that time the city carried the name "Asafi".
According to historians Henri Basset and Robert Ricard, Safi was not a very ancient city. It was mentioned in the writings of al-Bakri in the 11th century and of al-Idrisi in the 12th century. According to Moroccan historian Mohammed al-Kanuni, Safi can be identified with the ancient Thymiaterium or Carcunticus that was founded by the Carthaginian admiral Hanno during his Periplus, as related by Pliny the Elder.
Al-Idrisi mentions Safi as a busy port in the 12th century. At this time it served as a port for Marrakesh, the capital of the Almoravids and the subsequent Almohads, replacing the port of Ribat Kuz (present-day Souira Kedima) that had served as the main port for Aghmat in the previous century.
The city was under Portuguese rule from 1488 to 1541; it is believed that they abandoned it to the Saadians (who were at war with them), since the city proved difficult to defend from land attacks. The Sea Castle and Kechla, two Portuguese fortresses built to protect the city, are still there today.
After 1541, the city played a major role in Morocco as one of the safest and biggest seaports in the country. Many ambassadors to the Saadian and Alaouite kings during the 16th–18th centuries came to Morocco via Safi; its proximity to Marrakech, then capital of Morocco, helped expand the maritime trade in the city.
Louis De Chénier, consul of the French court in Morocco in 1767, reported that the city was the only usable seaport at the time.
A French Navy captive, Bidé de Maurville, who wrote the account of his stay in Morocco in his 1765 book Relations de l'affaire de Larache, reported the presence of an important number of foreign trading houses in the city: Dutch, Danish, British and French.
After the Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah built the city of Mogador (modern-day Essaouira), he banned foreign trade in all Moroccan ports except in his newly built city. Consequently, Safi stopped playing a leading role in the Moroccan trade.
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