Down the Coast of Morocco
West coast of Morocco
December 28th, 2020
After yesterday’s virtual tour of Tangier, today we’ve hired a driver and we’re on our way down the N1 coastal highway of western Morocco. The Atlantic is bright and blue today, and an empty beach stretches the entire length of the drive to our day-trip destination.
After 45 minutes, we arrive at Asilah — a town that has been controlled by many over the past 3,500 years including Phoenicians, Romans, Portuguese, Spanish and French. The town’s fortified walls were built by the Portuguese in the late 1400s. They make a grand impression but the heart of Asilah feels much more relaxed. Tomorrow, we’ll take a walk around.
Until then,
Kelly
Post of the Day: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic together. This series features travel photos from my archives, shared with you while staying close to home.
Asilah, Morocco
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So far it sounds like Essaouira a bit further south on the coast. Tomorrow I will be curious to see what is beyond these walls.
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Yes, perhaps a smaller version. I haven’t been to Essaouira but have heard great things!
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Now that I can see the inside, it actually looks smaller and in better condition.
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There’s quite a bit beyond the walled part of Asilah but we didn’t explore that. As you say, the inside is in very good keep and feels European in some ways.
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That’s a lot of history in those towns, having seen and being controlled by so many nationalities. It was remarkable indeed when we recently started working on a project in Morocco and realised the widespread use of French language in Morocco!
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Yes!! Another reason I love going there — I can speak my limited French. It’s a wonderful mix of languages and cultures. Hope your project is going well?
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The Portuguese were great at making those walls. Have you ever visited Fort Jesus in Mombassa? –Curt
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No, but I just googled it and it looks quite strong and intimidating! 🙂 I haven’t been to Mombasa but we’ve been talking about Kilimanjaro recently so if we head that direction I’ll put Fort Jesus on the list!! Thanks for the tip!
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I drove up the side of Kilimanjaro, but didn’t climb to the top. I was in the midst of a month tour of the big Game parks in a VW bug. 🙂 If Mombasa is still the same, It also has a very impressive community of wood carvers there. Beautiful work. The Portuguese were interested in protecting their routes to the spice wealth of Asia. Thus the sturdiness of Ft. Jesus! –Curt
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Awesome story, as usual, Curt! Ft. Jesus looks like it was built for something far bigger and more dangerous than… spices! Incredible what value they had.
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Worth fighting wars over…
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We, too, hired a driver in Morocco — smart move, for us at least. We loved looking rather than paying attention to signs we couldn’t read! And once we were stopped by police who were trying to extort money from our driver by saying he was speeding when he wasn’t! Agghh! Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
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Yes, smart move! So helpful to enjoying the scenery rather than getting lost and fighting about it, LOL! Happy New Year to you too! We’re almost done with 2020!
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