Place in Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco
Asilah
(
Arabic
:
?????
) is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of
Morocco
, about 31 km (19 mi) south of
Tangier
. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact.
History
[
edit
]
The town's history dates back to 1500 B.C., when
Phoenicians
occupied a site called
Silis
,
Zili
,
Zilis
, or
Zilil
(
Punic
:
??????????
,
??LYT
,
or
Punic
:
??????
,
?LY
)
which is being excavated at Dchar Jdid, some 12 km (7.5 mi) NE of present Asilah; that place was once considered to be the Roman stronghold Ad Mercuri, but is now accepted to be
Zilil
. The town of Asilah itself was originally constructed by the
Idrisid dynasty
,
[4]
and Umayyad caliph
Al-Hakam II
rebuilt the town in 966.
The
Portuguese
conquered the city in 1471
and built its fortifications, but it was abandoned because of an economic debt crisis in 1549.
[6]
In 1578,
Sebastian of Portugal
used Asilah as a base for his troops during a planned crusade that resulted in Sebastian's death, which in turn caused the
Portuguese succession crisis of 1580
. The Portuguese kept hold of the town but in 1589 the Moroccans briefly regained control of Asilah, but then lost it to the Spanish.
[7]
In 1692, the town was again taken by the Moroccans under the leadership of
Moulay Ismail
. Asilah served then as a base for
pirates
in the 19th and 20th centuries, and in 1829, the Austrians punitively bombarded the city due to Moroccan piracy.
[8]
From 1912 to 1956, it was part of
Spanish Morocco
. A major plan to restore the town was undertaken in 1978 by its mayor,
Mohamed Benaissa
. Benaissa and painter
Mohamed Melehi
were instrumental in organizing an art festival, the
International Cultural Moussem of Asilah
, that starting in 1978 began generating tourism income. It is credited with having promoted urban renewal in Asilah, and is one of the most important art festivals in the country.
[9]
It played a role in raising the average monthly income from $50 in 1978 to $140 in 2014. The festival features local artwork and music and continues to attract large numbers of tourists.
[10]
Asilah is now a popular seaside resort, with modern holiday apartment complexes on the coast road leading to the town from
Tangier
.
[11]
The old neighborhoods are restored and painted white, and the wealthy from
Casablanca
have their weekend getaways here.
Culture
[
edit
]
While tourism dominates, Asilah is said to offer a good introduction to Morocco.
It hosts annual music and arts festivals, including a
mural
-painting festival. Thursday is market day.
[12]
The International Cultural Festival, held in August, features jazz and Moroccan music as well as art exhibitions.
The festival is also the occasion for
mural
painting in which the medina's houses are painted with new murals every year.
[11]
[13]
[14]
Many of the houses of Asilah feature
mashrabiya
(
oriel windows
). The main cultural center is the Centre Hassan II des Rencontres Internationales (housed in a former Spanish barracks
[14]
), which hosts festivals in the summer.
[12]
Due to its proximity to Spain, the cuisine in Asilah is described as
Ibero
-Moroccan with notable delicacies including
paella
,
anchovies
, and other seafood with both Moroccan and
Valencian
flavor influences.
[15]
Notable landmarks
[
edit
]
The medina
[
edit
]
The old walled town (
medina
) of Asilah is well-preserved and dates mostly from the
Portuguese
occupation (15th-16th century) and afterwards.
[16]
The medina has been heavily restored and its buildings are typically painted white, with occasionally blue or green, in addition to which can be found many of the murals created during the International Cultural Festival.
[13]
Though the Portuguese rebuilt its outline of walls, it has the typical maze-like layout and alleys of an old Moroccan city.
[16]
-
View of the medina from the sea pier.
-
Street in the medina.
-
Street and marabout's tomb in the medina.
-
Promenade/street along the sea walls.
-
Mural in Asilah.
-
Wall art in Asilah.
-
Mural featuring
Arabic calligraphy
.
-
Mural in Asilah
-
Alleys of the city of Asilah
Walls and towers
[
edit
]
The walls of Asilah were first built by the
Almohads
and then restored and reinforced by the
Marinids
and the
Wattasids
.
[16]
However, after the Portuguese took the city in 1471 they rebuilt the walls, making them more resistant to
artillery
, and modified the outline of the city, shrinking its perimeter for easier control.
[16]
The current walls thus date almost entirely from the Portuguese occupation, with the possible exception of some parts of the seaside walls.
[16]
There are two main gates in the walls,
Bab Homar
, in the mid-southern part of the walls, and
Bab al-Qasaba
, at the eastern end of the walls where the
kasbah
was once located.
[13]
A rectangular tower in distinct Portuguese style, known as
Borj al-Hamra
("Red Tower") or the Al-Qamra Tower, stands near the kasbah and overlooks an open square.
[14]
[17]
[16]
-
Seaside walls.
-
Sea bastion at western end of the medina.
-
Bab Homar gate.
-
Portuguese
coat of arms
still visible above Bab Homar gateway.
-
Bab al-Qasaba (Gate of the Kasbah).
-
Borj al-Hamra or Al-Qamra Tower, overlooking city square.
-
Borj al-Hamra or Al-Qamra Tower.
Grand Mosque of Asilah
[
edit
]
The Grand Mosque of Asilah is located inside the former kasbah (citadel), at the eastern end of the medina. It was built under
Moulay Ismail
soon after the city was retaken for Morocco at the end of the 17th century. Moulay Ismail charged the new governor of Tangier, Ali ibn Abdallah Errifi, with building the mosque; however, it's possible that it was his son, Ahmed Errifi, who actually carried out the construction.
[16]
It has an octagonal
minaret
, a feature common to some parts of northern Morocco but not in the rest of the country. With its
whitewashed
walls and minaret, its decoration is quite plain compared to other mosques built by the Errifis at the same time (such as the
Kasbah Mosque
in Tangier).
[16]
Like other Moroccan mosques, it is open to Muslims only.
Raisuli Palace
[
edit
]
This restored palace is in the mid-northern part of the medina, alongside the sea walls. It was built in 1909 by
Moulay Ahmed er-Raisuni
(also known as Raisuli), a local rogue and pirate who rose to power and declared himself
pasha
of the region.
[16]
He rose to notoriety and wealth partly through kidnappings and ransoms, including of several Westerners who wrote about him afterwards.
[14]
[13]
The palace has been restored and reveals some of the luxury in which Raisuli lived.
[13]
It includes a lavish reception room with
zellij
tilework, carved
stucco
, and painted wood like in other Moroccan palaces.
[16]
The reception room also gives access to a large
loggia
and terrace overlooking the sea.
[16]
Raisuli infamously claimed that he executed convicted murderers by forcing them to jump from this terrace onto the sea rocks below.
[14]
[13]
Sidi Mansour cemetery
[
edit
]
At the far western end of the medina is a Portuguese
bastion
extending out to sea, which is a popular spot for locals and tourists at sunset.
[13]
In the angle between the bastion and the sea walls is a platform upon which is a small enclosed cemetery. It includes two small structures, the domed
Marabout
(mausoleum) of Sidi Ahmed ibn Moussa (also known as Sidi Ahmed el-Mansour and Sidi Mansour) and, across from it, the mausoleum of his sister, Lalla Mennana.
[16]
[18]
[13]
Between these structures, the ground is covered with other graves which are covered in colourful
ceramic
tiles.
[16]
Church of San Bartolome
[
edit
]
Located in the new city outside the medina, this Roman Catholic Church was built by
Spanish
Franciscans
in 1925.
[14]
[13]
It is still used as a convent today and is one of the few churches in Morocco allowed to ring in public for Sunday mass. Its architecture is a mix of Spanish Colonial and Moorish styles.
[13]
[14]
-
Church exterior.
-
Church interior.
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Mouhamed El Bouanani (b. 1929), poet
- Ahmed Abdessalam Bakkali (1932?2010), diplomat, writer and translator
- Mehdi Akhrif (b. 1948), writer and translator
- Nora Skalli (b. 1974), actress
References
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Asilah
.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Asilah
.
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"Population Legale des Regions, Provinces, Prefectures, Municipalites, Arrondissements et Communes du Royaume Apres les Resultats du RGPH 2014"
.
Recensement General de la Population et de l'Habitat 2014
. Haut-Commissariat au Plan du Maroc
. Retrieved
5 October
2016
.
- ^
Searight, Susan (1999).
Maverick Guide to Morocco
. Gretna: Pelican. p.
137
.
ISBN
9781455608645
. Retrieved
14 June
2017
.
- ^
Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues; Tessaleno C. Devezas (1 December 2007).
Pioneers of Globalization: Why the Portuguese Surprised the World
. Centro Atlantico. p. 117.
ISBN
978-989-615-056-3
.
- ^
Paula Hardy; Mara Vorhees; Heidi Edsall (2005).
Morocco
. Lonely Planet. pp.
121
?122.
ISBN
978-1-74059-678-7
.
- ^
"
'Abd ar-Rasham"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. I: A-Ak - Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2010. pp.
17
.
ISBN
978-1-59339-837-8
.
- ^
Pieprzak, Katarzyna (2008). "Art in the Streets: Modern Art, Museum Practice and the Urban Environment in Contemporary Morocco".
Middle East Studies Association Bulletin
.
42
(1/2): 48?54.
doi
:
10.1017/S0026318400051518
.
JSTOR
23063542
.
S2CID
193750448
.
- ^
Emma Katz (2014). "Art and the Economy in Amman".
Journal of Georgetown University-Qatar Middle Eastern Studies Student Association
. Globalization and the Middle East: Youth, Media & Resources, 7 (2014): 7.
doi
:
10.5339/messa.2014.7
.
- ^
a
b
"The murals of Asilah"
. Euronews.com
. Retrieved
19 July
2012
.
- ^
a
b
DK Publishing (29 November 2010).
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Morocco
. DK Publishing. p.
91
.
ISBN
978-0-7566-8665-9
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Lonely Planet: Morocco
(12th ed.). Lonely Planet. 2017.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
The Rough Guide to Morocco
. London: Rough Guides. 2016.
ISBN
9780241236680
.
- ^
Longo, Gianluca (14 November 2014).
"The Small Moroccan City That Has Become a Haven for Art Insiders"
.
Conde Nast Traveler
. Retrieved
24 February
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
Touri, Abdelaziz; Benaboud, Mhammad; Boujibar El-Khatib, Naima; Lakhdar, Kamal; Mezzine, Mohamed (2010).
Le Maroc andalou : a la decouverte d'un art de vivre
(2 ed.). Ministere des Affaires Culturelles du Royaume du Maroc & Museum With No Frontiers.
ISBN
978-3902782311
.
- ^
"Borj al-Kamra"
.
Archnet
. Retrieved
14 January
2020
.
- ^
"Zaouia de Sidi Ahmed Ben Moussa"
.
Archnet
. Retrieved
14 January
2020
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Prefectures
and provinces
| | |
---|
Cities
| |
---|
|
---|
North Africa
|
---|
15th century
|
16th century
| |
| |
Sub-Saharan Africa
|
---|
15th century
|
16th century
|
17th century
18th century
19th century
|
|
|
Middle East [Persian Gulf]
|
---|
16th century
|
17th century
| |
|
South Asia
|
---|
15th century
16th century
Portuguese India
|
|
17th century
Portuguese India
18th century
Portuguese India
| |
|
East Asia and Oceania
|
---|
16th century
17th century
|
19th century
Portuguese Macau
20th century
Portuguese Macau
|
- 1
1975 is the year of East Timor's Declaration of Independence and subsequent
invasion by Indonesia
. In 2002, East Timor's independence was fully recognized.
|
|
North America & North Atlantic
|
---|
15th century
[Atlantic islands]
|
16th century
[Canada]
|
| |
|
South America & Caribbean
|
---|
16th century
|
17th century
18th century
|
19th century
| |
|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|