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Asilah أصيلة
Municipality
Clockwise from top: seaside walls and cemetery of the medina; street inside the medina; Grand Mosque; seaside view of the city; coastline near the city; a roundabout in the modern town.
AsilahLocation in MoroccoShow map of MoroccoAsilahAsilah (Africa)Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 35°28′N 6°2′W / 35.467°N 6.033°W / 35.467; -6.033
Country	Morocco
Region	Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima
Population
• Total	31,147

Asilah (Arabic: أصيلة, romanized: aṣīlah) 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

The town's history dates back to 1500 B.C., when Phoenicians occupied a site called Silis, Zili, Zilis, or Zilil (Punic: 𐤀𐤔𐤋𐤉𐤕, ʾŠLYT, or Punic: 𐤔𐤋𐤉, ŠLY) 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, 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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

Asilah is now a popular seaside resort, with modern holiday apartment complexes on the coast road leading to the town from Tangier. The old neighborhoods are restored and painted white, and the wealthy from Casablanca have their weekend getaways here.

Culture

While tourism dominates, Asilah has been said to offer a good introduction to the culture of Morocco. The International Cultural Festival called Moussem and held in August, features jazz and Moroccan music as well as art exhibitions. It was co-founded by the artist Mohamed Melehi from the Casablanca Art School and politician Mohamed Benaissa. The festival is also the occasion for workshops for international artists, including mural paintings, as the medina's houses are painted with new murals every year.

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).

Due to its proximity to Spain, the cuisine in Asilah is described as Ibero-Moroccan with notable foods including paella, anchovies, and other seafood with both Moroccan and Valencian influences.

Notable landmarks

The medina

The old walled town (medina) of Asilah is well-preserved and dates mostly from the Portuguese occupation (15th–16th centuries) and afterwards. 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. Though the Portuguese rebuilt its outline of walls, it has the typical maze-like layout and alleys of an old Moroccan city.

• 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

The walls of Asilah were first built by the Almohads and then restored and reinforced by the Marinids and the Wattasids. 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. The current walls thus date almost entirely from the Portuguese occupation, with the possible exception of some parts of the seaside walls. 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. 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.

• 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

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. 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). Like other Moroccan mosques, it is open to Muslims only.

• Grand Mosque and minaret.
• Entrance of the Grand Mosque.

Raisuli Palace

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. He rose to notoriety and wealth partly through kidnappings and ransoms, including of several Westerners who wrote about him afterwards. The palace has been restored and reveals some of the luxury in which Raisuli lived. It includes a lavish reception room with zellij tilework, carved stucco, and painted wood like in other Moroccan palaces. The reception room also gives access to a large loggia and terrace overlooking the sea. Raisuli infamously claimed that he executed convicted murderers by forcing them to jump from this terrace onto the sea rocks below.

Sidi Mansour cemetery

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. 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. Between these structures, the ground is covered with other graves which are covered in colourful ceramic tiles.

• View of the cemetery's platform on the shore.
• View of the graves.

Church of San Bartolome

Located in the new city outside the medina, this Roman Catholic Church was built by Spanish Franciscans in 1925. 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.

• Church exterior.
• Church interior.

Kahal Synagogue

Kahal Synagogue built in 1824 and dilapidated for years, it was restored and reopened in 2022 along with the Mikveh and hammam

Notable people

• 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

Citations

1. "Population Légale des Régions, Provinces, Préfectures, Municipalités, Arrondissements et Communes du Royaume Après les Résultats du RGPH 2014". Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat 2014. Haut-Commissariat au Plan du Maroc. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
2. Head & al. (1911), p. 890.
3. Maldonado López (2013), p. 78.
4. Searight, Susan (1999). Maverick Guide to Morocco. Gretna: Pelican. p. 137. ISBN 9781455608645. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
5. ^ Honnor, Julius (2012). Morocco Footprint Handbook. Footprint Travel Guides. ISBN 9781907263316. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
6. 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.
7. Paula Hardy; Mara Vorhees; Heidi Edsall (2005). Morocco. Lonely Planet. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-1-74059-678-7.
8. "'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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. ^ "The murals of Asilah". Euronews.com. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
12. ^ Longo, Gianluca (14 November 2014). "The Small Moroccan City That Has Become a Haven for Art Insiders". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
13. ^ Lonely Planet: Morocco (12th ed.). Lonely Planet. 2017.
14. ^ The Rough Guide to Morocco. London: Rough Guides. 2016. ISBN 9780241236680.
15. ^ Touri, Abdelaziz; Benaboud, Mhammad; Boujibar El-Khatib, Naïma; Lakhdar, Kamal; Mezzine, Mohamed (2010). Le Maroc andalou : à la découverte d'un art de vivre (2 ed.). Ministère des Affaires Culturelles du Royaume du Maroc & Museum With No Frontiers. ISBN 978-3902782311.
16. "Borj al-Kamra". Archnet. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
17. "Zaouia de Sidi Ahmed Ben Moussa". Archnet. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
18. "Asilah – Inauguración de la Sinagoga Kahal, la Mikveh, el hammam y la ferrane d-Lihoud". esefarad. Retrieved 25 November 2024.

Bibliography

• Head, Barclay; et al. (1911), "Mauretania", Historia Numorum (2nd ed.), Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 887–890.
• Maldonado López, Gabriel (2013), Las Ciudades Fenicio Púnicas en el Norte de África... (PDF). (in Spanish)

v t e Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region
Capital: Tangier
Prefectures and provinces	Al Hoceima Province Chefchaouen Province Fahs-Anjra Province Larache Province M'diq-Fnideq Prefecture Ouezzane Province Tangier-Assilah Prefecture Tetouan Province
Cities	Al Hoceima Asilah Bab Taza Bni Bouayach Brikcha Chefchawn Fnideq Jebha Imzouren Karia Ba Mohamed Khemis Sahel Ksar El Kbir Ksar es-Seghir Larache Martil M'dyaq Moqrisset Ouad Laou Ouezzane Tangier Targuist Tétouan Zoumi

v t e Portuguese Empire
North Africa 15th century 1415–1640 Ceuta 1458–1550 Alcácer Ceguer (El Qsar es Seghir) 1471–1550 Arzila (Asilah) 1471–1662 Tangier 1485–1550 Mazagan (El Jadida) 1487–16th century Ouadane 1488–1541 Safim (Safi) 1489 Graciosa 16th century 1505–1541 Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué (Agadir) 1506–1525 Mogador (Essaouira) 1506–1525 Aguz (Souira Guedima) 1506–1769 Mazagan (El Jadida) 1513–1541 Azamor (Azemmour) 1515–1541 São João da Mamora (Mehdya) 1577–1589 Arzila (Asilah)
Sub-Saharan Africa 15th century 1455–1633 Arguim 1462–1975 Cape Verde 1470–1975 São Tomé 1471–1975 Príncipe 1474–1778 Annobón 1478–1778 Fernando Poo (Bioko) 1482–1637 Elmina (São Jorge da Mina) 1482–1642 Portuguese Gold Coast 1498–1540 Mascarene Islands 16th century 1500–1630 Malindi 1501–1975 Portuguese Mozambique 1502–1659 Saint Helena 1503–1698 Zanzibar 1505–1512 Quíloa (Kilwa) 1506–1511 Socotra 1508–1547 Madagascar 1557–1578 Accra 1575–1975 Portuguese Angola 1588–1974 Cacheu 1593–1698 Mombassa (Mombasa) 17th century 1645–1888 Ziguinchor 1680–1961 São João Baptista de Ajudá, Benin 1687–1974 Bissau 18th century 1728–1729 Mombassa (Mombasa) 1753–1975 Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 19th century 1879–1974 Portuguese Guinea 1885–1974 Portuguese Congo Part of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1753. Or 1600. A factory (Anosy Region) and small temporary coastal bases. Part of Portuguese Guinea from 1879. Part of Portuguese Angola from the 1920s.
Middle East 16th century 1506–1615 Gamru (Bandar Abbas) 1507–1643 Sohar 1515–1622 Hormuz (Ormus) 1515–1648 Quriyat 1515–? Qalhat 1515–1650 Muscat 1515?–? Barka 1515–1633? Julfar (Ras al-Khaimah) 1521–1602 Bahrain (Muharraq • Manama) 1521–1529? Qatif 1521?–1551? Tarut Island 1550–1551 Qatif 1588–1648 Matrah 17th century 1620–? Khor Fakkan 1621?–? As Sib 1621–1622 Qeshm 1623–? Khasab 1623–? Libedia 1624–? Kalba 1624–? Madha 1624–1648 Dibba Al-Hisn 1624?–? Bandar-e Kong
South Asia 15th century 1498–1545 Laccadive Islands (Lakshadweep) 16th century Portuguese India  • 1500–1663 Cochim (Kochi)  • 1501–1663 Cannanore (Kannur)  • 1502–1658  1659–1661 Quilon (Coulão / Kollam)  • 1502–1661 Pallipuram (Cochin de Cima)  • 1507–1657 Negapatam (Nagapatnam)  • 1510–1961 Goa  • 1512–1525  1750 Calicut (Kozhikode)  • 1518–1619 Portuguese Paliacate outpost (Pulicat)  • 1521–1740 Chaul   (Portuguese India)  • 1523–1662 Mylapore  • 1528–1666 Chittagong (Porto Grande De Bengala)  • 1531–1571 Chaul  • 1531–1571 Chalé  • 1534–1601 Salsette Island  • 1534–1661 Bombay (Mumbai)  • 1535 Ponnani  • 1535–1739 Baçaím (Vasai-Virar)  • 1536–1662 Cranganore (Kodungallur)  • 1540–1612 Surat  • 1548–1658 Tuticorin (Thoothukudi)  • 1559–1961 Daman and Diu  • 1568–1659 Mangalore   (Portuguese India)  • 1579–1632 Hugli  • 1598–1610 Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam) 1518–1521 Maldives 1518–1658 Portuguese Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1558–1573 Maldives 17th century Portuguese India  • 1687–1749 Mylapore 18th century Portuguese India  • 1779–1954 Dadra and Nagar Haveli
East Asia and Oceania 16th century 1511–1641 Portuguese Malacca 1512–1621 Maluku  • 1522–1575  Ternate  • 1576–1605  Ambon  • 1578–1650  Tidore 1512–1665 Makassar 1515–1859 Larantuka 1557–1999 Macau 1580–1586 Nagasaki 17th century 1642–1975 Portuguese Timor (East Timor) 19th century Portuguese Macau  • 1864–1999 Coloane  • 1851–1999 Taipa  • 1890–1999 Ilha Verde 20th century Portuguese Macau  • 1938–1941 Lapa and Montanha (Hengqin) 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 and North Atlantic 15th century 1420 Madeira 1432 Azores 16th century 1500–1579? Terra Nova (Newfoundland) 1500–1579? Labrador 1516–1579? Nova Scotia
South America and Caribbean 16th century 1500–1822 Brazil  • 1534–1549  Captaincy Colonies of Brazil  • 1549–1572  Brazil  • 1572–1578  Bahia  • 1572–1578  Rio de Janeiro  • 1578–1607  Brazil  • 1621–1815  Brazil 1536–1620 Barbados 17th century 1621–1751 Maranhão 1680–1777 Nova Colónia do Sacramento 18th century 1751–1772 Grão-Pará and Maranhão 1772–1775 Grão-Pará and Rio Negro 1772–1775 Maranhão and Piauí 19th century 1808–1822 Cisplatina (Uruguay) 1809–1817 Portuguese Guiana (Amapá) 1822 Upper Peru (Bolivia)
Armorial of Portuguese colonies Evolution of the Portuguese Empire Portuguese colonial architecture Portuguese colonization of the Americas Portuguese Empire in the Indonesian Archipelago Portuguese India Theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia

• Port cities and towns on the Moroccan Atlantic Coast
• Roman sites in Morocco
• Populated places in Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima
• Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC
• 1912 establishments in the Spanish Empire
• 1956 disestablishments in the Spanish Empire