Safi, Morocco

Safi ⴰⵙⴼⵉ / أسفي Asfi
View on the port and the coastline of Safi
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Asfi
Safi Location in Morocco
Coordinates: 32°17′N 9°14′W / 32.283°N 9.233°W / 32.283; -9.233
Country	Morocco
Region	Doukkala-Abda
Population (2004)
• Total	282,227

Safi (Berber: ⴰⵙⴼⵉ, Asfi, Arabic: آسفي‎, Portuguese: Safim) is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of the Doukkala-Abda Region, it has a population of 282,227 (2004 census),^[1] but is also the centre of an agglomeration which has an estimated 793,000 inhabitants (1987). The city was under protectorate by the Portuguese Empire from 1488 to 1541, while the fortress built to protect the city, under Portuguese rule is still there today. 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 one of the landing sites for Operation Torch.

Etymology

The city's name as it is locally pronounced is "Asfi", which was Latinized as "Safi" and "Safim" under Portuguese rule. "Asfi" means flood or river estuary in Berber and comes from the Berber root "sfi/sfey" which means to flood, to spill or to pour.

11th-century geographer Al-Idrisi gave an apparently false explanation to the origin the name "Asfi" 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 "Asfi" 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". This story is thought to be a legend and unlikely explanation of the origin of the name.^[2]

Climate

History

Safi, under the name Safim (Zaffim or Asfi), is one of the oldest cities in Morocco, hence its foundation date is unknown. According to historian Mohammed al-Kanuni, Safi must be identified with the ancient Thymiaterion or Carcunticus and was founded by the Carthaginian Hanno during his Periplus as related by Pliny the Elder.^[4]

Under the Almohads it functioned as an important port to the capital Marrakesh.

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 Portuguese fortress built to protect the city is 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 Asfi; 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, 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.

Safi's patron saint is Abu Mohammed Salih. What makes the city most notable is the strict adherence to a belief in Ahl al-Bayt which constitutes the majority of the city’s population. The introduction of these beliefs came about as a result of the influx of traders particularly from the Islamic Republic of Iran in the late 1980s and early 1990s mostly in the industry of technological innovation and specifically the areas of religious outreach.

Attractions

The central medina is a traditional Moroccan market. It is closely affiliated with pottery, and throughout the market vases, plates and other items are all made from clay and are popular with tourists. Safi has a beach, although it is recommended to travel north along the coastal road (Sidi Bouzid) towards Oualidia, where stretches of beaches run all the way along the route (Lalla Fatna, Beddouza, Iyir)

Sport

Football and rugby are popular sports in Safi. The local football team Olympic Safi have been competing in Morocco's premier football division, Botola, since 2004.
The Rugby Union team of the same name is one of Morocco's best, having won the "Coupe du Trône" several times.

Notable people from Safi

• Abderrahim Goumri: Moroccan long-distance runner
• Abraham Ben Zmirro: 15th century rabbi
• Abu Mohammed Salih: 12th century Sufi leader
• Aharon Nahmias: Israeli politician
• Ahmed Ghayby: Member of the Moroccan football federation and president of Olympic Safi
• Brahim Boulami & Khalid Boulami: Moroccan Athletes
• Driss Benhima: Current CEO of Royal Air Maroc and president of Hawd Assafi, Safi-based non-profit organization
• Edmond Amran El Maleh: Famous Moroccan writer
• Michel Galabru: French Actor
• Mohammed Bajeddoub: Famous Moroccan Andalusian Music singer
• Mohamed Benhima: Former Prime Minister of Morocco, Minister of Education and Minister of the Interior.
• Mohamed Mjid: former longtime president of the Royal Moroccan Tennis Federation
• Samy Elmaghribi: Moroccan Musician
• Uri Sebag: Israeli politician
• AZIZ HRAIBA: ingenieur mecanique
• Noussaiba Bounabri: Fille de AZIZ HRAIBA

See also

• People from Safi, Morocco

Gallery

References

External links

• Entry in Lexicorient

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Safi.

Coordinates: 32°17′N 9°14′W / 32.283°N 9.233°W / 32.283; -9.233

v t e Doukkala-Abda region Capital: Asfi Provinces El Jadida Province Safi Province Cities Jdida Sidi Bennour Azemour Bir Jdid Zmamra Ouled Frej Karia Moulay Abdallah Oualidia Laaounate Sidi Smaïl Oulad Ghadbane Sidi Ali Ben Hamdouche Sebt Lamaarif Oulad Amrane Sidi Bouzid Asfi Youssoufia Echemaia Jmaat Shaim Sebt Gzoula Sidi Ahmed Laakarta Bouguedra Ighoud Ahrara

v t e Prefectures and provinces of Morocco Prefectures Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane Casablanca Fahs-Anjra Fès-Dar-Dbibegh Inezgane-Aït Melloul Marrakesh Meknès Mohammedia Oujda-Angad Rabat Safi Salé Skhirat-Témara Tangier-Assilah Provinces Al Haouz Al Hoceïma Aousserd Assa-Zag Azilal Ben Slimane Béni-Mellal Berkane Boujdour Boulemane Chefchaouen Chichaoua Chtouka Aït Baha El Hajeb El Jadida El Kelaa des Sraghna Errachidia Es Semara Essaouira Figuig Guelmim Ifrane Jerada Kénitra Khémisset Khénifra Khouribg Laâyoune Larache Médiouna Midelt Moulay Yacoub Nador Nouaceur Ouarzazate Oued Ed-Dahab Safi Sefrou Settat Sidi Kacem Tan-Tan Taounate Taourirt Taroudant Tarfaya Tata Taza Tétouan Tiznit Zagora

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