Dakhla (Berber: ⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ) is a city in the south of Morocco. It lies about south of El Aaiún. When South Morocco was under Spanish rule the name of the city was Villa Cisneros. The city was founded in the 16th century. Today, its main economic activities are fishing and tourism. In 2004, 55,618 people lived there. The city is built on a narrow peninsula of the Atlantic Coast.