Safi, Morocco 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
Basra, Morocco Basra, Morocco Basra, Morocco, nicknamed Basra al-Hamra ("Basra the Red"), is an archaeological site in Morocco. It was originally a summer capital of the Idrisid dynasty from the 8th to 10th centuries. It is situated on the road from Souq al-Arba to Ouezzane, about 40 km from the Atlantic coast and 20 km south of Ksar el-Kebir. It was named after the famous city of Basra in Iraq. The geographer and traveller Ibn Hawqal in the 9th century described it as a flourishing commercial centre. The main productions were cotton and cereals. The red earth fortifications which gave it its