Overview
South of Casablanca the coast turns Portuguese. Azemmour is a white town of painted walls above the Oum Er-Rbia river; El Jadida, an hour further on, was Mazagan, a fortified Portuguese port held until 1769 and now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The centrepiece is the Portuguese Cistern of 1514, an underground hall of columns with a thin sheet of water on the floor that reflects the vaults. Orson Welles filmed part of Othello in it. The rest of the day is ramparts, bastions and a fishing harbour that still works.
Trip Highlights
- The Portuguese Cistern of El Jadida, with its reflecting floor
- The ramparts and bastions of the Portuguese city of Mazagan, a UNESCO site
- Azemmour's painted medina above the Oum Er-Rbia
- The Church of the Assumption and the old Jewish quarter
- A coastal drive with very little traffic and no motorway monotony
