The Kasbah of Agadir Oufla ( shi, label=
Tashelhit, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ ⵓⴼⵍⵍⴰ, ''Agadir Uflla'') is a historical landmark in
Agadir, Morocco that housed the old city of Agadir, much of which was affected by the earthquake that struck the city. The fort is located on the top of a mountain rising 236 meters above sea level in the north of the town of Agadir near the current port.
Name
''Agadir Oufla'' is the local name of the Kasbah of Agadir. The word "Agadir" means "fort", and "Oufla" is an
Amazigh word meaning "above". Agadir Ofla, therefore, implies the fortress at the top.
History
Prior to the fortification of the site by the
Sa'dis, the
Portuguese nobleman João Lopes de Sequeira occupied the area in 1505.
[{{Cite book , last=Newitt , first=Malyn , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HDODAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66&dq=agadir+history+portuguese+santa+cruz&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjch8HqnoT8AhUSWN8KHezzC4cQ6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=agadir%20history%20portuguese%20santa%20cruz&f=false , title=A History of Portuguese Overseas Expansion 1400–1668 , publisher=Routledge , year=2004 , isbn=978-1-134-55304-4 , pages=35–36, 66 , language=en] He built a wooden castle at the foot of a hill
and a Portuguese colony named ''Santa Cruz do Cabo do Gué'' was created.
The castle was later bought by the King of Portugal in 1513.
Their presence elicited growing hostility from the local population of the
Sous
The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) ( ar, سوس, sūs, shi, ⵙⵓⵙ, sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (''Asif n Sus''), separated from the Sahara desert ...
, until in 1540 the Sa'di sultan
Muhammad al-Shaykh
''Mawlay'' Mohammed al-Shaykh al-Sharif al-Hassani ( ar, محمد الشيخ الشريف الحسني) known as Mohammed al-Shaykh ( ar, محمد الشيخ) (b. 1490 – d. 23 October 1557) was the first sultan of the Saadian dynasty of Morocco ...
occupied the main hill above the city and installed
artillery to prepare an attack on the Portuguese fortress below. The siege began in February 1541 and was successfully concluded in March.
The site was then left unoccupied for years until Muhammad's successor,
Abdallah al-Ghalib (r. 1557–1574), built a new fortress on the hilltop.
The Kasbah was destroyed for the first time in November 1755 during
Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...
, and again in 1960, during
Agadir earthquake.
Components of the fort before the 1960 earthquake
The fortress of the Kasbah of Agadir Ouflla before the earthquake consisted of:
* The outer wall is supported by towers and has a twisted door designed for defensive purposes.
* Great Mosque.
* Hospital.
*Treasury and postal building
*Houses, alleys and junior yards.
*
Mallah
The Mallaah are the traditional boatmen and fishermen tribes or communities of North India, East India, Northeastern India and Pakistan. A significant number of Mallah are also found in Nepal and Bangladesh. In the Indian state of Bihar, the ter ...
, a Jewish neighborhood
*Shrines, the most important one is the mausoleum of Sidi Boudjemaa Aknaou.
*Mausoleum of Lala Yamna
Gallery
File:Lighting walls Agadir Kasbah night.jpg, Lighting walls Agadir Kasbah night
File:AGADIR OFELLA ( AGADIR).jpg, View from the hill to the port of Agadir
File:AGADIR OFELLA (VILLE D'AGADIR).jpg, View from the wall of the Kasbah of Agadir Oufla
File:Agadir-kasbah-murs.jpg, Agadir Kasbah Walls
File:Agadir Kasbah 1.jpg, Agadir Kasbah Walls
References
Agadir
Kasbahs in Morocco