Ksar es-Seghir
| Ksar es-Seghir القصر الصغير ⵇⵚⵕ ⵚⵖⵉⵕ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma | ||||
| Province : | Fahs-Anjra | ||||
| Coordinates | 35 ° 51 ′ N , 5 ° 34 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 10,995 (2004) | ||||
| Height : | 20 m | ||||
Ksar es-Seghir (also Ksar Sghir or al-Qasr al-Seghir ; Arabic القصر الصغير, Central Atlas Tamazight ⵇⵚⵕ ⵚⵖⵉⵕ Qṣṛ Ṣɣiṛ ) is a small Moroccan town with around 12,000 inhabitants in the province of Fahs-Anjra in the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region . In the 15./16. Century was the Portuguese or Spanish place name Alcácer-Ceguer or Alcázarseguir . Translated into German, all terms mean something like "small fortress".
location
Ksar es-Seghir is located on a protected and formerly strategically important sandy bay on the Strait of Gibraltar about halfway between Tangier (approx. 38 km to the west) and Ceuta (approx. 33 km to the east).
population
Of the approximately half of the inhabitants who live in the smaller villages in the surrounding area, most of them are members of the various Berber tribes of the Rif Mountains who have lived here as farmers for a long time. The language spoken is predominantly Arabic, however; the Rif dialects hardly play a role anymore.
economy
For a long time the province of Fahs-Anjra had a decidedly rural appearance despite its proximity to the large cities of Tangier and Tétouan . In the foreground of economic life was agriculture, which in the past centuries mainly served for self-sufficiency , but already during the colonial period and after the independence of Morocco (1956) produced large quantities for the urban markets. Ksar es-Seghir also made a living from fishing with small wooden boats. After the completion of the A4 motorway and the partial opening of the nearby superport of Tanger-Med , a profound change in the economic sector is in sight.
history
Possibly already known as an anchorage to the Phoenicians , the Romans called it - according to Ptolemy - Lissa or Exilissa . In Byzantine times the place was called Exilyssa ( Greek : Εξιλύσσα). During the Islamic conquest of North Africa (708/09) the place was probably fortified and settled for the first time - at least the name Ksar Mesmouda , which was common among the Spanish Umayyads , indicates that Berbers from the Masmuda tribe lived here . In 971 the Umayyad caliph of Cordoba al-Hakam II (ruled 961-976) tried to conquer the place in order to subdue all of North Africa from here. In the 11th century, the Islamic historiographer Abū ʿUbaid al-Bakrī named the fortress as al-Qasr al-Awwal (“first” or “old castle”). The Almoravids and Almohads used the shallow bay and the place, which was now called Ksar al-Majar , as a shipbuilding site from which they made their crossings to Al-Andalus . The 1286 came to power Merinids - Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf was here - perhaps for the reduced model of 1258 by the Mongols destroyed city Baghdad - in 1287 a circular city with 29 towers and three gates built.
Towards the end of the Merinid rule, the place degenerated into a pirate's nest on the Strait of Gibraltar , which was attacked and conquered in 1458 by a huge army (allegedly 25,000 men in 200 ships) of the Portuguese King Alfonso V , who also had the idea to conquer all of North Africa from here - there were also the Infanta Peter of Aragón and his confidante Diogo de Azambuja . The last Merinid Sultan Abdalhaqq II (ruled 1421-1465) tried twice, unsuccessfully, to recapture the place that the Portuguese called Alcácer-Ceguer . They surrounded the town, which had around 800 inhabitants, with a wall and connected it to the Mediterranean via a ship canal enclosed by high walls. Because of the high cost of the military presence, the Portuguese King John III. to give up the place in 1533, but the final implementation of this plan lasted until 1549; When they withdrew, the Portuguese destroyed the ship's canal by filling it with demolition material from the city walls.
In 1609 landed here during the reign of Philip III. (ruled 1598–1621) Moors expelled from Spain . Ksar es-Seghir had now become a small fishing village, which in a way it still is today.
Current
The Moroccan Navy established a base near Ksar es-Seghir in 2008-2010. About 12 km to the northeast is the new super port Tanger-Med , which was partially opened in 2007, but will not be finally completed until 2020. The new A4 motorway passes the city immediately to the south; the long-sleepy place now has its own motorway connection.
Others
As otherwise only in Tangier, the checkered history of Morocco is reflected in the small town of Ksar es-Seghir. The Musée de la Kasbah in Tangier has its own small, but extremely interesting exhibition room with finds from Ksar es-Seghir.
Web links
- Ksar es-Seghir - drawings, photos + information
- Ksar es-Seghir, sandy beach with a view of the ruins of the Portuguese fortress - photo
- Tangier and Ksar es-Seghir - Photos
Individual evidence
- ↑ Moroccan population statistics ( Memento of the original from July 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
