Azemmour
أزمور (Arabic)
Town
Azemmour old city.
Azemmour is located in Morocco
Azemmour
Azemmour
Location of Azemmour in Morocco
Coordinates: 33°17′16″N 8°20′32″W / 33.28778°N 8.34222°W / 33.28778; -8.34222
Country Morocco
RegionCasablanca-Settat
ProvinceEl Jadida
Population
 (2014)
 • Total40,920

Azemmour or Azammur (Arabic: أزمور, romanized: azammūr) is a Moroccan city, lying at the Atlantic ocean coast, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca.[1]

Etymology

The word Azemmour comes from the Berber word Azemmur ("wild olive tree").[2][3]

History

Azemmour is generally identified as the Punic Azama,[4] latinized as Asama.[5]

Before 1486, it was a dependency of the King of Fez. In 1486 its inhabitants became vassals and tributaries of João II of Portugal.[6]

In 1513 Azemmour's governor Moulay Zayam refused to pay the tribute and mustered a powerful, well-equipped army. Manuel responded to this challenge by sending a massive fleet of 500 ships and 15 thousand soldiers (Bergreen, 19). James, Duke of Braganza led this army and on September 1 he conquered the city with no resistance from its inhabitants. Ferdinand Magellan, the man famed for leading the first-ever circumnavigation of the earth, was among the Portuguese soldiers there; he lost his horse in skirmishes outside the city.[7] Portuguese control of the city lasted only for a short period; it was abandoned by João III of Portugal in 1541 due to his court's economic difficulties.[8]

Geography

Azemmour is located on the Oum Er-Rbia River 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of Casablanca.[1]

Azemmour's beach is a place for surfing and kitesurfing.[9] Also called Haouzia, the area's flora includes eucalyptus and pine.[10]

Culture

A spring festival used to be held annually in Azemmour in March. It was first held in 2007.[11] The patron saint of Azemmour is Abu Shuayb. His mausoleum was built on the order of Mohammed ben Abdallah. Each year, a moussem is celebrated to honour him. The Old City's walls are decorated by several local artists.[12] The city features a medina, which has three parts, a Jewish mellah, a kasbah, and the old medina.[1] A historic lighthouse called Sidi Boubeker is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of Azemmour.[10]

Notable natives or residents

Images

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Azemmour.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc (2012). Fodor's Morocco. Fodors Travel Publications. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-307-92832-0.
  2. ^ Wild, Stefan (2009). "Toponyms". In Versteegh, Kees (ed.). Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Vol. 4. Leiden/Boston: Brill Publishers. p. 511. ISBN 9789004144767.
  3. ^ Ricard, R. (1986) [1960]. "Azammūr". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. I (2nd ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers. p. 809. ISBN 9004081143.
  4. ^ Fodor (1967), p. 271.
  5. ^ Lacroix (1998), p. 170.
  6. ^ Lhoussain Simour (19 November 2014). Recollecting History beyond Borders: Captives, Acrobats, Dancers and the Moroccan-American Narrative of Encounters. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4438-7142-6.
  7. ^ EPUB 2-3 (23 October 2013). Ferdinand Magellan. Infobase Learning. ISBN 978-1-4381-4851-9.((cite book)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Leonor Freire Costa; Pedro Lains; Susana Münch Miranda (3 May 2016). An Economic History of Portugal, 1143–2010. Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-107-03554-6.
  9. ^ "Azemmour Travel Guide - VirtualTourist". www.virtualtourist.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b DK (2 February 2015). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Morocco. DK Publishing. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4654-3832-4.
  11. ^ Marcello Balbo (15 May 2012). The Medina: Restoration and Conservation of Historic Islamic Cities. I.B.Tauris. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-84885-713-1.
  12. ^ Travel guide of Lonely Planet: Morocco, 9th Edition Feb 2009, ISBN 978-1-74104-971-8 p. 149.
  13. ^ Edward E. Curtis (2010). Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History. Infobase Publishing. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-4381-3040-8.

Bibliography

Categories