Tolin's 2024 World Cruise blog posts, Day 108, Apr 26, 2024, Agadir, Morocco, Post Cards from Agadir

-


Agadir is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and 316 miles south of Casablanca. Agadir is the capital of the Agadir Ida-U-Tanan Prefecture and of the Souss-Massa economic region.

Agadir is one of the major urban centers of Morocco. The municipality of Agadir recorded a population of 924,000 in the 2014 Moroccan census. According to the 2004 census, there were 346,106 inhabitants in that year and the population of the Prefecture of Agadir-Ida Outanane was 487,954 inhabitants.

Agadir is known for being the capital of Amazigh culture in Morocco. It is one of the few big Moroccan cities where Tamazight, one of Morocco's two official languages, is spoken by more than half of the population. The native variety to the region, Tachelhit, is spoken by 222,000 speakers,  representing 53.7% of the entire population. Agadir is also a place for many festivals related to Amazigh culture, such as The New Amazigh Year, celebrated on 13 January every year throughout the city, especially in the downtown area. The Bilmawen Festival is another old Berber tradition celebrated in the suburbs of the city. Additionally, the Issni N’Ourgh International festival is a festival for Amazigh films. Agadir is also the birthplace of many of the pillars of Shilha and Amazigh music, such as Izenzaren, Oudaden, and many others.

It was the site of the 1911 Agadir Crisis that exposed tensions between France and Germany, foreshadowing World War I. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960; it has been completely rebuilt with mandatory seismic standards. It is now the largest seaside resort in Morocco, where foreign tourists and many residents are attracted by an unusually mild year-round climate. Since 2010 it has been well served by low-cost flights and a motorway from Tangier.

The mild winter climate (January average midday temperature 69 °F and good beaches have made it a major "winter sun" destination for northern Europeans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agadir

Most women wear clothes as above; however, some are moving away from this discipline.


Our initial event was a ride up a hill on a cabin cable lift











Water Closet (i.e., restroom)

Fortress at the top

Bay and beach below



Fishing harbor below



Camel rides for hire



Pony rides for hire


Tired camel!



Masque


Hill of old Casbah of Agadir Oufla

Kasbah entrance

Next day the Imperial City of Rabat & Panoramic Casablanca



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Days 1-2 - Intro 2024 Viking World Cruise/Santa Barbara, CA

-
Image
Snow pictures at noon Tuesday January 9, our original flight day at 3 PM. The pictures above were emailed to us by friends "back home."  We watched forecasts for over a week and did not like our favorite TV weather forecasters.  On Monday (1/8) we had an extremely rushed day!  We were to fly Tuesday (1/9) afternoon, however when our travel agent called Monday morning suggesting we fly that afternoon, we agreed but had to step on the throttle to get to KCI on time.  Part of our jumping thru hoops Monday morning was to cancel KCI hotel reservation.  Thankfully our travel agent made the LAX reservation when she changed our plane reservation from Tuesday to Monday, same times. A few days earlier we made reservations at a KCI hotel to spend Monday night then take a shuttle to the airport the next noon (3 PM flight).  This way our friend would not have had to drive to and from KCI in the snow.  But that all changed,  per paragraph above. ...
Read more

Tolin's 2024 World Cruise blog posts, Day 103, Apr 21, 2024, Dakar, Senegal, Bandia Reserve Safari

-
Image
  Dakar  is the  capital  and  largest city  of  Senegal . The  department  of Dakar has a population of 1,182,417, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.9 million in 2023. The area around Dakar was colonized by the  Portuguese  in the early 15th century. The  Portuguese  established a presence on the island of  Gorée  off the coast of Cap-Vert and used it as a base for the  Atlantic slave trade .  France  took over the island in 1677. Following the abolition of the slave trade and French annexation of the mainland area in the 19th century, Dakar grew into a major regional port and a major city of the  French colonial empire . In 1902, Dakar replaced  Saint-Louis  as the capital of  French West Africa . From 1959 to 1960, Dakar was the capital of the short-lived  Mali Federation . In 1960, it became the capital of the independent Republic o...
Read more

Days 10-15, Jan 18-23, 2024 Five Sea Days + a Day on Bora Bora, a French Polynesian Island

-
Image
On the fifth sea day of this leg, the night before visiting Bora Bora, we were treated to a marvelous 'surf 'n turf" pool-side lobster tail and beef evening meal.   . Bora Bora  ( French :  Bora-Bora ;  Tahitian :  Pora Pora ) is an island group in the  Leeward Islands  in the  South Pacific . The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the  Society Islands  of  French Polynesia , which is an  overseas collectivity  of the  French Republic  in the  Pacific Ocean . Bora Bora has a total land area of 12 square miles. The  main island , located about 125 nautical miles northwest of  Papeete , is surrounded by a  lagoon  and a  barrier reef . In the center of the island are the remnants of an  extinct volcano , rising to two peaks,  Mount Pahia  and  Mount Otemanu ; the highest point is at 2,385 feet. Bora Bora is part of the  Commune  of...
Read more