Fortress of Mazagan in El Jadida

Fortress of Mazagan in El Jadida, Morocco

I and my colleagues decided to visit El Jadida, Morocco during the Eid El Fit’r holidays last June 25-26, 2017. It was an amazing vacation for we had stayed overnight in Sidi Bouzid, explores the beach and visited the Fortress of Mazagan in El Jadida.

El Jadida is a port city on the Almantic coast of Morocco, located 106 km south of the city of Casablanca. While in El Jadida, we go directly to the well-known tourist destination, the Cite Portugaise where the Fortress of Mazagan is located. The Gothic architecture surrounds the vicinity and it was really amazing. The old buildings are still elegant as it portrays its historic representation of the place.

The Portuguese City of Mazagan was constructed in the form of fortified colony along Atlantic coast in early sixteenth century.  The place is defined as an example of Renaissance Fortification with ramparts and bastions around the place. The lovely architecture envisages its remarkable history that depicts the Portuguese designs.

 

As you walk along the corridors and alleys, you can notice the best preserved historic buildings, including the Catholic Church of the Assumption and the Portuguese cistern. Unfortunately, during our visit, the Church was closed which is also the access to the cistern, an underground chamber built in 1514. Anyway, we still have next time. . . I was really expecting to visit that famous cistern because as told, the thin water on the floor creates fine and exciting reflections from the little light and the spartan shapes of the columns and the roof.

You can also notice that the structures are built in the Manueline style of late Gothic architecture. The fortress alone is a clear testimony of the architectural concepts of Renaissance adapted to the advent of the firearm.

The Portuguese City of Mazagan, a UNESCO heritage, is an outstanding example of the exchange of influences between the European and Moroccan cultures from the 16th to 18th centuries, and one of the very first settlements of Portuguese explorers in West Africa on the route to India. The fortress area is also surrounded by canyons.

We had so much fun just by walking around. Tiring, but it was magnificent experience. So, what are you waiting for, book your travel to the historical place of El Jadida and see for yourself.

 

Source of information:

wikipedia

unesco.org

 

Snow Experience at Oukaïmeden, Morocco

It was amusing to celebrate New Year in a place where there is lots of snow. I and my colleagues (Roland, Richard, Rambo & Marven) decided to spend our 2017 New Year in Oukaïmeden. It is located in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco near Jebel Toubkal, about 80 kilometers from Marrakesh. Oukaimeden is considered Africa's highest ski resort, and its village sitting at around 2,600m.

Our group started to travel from Marrakesh at around 6:00 in the morning, because we planned to reach the place as early, to avoid the traffic along the way since it was New Year, most of the locals and foreigners will also be going there. The road is winding going up and you can see the trail downwards and the speed of the car should be slow only, since the width of the road is narrow and is intended only for a 2-lane passage. We had reached the place by only 2-hour drive. And the travel was amazing since the view of the mountains on all sides is all white, all surface is covered with snow.  Oukaïmeden is visited as a day-trip from Marrakech.

Upon arrival to the area, temperature was so cold that you need to wear gloves and winter jackets since it was only 8 o’clock in the morning but there are already many people there playing sledge and ski.

There are some restaurants and hotel in the vicinity, although the buildings are old, but they serve good foods which are local delicacies like the Tajine. Since, we did not yet take our breakfast, we decided to order Chicken and Beef tajine with Moroccan tea. It was my first time to eat the tajine, and it was really delicious.

We did not try any of the snow activities due to safety reasons, since there are so many people sledging and skiing without proper direction, most of them collide with each other. So, we decided just to take a walk and take photos and selfies.

There are rental booths for all the equipment for sledge and ski and some are selling gloves, scarf and other winter stuff. There are some hotels also and ski rental facilities nearby. Due to the very cold temperature, I bought gloves for 25 MAD only. It was wonderful seeing the kids and teenagers playing sledge and skis. For those who like to ski from the top edge, there is a chairlift rising to 3,258m to the peak of Jebel Attar. From there, some people are skiing down the slopes and some with drag-lifts take skiers from top and down the slopes.

You can find also local men around trying to sell bags of walnuts, honey, key chains, necklaces and other local souvenirs. There are lots of guides that also offer other mountain activities such as ski-touring and snowshoeing for a reasonable price where you can negotiate.

The sledging area is great for families, where kids will enjoy. But, the kids cannot play the snowball-fight and create a snowman since the snow is hard and not the typical snowflakes.

We had enjoyed our 2 hours stay in the area, just looking all the beautiful white scenery and the people playing with their sledge and skis.

So, try to take a trip to Oukaïmeden, and you’ll see the nature’s beauty of the place and surely you will enjoy it.

We go back again to Oukaïmeden last February 2018 with another set of friends, to enjoy the breathtaking view and snow playing. I am with my office-mates Richard, Felix, Isidro and our Moroccan friend Safik. Here are our pics as we eat beef and chicken tajine in a restaurant surrounded with snow.

We enjoyed and played like kids. . .

 

We also took a video on our way to Oukaïmeden, the view is breathtaking and fantastic. The whole area of mountains are filled with snow.

On our way back to Marrakech, we still pose for pictures on some places.