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Ksar es
Seghir's beach- and ruins of fort
Fort as
it used to stand (courtesy of Martin Elbl, based on Charles L. Redman.
Qsar es-Seghir. An Archaeological View of Medieval Life. New York: Academic
Press, 1986)
Ksar es Seghir is a small town, whose busy main street and bustling port
remind us of it's once great status. Said to be the port where General
Tarek and his troops set off to conquer Spain in the 8th century, this
town was formally established in the 12th century by a Moroccan Sultan,
as the port of embarkation for his troops fighting the holy war in Spain.
The port's main advantage was its proximity to Spain, only 12 miles away.
On clear days, you can see the Spanish coast from Ksar's beach.
The port was still active in Leo's days:
"This
small town was built by Mansor, king of Marrakech, near the water,
to help him travel to Granada once a year with his armies, rather
than go through the more difficult mountainous regions near Ceuta.
This town is in a nice valley. You can see the coast of Granada across
the Ocean.
Ksar was a well-armed city. Most inhabitants were sailors who helped
convey people and goods from Barbary to Spain. Others were fabric
makers. There were a few rich merchants and many courageous fighters.
The
King of Portugal attacked this city by surprise and conquered it.
The Sultan of Fes sent a great army to fight the Portuguese. They
set siege to the city- 2 months later the situation was still the
same, as it was winter and snow was falling on the encampments. The
siege ended in 1459. "(Leo,
265)
Boats on the beach- even the smallest row boats can make the 12
mile distance between Ksar and Spain
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Ruins of an old fort,on the Ksar beach
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