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Ksar es Seghir
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Tangier


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

Ruins of an old fort,on the Ksar beach