Larache, seen from the nearby Roman runis of Lixus

"Lharais was built by the Africans [pre-Islam] on the coast, right where the River Luccus meets the ocean. The town is bordered by the river on one side and by the ocean on the other. In the days when both Arzilla [Asilah] and Tangia [Tangier] belonged to the Moores, there were many people in this town. But when both cities fell to the Christians, it was deserted and remained empty, until recently. About 20 years ago,one of the sons of the current Sultan of Fes decided to rebuild it. He fortified the city and kept an army and full supplies in it at all times, as he was suspicious of the Portugese. This town's port is hard to access, and it is very difficult for ships to sail into the river. The son of the Sultan also built a fort, which is constantly managed by a captain who looks over 200 'arbalette-men', 100 archmen and 300 horsemen.

Around Lharais there are a great many marches where one can fish and catch birds. On the river banks there are forests, with many lions and other ferocious beasts. The locals make coal which they ship to Arzilla and Tangia. Mauritanians have a proverb which they use when something seems illusory: "It is like a boat from Larache, with a cotton sail and a cargo of coal". Coton is indeed to be
found in large quantities in the neighboring countryside. " (Leo, 251)

Since Leo's 1520 narrative, a great many things happened to the city of Larache. Fortified by the Sultan of Fes and naturally protected by rough waters, Larache served as a port for corsairs until it was taken by the Spanish in 1610. It was temporarily regained by the Moroccans later in the century, but destroyed in 1860 by Spanish bombarding. The Spanish settled there in 1911, and the city became a center of Spanish culture in Morocco. The city has kept much of its "spanish style"- with churches, iron windows, hispanic looking market place.