Agadir, Souss-Massa-Draa, MoroccoThe first full day of our holidays and we had a very
interesting meeting with the Tui rep, one of the best we’ve been to, where she
gave us loads of info about the place/what to expect/what to do (or not) &
mentioned the trips but didn’t push them at all. A very refreshing experience,
and most useful.
The town of Agadir
is all new – no building is older than 57 years as the whole place was
destroyed by a huge earthquake in 1960 which killed 12,000 people. All that
remains of the ancient Kasbah on a
hilltop is part of the walls, and where 7000 people lie in a communal grave.
The new town was built below on a former forested area.
For the afternoon
we’d booked a trip with a local guy with a very good reputation & he didn’t
disappoint – he accompanied us himself & we had a trip into the town by taxi. First came a walkabout at the marina, & we admired the huge shoal of fish there. The marina is surrounded by multimillion dirham apartments & very expensive shops so we looked & left!
Next came the Kasbah, the ancient fort & walls high above the modern city. It was slightly surprising to
see tethered camels waiting to be ridden up, & we were careful not to be
seen photographing them as the rep had warned us they would charge for the
privilege. An information board (and our guide) told us all about its history.
There were great
views from the top: the bay of Agadir with all its building gleaming white, and
we were able to see the size of the port: there is an area for the cruise
ships, one for freight, one for large fishing boats and one for very small ones
which are only allowed to fish for sardines.
On the way back
into town we passed the Jewish cemetery (Agadir formerly had a large Jewish
population, but many left to go to Israel in the 50s) and then to so see the
largest mosque in the city. It is a very impressive, ornate building, including all the tile detail at the rear, but as only Moslems are allowed in, here we are on the steps.
Our next stop was a
visit to a women’s cooperative initiative for honey & all products made
with argan oil. We had a very interesting demonstration of how they prepare the
argan nuts, and were able to taste 4 different types of honey plus the argan
oil. We dipped into the bowls with Berber bread (all delicious!) and washed it
down with Moroccan tea.
Our guide then took
us to the souk and left us thereto shop & haggle. We didn’t really want to
buy, just to experience the 3 sq km of goods, but a local guy attached himself
to us & insisted on taking us round. We couldn’t shake him off no matter
what we said, and so resigned ourselves to walking at speed through all the
clothes and shoe stalls – NOT really what we wanted to see!
We eventually emerged
again & found the sun to be setting, finally managed to shake off our unwanted
guide & were collected again in our taxi – our proper guide had a tame taxi
driver who dropped us off & picked us up from places. We were SO glad we were
not driving as it’s absolutely manic here - we witnessed the aftermath of a bump with all vehicles simply driving round the accident with horns blaring!
It had been a great afternoon – 3 hours of a
personal tour and all that for €20 compared to Thomson’s €32. Bargain. It was
all very enjoyable & we learned a lot. Our first stop back at the hotel was in the bar for a cocktail called Moroccan Sunset. It seemed strange to just walk up & ask for a drink without paying, but I'm sure we'll soon get used to it.
2025-05-22