The Forgotten Register of Safi — Uncover the City's Hidden Secrets

Your quest for the Forgotten Register begins at Ksar El Bahr, Safi's Sea Castle. This defensive fortress, built by the Portuguese in 1578, was an impregnable stronghold against Berber attacks. Rectangular in shape (40m x 30m) with corner towers and 2m thick walls, it was transformed into a prison until 1967. It is here, within these walls that have witnessed so many fates, that the first puzzles guide you to the secrets of the reconquest of the historic imperial city.

Walking along the Ramparts of Safi, erected by the Portuguese between 1508 and 1541 to fortify the medina, you grasp the extent of their presence. These walls, with an estimated total length of 2.5 km, featuring gates like Bab Chaar and Bab Lamer, are classified as Moroccan historical heritage. They bear witness to the ambition of a colonial power and local resistance. Your journey along these intact vestiges reveals how the Marrakech-Safi Region was a major strategic stake.

The Old Portuguese Cathedral, now in ruins near the ramparts, is a key stage in your investigation. Built in 1634, then abandoned after the Portuguese departure in 1541, its Manueline architecture and Gothic vaults (20m x 10m) are a poignant reminder of the ephemeral European presence. It is within these silent stones that you decipher clues about Sultan Mohammed ech-Cheikh el Mamoun's motivations and the last days of the occupation.

The Potters' Hill, or Douar Jdida, is a traditional craft district where over 200 pottery workshops have operated since the 17th century. Specializing in zellige ceramics and utilitarian pottery, this site 1 km from the city center, accessible from Ksar El Bahr, connects you to the living soul of Safi. Although later than the Portuguese period, the local clay extracted on site and the craftsmanship passed down through generations embody the resilience and cultural identity of the city, which reinvented itself after the occupants' departure.

Your exploration of the Forgotten Register of Safi concludes with the discovery of the last pieces of the puzzle at the Port of Safi and Bab Lamer. The port, developed from 1508 by the Portuguese and now the main fishing port of the Marrakech-Safi Region, is visible 300m from Ksar El Bahr. Bab Lamer, the sea gate of the 16th-century Portuguese ramparts, with its restored machicolations, was the emblematic passage between the medina and the Atlantic Ocean. It is there, facing the sea that has seen so many arrivals and departures, that you reconstruct the entire register and understand the stakes of this pivotal period in Safi's history.