_Population of the Empire of Marocco. — Account of its Sea-ports,
Cities, and Towns._
Various and contradictory statements have been made by travellers,
of the population of this country. From all the accounts which I have
been able to collect on the subject, and from authentic information,
extracted from the Imperial Register, of the inhabitants of each
province, I think the following as correct a statement as can possibly
be made:
Inhabitants.
The city of Marocco 270,000
Fas, old and new city 380,000
Mequinas 110,000
Muley Dris Zerone 12,000
Tetuan 16,000
Tangier 6,000
Arzilla 1,000
El Araiche 3,000
Mamora 300
Salée 18,000
Rabat 25,000
-------
Total 841,300
-------
Brought over 841,300
El Mensoria, Fedalla, and El Kasser Kabeer 1,000
Dar el Beida 1,000
Azamor 1,000
Mazagan, Tet, and El Woladia 3,000
Saffy, or Asfee 12,000
Mogodor, or Sueerah 10,000
Santa Cruz, or Agadeer 300
Terodant 25,000
Messa 1,000
-------
Total population of the towns 895,600
-------
The Province of Erreef 200,000
El Garb 200,000
Benihassen 300,000
Tedla 450,000
District of Fas, exclusive of the cities or towns 1,280,000
Duquella 966,000
Temsena and Shawia 1,160,000
Abda 500,000
Shedma 550,000
District of Marocco 1,250,000
Haha 708,000
Draha 350,000
---------
Carried forward 7,914,000
Brought forward, 7,914,000
_Suse_, viz.
Benitamer, 11,000
Idautenan, 10,000
Msegina 87,000
Exima, 11,000
Howara 80,000
Kitiwa 50,000
Shtuka 380,000
Ait Bamaran 300,000
Wedinoon 200,000
Ras el Wed 80,000
Elala 25,000
Seedi Hamed O Musa sanctuary and district 20,000
Akka, and territory 10,000
Tatta, and ditto 10,000
Ufran, or Ifran 10,000
Ilirgh 10,000
Messa, and territory 10,000
Teeselerst 25,000
The district of Agadeer, or Santa Cruz including Tildi, 1,000
Taddert, and Tamaract
Woled Busebbah, the part of that Kabyle, which now 1,000
inhabits Suse
Ait Atter 360,000
Idaultit, 400,000
----------
Carried over 10,005,000
Brought over 10,005,000
Inferior Kabyles, forming other parts of Suse, not 336,000
specified
----------
10,341,000
----------
_Total._
The tribes of the Berebbers of North Atlas altogether 3,000,000
District of Tafilelt 650,000
Provinces of the Marocco Empire, West of Atlas 10,341,000
Inland cities, towns, and ports 895,600
----------
Total population of the whole empire, including Tafilelt 14,886,600
----------
Persons who have travelled through the country, unacquainted with
the mode of living of the inhabitants, may, probably, consider the
above as an exaggerated statement: but it should be understood,
that a stranger, in such cases, sees little of the population, as
the various _douars_ of Arabs are at a considerable distance from
the roads, from which they always retire, to avoid the visits of
travellers, whom they are compelled, by the laws of hospitality, to
furnish with necessary provisions for three days, without receiving
any pecuniary remuneration; of this fact travellers, in general,
have not been apprised, and have, in consequence, formed calculations
which represent the population very inferior to what it actually is.
The western coast of Marocco is defended with numerous rocks, level
with the surface of the water, which extend along the shore in various
parts, from the Streights of Gibraltar to Agadeer: we find, however,
occasionally, in the intermediate places, an extensive beach, where
the water is shallow, and the surf runs high. The empire of Marocco
is separated from Algiers by the river Muluwia, which falls into
the Mediterranean sea, in long. W. from London, 1° 30′.
The sea-ports of this empire have but a limited commerce with foreign
nations: and are consequently neither very extensive nor populous.
Proceeding along the coast of the Mediterranean, we come to the town
of Melilla, (the ancient Ryssadirium,) called by the Arabs Melilia,
in possession of the Spaniards, who have a garrison here; the country,
in its vicinity, abounds with wax and honey, which latter is equal to
that of Minorca, and when kept a year, is nearly as hard and white as
loaf sugar. The Goths, in whose possession Melilla was when the Arabs
invaded the country, abandoned it; and the latter, after retaining
it some years, forsook it to dwell in their tents. The Spaniards
took possession of it about the beginning of the 15th century. It
was besieged by Seedy Mohammed ben Abdallah, Emperor of Marocco,
in the year 1774, but without effect.
The next town worthy of notice is Bedis de Gomaira, situated between
two mountains, at the bottom of which there was anciently a city
called Bedis, supposed to have been founded by the Carthaginians. The
Arabs call it Belis, and some Europeans, by a corruption of the
word, Velis, the name given it in most of our maps and charts. In
the neighbourhood of this place are forests of excellent timber,
with which the Moors, before the Spaniards obtained possession of it,
built fishing-vessels.
Proceeding from hence westward, we discover the river Busega, near
Tetuan, or Tetawan, as it is called by the Arabs, where some of the
Emperor’s gallies occasionally winter. About four miles inland
from the roadstead, stands the town of Tetuan, in the province of
El Garb: this town is built on the declivity of a rocky hill, but
is neither large nor strong: its walls are built of mud and mortar,
framed in wooden cases, and beaten down with mallets. The inhabitants
are rich from commerce, receiving from Spain and Gibraltar dollars,
German linens, and cloths, also British manufactures, for which they
barter wax, skins, leather, raisins, almonds, olives, oranges, honey,
&c. It is inhabited by Moors and Jews, who, for the most part, speak
a corrupt Spanish, in which language their commercial negociations
are transacted. The environs of Tetuan abound in gardens of the
most delicious fruits; here are grown the finest oranges in the
world, and they are in great abundance; the adjacent country abounds
also in vineyards, the grapes of which are exquisite, and in great
variety. From the raisins and figs the Jews distil an ardent spirit
(called Mahaya), which, when a year old, is similar to the Irish
usquebah, and they prefer it to European brandy or rum, because it
does not (as they pretend) heat the blood: they drink immoderately
of this spirit, and generally take a glass of it before eating.
Tetuan was founded, according to report, by the Africans, and was a
populous town at the time the Moors were driven out of Spain. It was
the place of residence for many of the consuls of the European powers,
till the year 1770, when an Englishman having shot or wounded a Moor,
all the Europeans were ordered to quit the place, and the Emperor
Seedy Mohammed declared, he would never suffer an European to settle
there again. It is remarkable, that in this declaration he literally
kept his word.
This port carried on a considerable trade in provisions with
Gibraltar, as vessels are obliged to come here in preference to
Tangier, whenever the wind is in the west, and does not permit them
to make the latter place; at this time ships may lie in security,
and our fleets often water and victual here, as did that of the
immortal Nelson, previous to his victory in Aboukeer Bay.[40]
We next come to Cibta, or Ceuta, as it is called by Europeans; it
is situated near (Jibbel d’Zatute) Ape’s Mountain, called by
the ancients Abyla, one of the pillars of Hercules.
The town of Ceuta is probably of Carthaginian origin; the Romans
colonized it; it afterwards became the metropolis of the places
which the Goths held in _Hispania Transfretana_; was next occupied
by the Arabs; and, in 1415, taken by the Portugueze; it is now in
the possession of Spain. It is celebrated for the strength of its
fortifications, its advantageous situation at the entrance of the
Mediterranean, being the nearest point to Europe. It is situated
on a rising ground, at the foot of the mountain; near it stands the
mountain with seven summits, called by the Arabs Sebat Jibbel, and
by the ancients, Septem Fratres. If the Emperor Yezzed had succeeded
in taking Ceuta, which he twice besieged about the close of the last
century, without success, his intention was to harass the trade of
the European nations, by fitting out gallies and rovers, for the
purpose of capturing and carrying the merchant ships into Tangier,
Tetuan, and Ceuta, as they passed through the Streights; but the
place is capable, on the land side, of resisting every attack that
may be made upon it by the Mohammedans, unless they were aided by
some European naval force.
The whole coast from hence to Tangier, the next town we come to, is
rugged, and interspersed with projecting cliffs. Tangier, anciently
called Tinjis, and Tingia, and now, by the Arabs, Tinjiah, is situated
at the western mouth of the Streights, and a day’s journey distant
from Tetuan. This town was first possessed by the Romans, next by
the Goths, and was given up by Count Julian to the Mohammedans. It
was taken in the 15th century by the crown of Portugal, which gave
it, in 1662, as part of the dowry of the princess Catherine of
Portugal, upon her marriage to Charles the Second of England. The
English, however, finding the expenses of keeping it to exceed the
advantages derived from the possession of it, abandoned it in 1684,
after destroying the mole and fortifications. It still retains some
batteries in good condition, facing the bay, at the bottom of which
is a river, and the remains of the bridge of Old Tangier; but the
sand has so accumulated at the mouth of this river, that the bridge,
had it stood, would have been now useless.
Tangier is favourable to Moorish piracy, even without the possession
of Ceuta, being the narrowest part of the Streights; but it will
never become a commercial town, having but few productions in its
vicinage. The Spaniards here ship eggs, fowls, vegetables, and some
fruits; but the chief exports are cattle and edible vegetables,
which are carried to Gibraltar for the supply of the garrison: this
supply is allowed by the Emperor, not perhaps from any predilection
towards us (although he apparently prefers the English to any other
European power), but because it was a grant from his great grandfather
Muley Ismael, whose successors have not infringed on the ordinances
of their renowned ancestor, the Mohammedans having a great respect
for the deeds of their forefathers.
Westward of Tangier is Cape Spartel, the headland which divides the
Streights from the western ocean; after doubling this Cape, at the
distance of 15 miles, stands the little town of Arzilla, called by
the Carthaginians Zilia, and by the Romans, who had a garrison here,
Julia Traducta; it belonged afterwards to the Goths, and latterly
to the Mohammedans. Alphonso of Portugal took it in 1741; but about
the end of the 16th century, it was abandoned by the Portuguese,
and again fell into the hands of the Moors. A river discharges itself
at this place into the ocean; but there is no trade carried on.
Proceeding down the coast southward, we discover, at the distance of
33 miles, the town of El Araiche, standing on the river El Kos. El
Araice, whence its name is derived, signifies, in the Arabic, flower,
or pleasure gardens.[41] This was formerly a town of some commerce;
remains of the commercial houses, which appear to have been large
and spacious, still exist. The adjacent country is very fine and
productive, and furnishes corn, wax, and oil, the two former in
abundance; it also contains woods of full-grown trees, fit for ship
building. The river El Kos has a bar of sand at its entrance, but
is sufficiently deep to admit ships of 100 tons. The gardens of the
Hesperides have been supposed to have been situated here.
El Araiche was fortified about the end of the 16th century by Muley
ben Nassar; in 1610 it was given up to Spain, and in 1689 retaken
by Muley Ismael. There is an excellent market-place in the town: the
castle, which commands the entrance of the road, is in good repair,
and the guns well mounted, an uncommon thing in this country: and
it is further strengthened by several batteries on the banks of the
river. The French entered the river in 1765, but by a feint of the
Moors, they were induced to go too far up, when they were surrounded
by superior numbers, and fell victims to their own impetuosity.
Some foreign commerce was carried on here by the nations of Europe
so late as the year 1780, when the Emperor Seedy Mohammed, for some
reason unavowed, caused it to be evacuated, and ordered the Europeans
to quit it; some of whom went to Mogodor, and others to Europe.
The larger vessels of the Emperor, which, however, are but small,
when compared to our ships of the line, generally winter in a cove
on the north side of the river, where there are magazines of naval
stores, sufficient for the equipment of such force. The soil is
sandy, and too loose to admit of the erection of stocks for ship
building. The road is not secure in winter, when the winds blow
from the south and west, but from April to September inclusive,
it is a safe anchorage. El Araiche stands in 35° 11′ N. lat.
Proceeding southward from El Araiche, we reach Maheduma (or Mamora,
as it is called by Europeans), distant sixty-five miles. This town is
situated on an eminence, close to the river, near the southern banks;
it is a poor neglected place, the ferrymen and the inhabitants of
which subsist by fishing for (Shebbel) a species of salmon, of which
they take an incredible quantity, for the supply of the interior,
as well as the neighbouring country, from the autumn till the spring.
The country hereabouts is a continued plain, in which are three
fresh-water lakes, one of which is 20 miles in length. This country
was formerly populous, but the incalculable number of musquitos,
gnats, nippers, and other annoying insects, have obliged the
inhabitants to quit the place. These lakes abound in eels, which
are taken and salted for preservation and sale; ducks and all kinds
of water-fowl also abound on them. Skiffs made of the fan palm and
of rushes, about seven feet long and two broad, are used by the
fisherman, who guides them with a pole, and pierces the eels with
a lance, or long dart, when he sees them in the water, which is
not deep. There are a few insulated spots in the largest lake, on
which are (Zawiat) sanctuaries, inhabited by the Maraboots, who are
held in veneration by the inhabitants of the plains. The plains and
valleys are delightfully pleasant in the months of March and April;
but in June, July, and August, when musquitos are so indescribably
troublesome, they are parched up. On an eminence, at the southern
extremity towards the river Seboo, is a sanctuary and asylum for
travellers, annexed to which are several gardens and plantations
of olives and almonds. The sand bank at the mouth of the Seboo has
partially disappeared, and perhaps a little nautical skill might
make the river navigable with safety to ships of 200 tons burden.
Travelling to the south from Meheduma, at the distance of sixteen
miles we reach Slâa, or Salée, on the northern bank of the river,
which is formed by the junction of the streams of the Buregreg and
Wieroo; the river at Salée was formerly capable of receiving large
vessels; when going thence, however, a few years since, to Mogodor,
the vessel which conveyed me, being about 150 tons burden, struck
three times on the bar; and as the sand continues to accumulate,
it is likely that in another century there will be a separation from
the ocean at ebb tide, as is the case in some of the rivers of Haha
and Suse already mentioned.
Salée is encompassed by a strong wall, about thirty-five feet high
and three feet thick, on the top of which are battlements flanked
with towers of considerable strength. At the south-west corner of
the town there is a battery of twenty-four pieces of cannon, which
commands the entrance of the Buregreg. To the north of the town,
in the plains, are the remains of many gardens, and the ruins of
a town, built by Muley Ismael for his (Abeed Seedy Bukaree) black
troops. When I visited Salée, I was conducted to the subterraneous
apartment, where the Europeans were formerly confined, who had the
misfortune to fall into the hands of these miscreants:[42] it is
a miserable dungeon, though spacious. The streets of Salée, like
those of all old towns in this country, are narrow; and the Kasseria,
or department for shops and buying and selling, as well as many of
the streets, have a canopy which extends across from house to house,
which is expedient to the comfort of the people, protecting them
from the fierce effulgence of the meridian sun. Salée stands in
34° 2′ N. lat.
After crossing the river we enter the town of Rabat, sometimes
denominated New Salée, which is more modern, and rather larger than
Salée. European factories have been established at different times
in Rabat, but have been frequently quitted, or altogether abandoned,
on account of some new order from the Emperor, the instability of
whose decrees, whenever they relate to commerce, is but too well
known. At other times these establishments have been neglected from
the insufficiency of the supplies from Europe, owing to a want of
confidence in the security of property in a country whose affairs
are directed too frequently by the momentary impulse of a despot,
who often orders, judges, and executes, without considering cause
or consequence. The walls of this town enclose a number of gardens,
orchards, and corn-fields. Near the entrance of the river, at Rabat,
on an eminence, are to be seen the ruins of an old castle, built
by the Sultan El Monsor, in the 12th century: some subterraneous
magazines, remarkable for their strength, being bomb proof, are
still preserved; there is also the remains of a small battery, which
defended the entrance of the river. Some batteries were rebuilt
here in 1774, on a more extensive plan, but the engineer has made
the embrasures so close, that it would be inconvenient to work the
guns against an attacking enemy. At a short distance south of the
castle, on an elevated situation, is a square fort erected by Muley
El Arsheed. The walls were built by the Sultan El Monsor, when he
resided here; they are about two miles in circuit, and strengthened
by square towers; they enclose the castle, the town of Rabat,
and a large space of ground, where a palace, and the mausoleum of
Seedy Mohammed, the reigning Emperor’s father, stand; here lamps
are burning night and day, and fakeers are continually praying with
a loud voice, under the colonnade surrounding the latter building,
which gives an air of solemnity to the place, impressing with awe the
minds of the passengers, who halt and repeat an ejaculatory prayer.
The town and walls of Rabat having been built by Spanish slaves,
taken by the Sultan El Monsor, in his wars with Spain, are not very
strong; and it has even been reported that the Christians expressly
built the houses weak, that the roofs might fall on the Moors, which,
it is also said, actually happened, and the Emperor, in retaliation,
ordered the same Spaniards to be decapitated at the iron gate.[43]
This Sultan repaired the Roman well at Shella, and built a spacious
mosque at Rabat, the roof of which was supported by 360 columns of
marble; toward the east were apartments for those who had employment
in the mosque. Many of the rough marble columns are still remaining,
broken and scattered about; there are also the remains of a large
(mitfere) subterranean cistern, which was attached to the mosque,
the tower of which is called (Sma Hassen,) the tower of Beni Hassen,
so named from the province in which it stands. I have frequently
visited this curious tower, and once went to the top of it with a
very ingenious Frenchman, the Comte de Fourban;[44] it is built of
hewn stone, and is 180 feet in height: the view from it is pleasing
and extensive. It has a gradual ascent to the top, made of a mixture
of lime and sand, which time has so hardened, that when the Emperor
Seedy Mohammed ordered the building to be destroyed (he having been
informed that it was a place of assignation to gratify illicit
passions), the workmen, after hammering at it for several days,
were able only to destroy a few cubits of the terraced floor; the
Emperor afterwards came to Rabat, and having been informed of the
slow progress of the workmen, he himself visited the tower, and was
so struck with the durability of the work, that he ordered them to
desist, and caused the entrance to be closed up, which, however,
has since been opened. A man on horseback may ride up to the top
of this building. At every two or three circles of the terrace are
apartments, built of solid stone. It is reported that this tower,
the grand tower at Marocco, and the tower of Seville in Spain, were
built after the same plan, and by the same architect, in the 12th
century. At a small distance to the north of it, are to be seen the
ruins of an ancient wall, on which were formerly erected a battery
and a castle.
The country, in the neighbourhood, is planted with vines, olives,
figs, pomgranates, almonds, oranges, and cotton of an excellent
quality; at Rabat there is a manufactory of cotton cloth, which is
made more for durability than sale. There are docks for ship-building
at Salée, as well as at Rabat; at the latter place, when I was last
there, the hulls of two sloops of war were nearly finished; I went
aboard of them, and was astonished to learn that they had been built
by a man who must have had a natural genius for ship-building, as he
built them _by the eye_, without the use of rules and compasses, a
circumstance which appeared to me very extraordinary and incredible;
but I was repeatedly informed by many of the inhabitants of Rabat,
Moors, Jews, and Christians, that it was a known fact, and might be
ascertained by going to see the daily progress made in the building
of them.
The road of Salée is dangerous for shipping, and the accumulation
of sand at the entrance, will scarcely permit a vessel of 100 tons to
enter the river without danger. Vessels may lie in safety out of the
river, near Rabat, from April till September inclusive; but they are
not secure the rest of the year, the wind blowing from the southern
quarter, and often obliging them to quit their moorings. The best
anchorage in this season, is between the Mosque of Rabat and the old
Tower of Hassen, having the latter to the north. A great number of
anchors having been lost, much attention must be paid to the cables
and buoys. Rabat stands in 34° 3′ N. lat.
On the eastern side of Rabat is a walled town named Shella: this
is sacred ground, and contains many Moorish tombs, held in great
veneration: the town is a sacred asylum, and is entered only by
Mohammedans. Once, however, when I was staying at Salée, an English
captain dressed himself in the Arabian habit, and accompanied by
a confidential friend, entered this sacred town, and viewed what
his guide told him were the tombs of two Roman generals; but he had
not time to examine the inscriptions thereon, for fear of exciting
observation. Shella was probably the Carthaginian metropolis on the
coast of the ocean. Various Roman and ancient African coins used to
be continually dug up here, but the exorbitant price given for them
by some agents of European antiquarians, induced the Jews to imitate
them, which they did so correctly, that these amateurs were deceived;
and lately people have fallen into the opposite extreme, being now so
over cautious as to dispute even the antiques themselves; for this
reason the Moors often sell them to the silver and goldsmiths for
their weight in silver. The last time I was in Africa, I collected
a number of these coins, but the vessel, in which I was coming to
England, sprung a leak, and foundered: and although I saved some
clothes, I could not get at the coins, which were stowed away in a
secret part of the ship, to be secure from discovery, in the event
of our falling in with any French privateer.
About twenty-five miles south of Rabat is a square building called
(El Monsoria) the Building of El Monsor, it having been erected by
that Sultan in the 12th century, as a refuge for travellers during
the night; as the adjacent country is favourable to the depredations
of robbers; and the people of this neighbourhood have been noted,
from time immemorial, as mischievous plunderers.
Following the coast southward for 25 miles more, we reach Fedala;
where a peninsula, which forms an indifferent shelter to small
vessels, has been called in some maps an island. The Emperor Seedy
Mohammed, before he founded Mogodor, was desirous of building a
city here. The situation, as to country and produce, is delightful;
and to encourage commerce, he caused the corn to be brought from the
Matamores[45] of the adjacent provinces, and allowed it to be shipped
here; it being cheap, he induced the merchants to build houses,
as a condition of their being allowed to export it; but the place,
although an excellent situation, was abandoned soon after the corn
was shipped, owing to some new whim of the Emperor; for such is the
fickle instability of the Moors, that it is no uncommon thing in this
extraordinary country, to see a town deserted before the buildings
are all completed, and such indeed was the case with this delightful
place. The road here is, I believe, with the exception of that of
Agadeer, the only one where ships may ride at anchor in security
in winter, which is owing to the land south of the peninsula before
mentioned, projecting into the ocean towards the west.
About twelve miles to the south of Fedala, is Dar el Beida,[46] a
town formerly belonging to Portugal, but now in ruins, and consisting
only of some huts. The plains in the vicinage of Dar el Beida are so
abundant in grain, that when the old Emperor (Seedy Mohammed) reigned,
he received annually for duties on corn shipped at this place, five
or six hundred thousand Mexico dollars; but since the accession of
his son, the present Emperor, and the consequent prohibition of the
exportation of grain, the soil here and elsewhere has lain fallow,
as it would be useless for a people, whose mode of life renders
their wants so few, to sow corn, without having a market to sell
it at; and I myself know, that in consequence of this prohibition,
corn had become so cheap, that many husbandmen, after the famine
and plague in 1800 had subsided, let their crops stand, the value
of them being insufficient to pay the expense of reaping them.
Forty-four miles south of Dar el Beida, stands the town of Azamore, in
the Arab province of Duquella, at some distance from the mouth of the
river Morbeya; the entrance to this river being dangerous, the town
of Azamore is not adapted to commerce. The walls built here by the
Portuguese are still standing. It was besieged in 1513 by the Duke of
Braganza, but abandoned by the Portuguese about a century afterwards.
There is an immense quantity of storks here, insomuch that they
considerably exceed the number of inhabitants. The air is very
salubrious.
A little to the south of Azamore, on the northern extremity of the
bay of Mazagan, are the ruins of Têtt, which signifies in Arabic
Titus, and is therefore supposed to be the ruins of the ancient city
of Titus, founded by the Carthaginians. On the southern extremity of
this bay stands the town of Mazagan, built in 1506 by the Portuguese,
and called by them Castillo Real, or the Royal Castle. There is
a dock on the north side of the town, capable of admitting small
vessels, but large vessels anchor about two miles from the shore,
on account of the Cape of Azamore stretching so far westward, as,
in the event of a south-west wind blowing, they would not be able
to clear it, if they lay nearer.
Mazagan was besieged by the Moors in 1562 ineffectually, and in 1769
the Portuguese had resolved to abandon it when the Emperor Seedy
Mohammed ben Abdallah laid siege to it, and took it, the Portuguese
having previously evacuated it. It is a strong and well built town,
having a wall twelve-feet thick, strengthened with bastions mounting
cannon. The air of Mazagan is peculiarly salubrious; the water is also
excellent, and has a good effect on horses soon after their arrival
here, after passing a country where that element is very indifferent,
and is taken up in buckets from wells about one hundred feet deep.
There still exists in this town a subterranean cistern, constructed by
the Portuguese in a very elegant style, sufficiently large to supply
the garrison with water, which is collected in the rainy season from
the terraces of the houses, which are made with a gentle inclination
towards the cistern; this water becomes extremely clear, and the lime
brought with it from the terraces, clarifies and preserves it from
worms and corruption; the cistern was somewhat damaged by the bombs
thrown into the town during the siege in 1769, but it still serves
the purpose of preserving the water. The vaulted roof is supported by
twenty-four columns of the Tuscan order; and the descent is by stairs.
The exportation of corn and wax from this place was very considerable
in the time of Seedy Mohammed ben Abdallah.
At a short distance south-west of Mazagan, is an ancient town, called
Bureeja, whence the Moorish name Bureeja, which they give to Mazagan.
Thirty-five miles south of Mazagan, is the town of El Waladia,
situated in an extensive plain. Here is a very spacious harbour
sufficiently extensive to contain 500 sail of the line: but the
entrance is obstructed by a rock or two, which, it is said, might be
blown up; if this could be effected, it would be one of the finest
harbours for shipping in the world. The coast of El Waladia is lined
with rocks, at the bottom of which, and between them and the ocean,
is a table land, almost even with the surface of the water, abounding
with springs, where every necessary and luxury of life grows in
abundance. The view of this land from the plains above the rocks,
is extremely beautiful and picturesque.
The town of El Waladia is small, and encompassed by a square wall:
it contains but few inhabitants. It may have been built towards
the middle of the 17th century by Muley El Waled, as the name seems
to indicate.
To the south of this, at the extremity of Cape Cantin, are the
ruins of an ancient town, called by the Africans Cantin, probably
the Conte of Leo Africanus.
Twenty-five miles south of El Waladia, we discover the ancient town of
Saffy, situated between two hills, which render it intolerably hot,
and in winter very disagreeable, as the waters from the neighbouring
mountains, occasioned by the rains, discharge themselves through the
main-street into the ocean, deluging the lower apartments of the
houses; and this happens sometimes so suddenly and unexpectedly,
that the inhabitants have not time to remove their property from
the stores.
The walls of Saffy are extremely thick and high; it was probably
built by the Carthaginians; but in the beginning of the 16th century
it was taken by the Portuguese, who voluntarily quitted it in 1641,
after having resisted every effort of the Mooselmin princes, who
endeavoured to take it. The road is safe in summer; but in winter,
when the winds blow from the south or south-west, vessels are obliged
to run to sea, which I have known some do several times in the course
of a month whilst taking in their cargoes.
There are many sanctuaries in the environs of Saffy, on which account
the Jews are obliged to enter the town barefooted, taking off their
sandals, when they approach these consecrated places; and if riding,
they must descend from their mule, and enter the town on foot. The
people of Saffy, although it has been a place of considerable trade,
particularly in corn, are inimical to Europeans, fanatical, and
bigotted, insomuch that till lately, Christians found it an unpleasant
residence. The surrounding country abounds in corn, and two falls
of rain a year are sufficient to bring the crops to maturity.
South of Saffy, we come to a defile close to the road, where only one
person can pass, called (Jerf el Eudee) the Jew’s Cliff, so named,
(as it is reported,) from a Jew, who, in passing, slipped, and fell
down the cavity, which is some hundred feet deep.
Sixteen miles south of Saffy, we reach the river Tensift, which
discharges itself into the ocean, near the ruins of an ancient town,
probably the _Asama_ of Ptolomy. Travellers pass the Tensift on
horseback in summer, but on rafts in the rainy season, which,
in passing, drift down to a square fort surrounded by trees,
on the opposite side of the river, built by Muley Ismael for the
accommodation of travellers.
Proceeding through the plains of Akkeermute, we discover the ruins
of a large town near the foot of Jibbel el Heddid,[47] depopulated
by the plague about 50 years since; and after a journey of 48 miles
from the river, we reach Mogodor, built by the Emperor Seedy Mohammed
ben Abdallah ben Ismael, in 1760, and so named from a sanctuary in
the adjacent sands, called Seedi Mogodol; but the proper name is
Saweera,[48] a name given by the Emperor in allusion to its beauty,
it being the only town altogether of geometrical construction in
the empire.
Mogodor is built on a sandy beach forming a peninsula, the foundation
of which is rocky adjoining to a chain of lofty hills, of moveable
sand impelled by the wind into waves continually changing their
position, resembling the billows of the ocean, and hence aptly
denominated a sea of sand, which sandy sea separates it from the
cultivated country. The town is defended from the encroachment of
the sea by rocks, which extend from the northern to the southern
gate, though at spring tides it is almost surrounded. There are two
towns, or rather a citadel and an outer town; the citadel (Luksebba)
contains the custom-house, treasury, the residence of the Alkaid,
and the houses of the foreign merchants, together with those of some
of the civil officers, &c. The Jews who are not foreign merchants
are obliged to reside in the outer town, which is walled in, and
protected by batteries and cannon, as well as the citadel.
[Illustration: _Plate 9._
_Drawn by J. G. Jackson._
_Engraved J. C. Stadler._
_West View of (Jibbel Heddeed) the Iron Mountains from the plains
of Akkurmute_
IN THE PROVINCE OF SHEDMA.
1 _Circular encampment of Arabs._
2 _Ruined town of Akkermute destroyed by the plague._
3 _Circular encampment of Arabs at a distance._
4 _Palm of Date Trees._
5 _Sanctuary at the top of the Iron Mountains._
_London Published June 4. 1811. by W. G. Nicholl Pall Mall._]
[Illustration: _Plate 10._
_Drawn by J. G. Jackson._
_Engraved J. C. Stadler._
_A South East View of Mogodor._
1. _Part of the Island of Mogodor._
2. _A Ship entering the Port._
3. _A Battery at the entrance of the Port._
4. _Do. Do._
5. _A Battery at the Landing Place._
6. _Building over the Emperor’s Scale._
7. _Emperor’s Coffee Alcove._
8. _British Vice Consuls tower._
9. _Mosque of the Citadel._
10. _French Vice Consuls tower._
11. _Spanish Vice Do._
12. _Batavian Vice Do._
13. _Entrance Port to the outer town._
14. _Grand Mosque of Seedy Usif._
15. 16. & 17. _Mosques._
18. _Duquella Battery._
19. _Duquella Gate._
20. _Gate near the Sea._
21. _Sandy Beach with loaded Camels approaching the town with the
(Stata) or Convoy on horseback._
22. _Boat entering the passage._
23. _Landing Place._
_London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall._]
The wind being high all the summer, with little intermission, nothing
will grow here in sufficient quantity to supply the inhabitants,
all kinds of fruits and vegetables are therefore brought from gardens
from four to twelve miles distant; and the cattle and poultry are also
brought from the other side of the sandy hills, where the country,
although interspersed with (Harushe) stony spots, is yet capable of
producing every necessary of life. The insulated situation of Mogodor,
and the want of fresh water, which is brought from the river a mile
and a half distant, deprive the inhabitants of all resource, except
that of commerce, so that every individual is supported directly or
indirectly by it: in this respect it differs from every other port
on the coast. The island which lies southward of the town is about
two miles in circumference, between which and the main-land is a
passage of water, where the ships anchor; but as there is but ten
or twelve feet at ebb tide, ships of war, or those of great burden,
do not enter the port, but lie at anchor about a mile and a half west
of the (Skalla) Long Battery, which extends along the west side of
the town towards the sea. This battery was constructed by a Genoese,
and is perhaps more remarkable for beauty than strength, and better
calculated for offensive than defensive operations. Proceeding
southward, towards the entrance of the road, we come to a circular
battery, on which are cannon and some mortars, besides a curious brass
gun taken by General Lord Heathfield, during the siege of Gibraltar:
the carriage, which is also of brass, is in the form of a lion,
opens in the middle, and contains the gun within it.[49] Underneath
this Battery is an extensive and copious mitfere, or cistern, into
which the rain falls from the flat roofs or terraces during the wet
season, and is sufficient to supply the garrison a twelvemonth.
Within the harbour, at the landing-place, are two long batteries
mounted with very handsome brass eighteen pounders, which were
presented to the Emperor Seedy Mohammed, by the Dutch government. The
town is defended on the landside by a battery of considerable force
to the eastward, and is fully adequate to keep the Shelluhs and
Arabs at a distance.
[Illustration:_Plate 11._
_Drawn by J. G. Jackson._
_Engraved J. C. Stadler._
_North View of the Port of Mogodor taken on the Terras of a House._
1. _Vessel entering the Road._
2. _Battery on the Island._
3. _The Island._
4. _Battery on the Island._
5. _A Mosque on Do._
6. _A Battery on Do._
7. _A Bastion where the powder is deposited._
8. _A long Battery mounted with brass Cannon._
9. _Custom House Entrance._
10. _Emperor’s Scale._
11. _Warehouses._
12. _Sandy Hills and Desert Country._
13. _Battery near the River._
14. _The Emperor’s Palace._
15. _Village of Diabet._
16. _Dwaria or Summer house, attached to the Emperor’s Palace._
17. _Wall to prevent the encroachment of the Sea._
18. _Battery on a Rocky ground, forming the North entrance to
the port._
19. _Cape Tegriwelt or Ossim._
20. _Road for Shipping._
21. _Battery where the State Prisoners are confined, previous to
their transportation to the Island._
22. _Sandy Beach._
_London Published June 4. 1811. by W. & G. Nicholl Pall Mall._]
Various opinions have been given of the strength of Mogodor by
the different naval officers who have visited it, and with whom I
have gone round the fortifications by permission of the Governor
of the citadel; I think the best one is, that if the works were
all completely mounted, and well manned, it would require six or
seven large frigates to capture, or rather destroy the place;[50]
for if it were entered by storm, a dreadful slaughter would be made
among the assailants by the inhabitants from the tops of the houses,
every house being a battery from whence the most destructive fire
might be kept up with small arms. This was the case when the Arabs of
Shedma, headed by their Sheiks, entered the town one Friday afternoon
after prayers.[51] The cause was this: some persons in the town
being dissatisfied with the Governor, who was a Bukarie black, or
slave, and not a (horreh) freeman, engaged the Bashaw of Shedma[52]
to enter the town with the chiefs of his province, assuring him, the
people were well disposed towards him, and would, in the event of his
forcing an entrance, give up the government to him, thereby securing
to the town the necessary supplies of provisions, with which it had
of late been but ill supplied, owing to the enmity between the Alkaid
of the town, and the Bashaw of the neighbouring province. Things
being mature for execution, the army of Arabs secreted themselves
behind the sand hills in the hollows, about a mile from the town,
whilst the Bashaw and chiefs rode in, and reached the entrance gate,
just as it was opened after prayers, and secured the gate-keepers
until about 17 or 18 of the chief Arabs of the province had passed
into the town: by this time the inhabitants made a desperate push, and
got the gate closed again; and the chiefs running about the streets,
were fired upon by the armed populace from the tops of the houses,
until the whole were killed. The Bashaw took refuge in an old house
near the Haha gate, and offered a large sum of money if they would
spare his life, but to no purpose; he was shot by the rabble. In
the mean time the scouts from the army secreted in the bottoms
seeing no signal from the town for their approach, were dismayed,
and too soon found it necessary to return to their homes, with the
loss of the flower of the province, the most undaunted warriors,
who had so often signalized themselves against their neighbours,
the Abda and Haha clans. The Arabs entered the town one by one,
with fixed bayonets, a very unusual thing in that country, and the
whole was conducted in so private a manner, that whilst I was walking
round the town with Mr. C. Layton, we met the Bashaw, who saluted us
(for he was attached to the English) and said we had nothing to fear,
that all would terminate to our satisfaction before the morning. As
the balls were flying in all directions, we went to the battery at
the landing-place, and there remained till the tumult was over; and
when we returned again into the town, were received by the Governor
with compliments of congratulation on our escape.
The houses at Mogodor are built as in other towns of the empire; but
those of the foreign merchants are more spacious, having from eight
to twelve rooms on a floor, which are square or long, and open into
a gallery which surrounds a court or garden in the interior of the
house, which, if occupied by merchants, is appropriated to the packing
and stowing of goods. The roofs are flat and beat down with terrace,
a composition of lime and small stones, and when this is properly
done, it will remain several years without admitting the rain,
provided it be washed over once every autumn with lime white-wash:
these terraces serve to walk on to take the air, and are preferable
to the walks out of the town, where there is nothing but barren sands
drifting with the wind. When, however, the trade-wind does not blow
strong, which is but seldom the case, during the summer months,
one may walk without being annoyed by the sand.
Mogodor has a very beautiful appearance at a distance, and
particularly from the sea, the houses being all of stone, and white:
but on entering the streets, which cross each other at right angles,
we are greatly disappointed, for they are narrow, and the houses
having few windows towards the street, they have a sombre appearance.
In case of an attack, Mogodor would find some difficulty in procuring
water, which is brought from the river, about a mile and half to
the south, in jars and casks, by mules and asses.
The Emperor Seedy Mohammed, to impress on the minds of his subjects,
his desire to make Mogodor the principal commercial port on the ocean,
ordered the Bashaw Ben Amaran, and others of the great officers
about his person, to bring him mortar and stones, whilst he with his
own hands began to build a wall, which is still to be seen on the
rocks west of the town; and, in order to encourage the merchants
to erect substantial houses, he gave them ground to build on, and
allowed them to ship produce, free of duty, by way of remuneration
for their expenses. This is the only port which maintains a regular
and uninterrupted commercial intercourse with Europe.
A winter seldom passes but some ships are driven ashore here by the
south-west winds, and this happens generally between the 12th of
December, and the 22d of January, the season called Liali by the
Arabs, and the only period dangerous to shipping in the bay.
Proceeding to the south along the coast, the next port we reach
is Agadeer, or Santa Cruz, called, in the time of Leo Africanus,
Guertguessem; it is the last port in the Emperor’s dominions, on
the shores of the Atlantic. The town, which stands on the summit of
the Atlas, is strong by nature, and almost impregnable; its walls
are also defended by batteries; but the principal battery is at a
short distance from the town, half way down the west declivity of
the mountain, and was originally intended to protect a fine spring of
fresh water, close to the sea; this battery also commands the approach
to the town, both from the north and south, and the shipping in the
bay. The town called by the Portuguese Fonté, and by the Shelluhs
Agurem, is still standing at the foot of the mountain towards the
sea, and the arms of that nation are yet to be seen in a building
erected over the spring. This town was appropriated to warehouses
for the merchants of Santa Cruz to deposit their effects during
its establishment.
Santa Cruz was walled round and strengthened by batteries in 1503,
by Emanuel, king of Portugal, but it was taken from the Portuguese
by the Moors in 1536.
This place would make an excellent depot for the produce of South
America; the natural strength of the place, situated on the summit of
Atlas, would secure it from the attacks of the Shelluhs and Arabs,
who would soon become hospitable and friendly: they are addicted to
traffic. Plantations of olives, vines, dates, and oranges abound in
the adjacent country; it produces also gum, almonds, copper, lead,
salt-petre, and sulphur. Gold dust is brought here from Soudan,
silver from the adjacent mountains, and ambergris from the coast to
the southward.
The bay of Agadeer is probably the best road for vessels in the
empire, being large, deep, and well defended on every side from all
winds: a proof of this is, that during my three years residence there,
there was not a ship lost or injured. It abounds in exquisite fish,
immense quantities of which are caught by the inhabitants of the town,
and prepared in ovens, for transportation to the interior.[53]
In the reign of Muley Ismael, Agadeer was the centre of a very
extensive commerce, whither the Arabs of the Desert, and the people
of Soudan, resorted to purchase various kinds of merchandize for
the markets of the interior of Africa; and caravans were constantly
passing to and from Timbuctoo. The natural strength of the place,
however, its imposing situation, and capability of resisting any
force, excited the jealousy of the Emperors, which was confirmed
in 1773 by the inhabitants becoming refractory, and Talb Solh,
the governor, refusing to deliver it up. On learning this, the
Emperor Seedy Mohammed immediately levied an army, and marched from
Marocco against it; the place did not make a long resistance, for the
rebellious governor, finding it impossible to withstand the imperial
army, yielded to the persuasions of the chiefs to accept an invitation
the Emperor had sent him to come and declare his allegiance, as on
doing that he should receive his pardon; he accordingly repaired to
Tamaract,[54] but found, too late, that this was only a stratagem to
seize his person, as he was immediately imprisoned; but procuring,
by the assistance of a friend, a penknife, which was sent to him,
baked in a loaf of bread, he with this terminated his existence,
and the town soon after surrendered. The merchants were allowed
but a short time to collect together their effects, when they were
ordered to proceed to Mogodor, where the Emperor, as before mentioned,
encouraged them to build houses.
Beyond Santa Cruz there is no port frequented by shipping: there is
a tract of coast, however, which holds out great encouragement to
commercial enterprize, and secure establishments might be affected
upon it, which would amply remunerate the enterprizing speculator; the
people of Suse are also well disposed towards Europeans, particularly
the English; and the communication, and short distance, between this
place and the provinces, or districts, where most of the valuable
products of Barbary are raised, render it peculiarly adapted to trade.
When curiosity induced me to visit this coast, I was invited by the
Amarani Arabs to establish a factory at a certain eligible place;
the Sheik offered to get a house built for me, free of expense,
and declared that all exports and imports should be regulated by
a duty of only two per cent. on the value; as he was, however,
liable to be shot, being a celebrated warrior, and as I was not
sufficiently known in England to procure the credit necessary to
carry on advantageously such an establishment, I thought it prudent
at that time to decline the overture. If, however, I had been able to
procure the same support from Europe that I should have had from the
natives and their Sheik, an eligible opportunity would have presented
itself to open an extensive and lucrative trade with the interior,
which in a short time would have supplied the whole of the inland
countries of North Africa with European manufactures and produce.
From Santa Cruz southward the sovereignty of the Emperor
slackens, so that at Wedinoon it is scarcely acknowledged, and the
difficulty of passing an army over that branch of the Atlas which
separates Suse from Haha, secures to the Wedinoonees their arrogated
independence. There are but two roads yet discovered fit for shipping
between Santa Cruz and Cape Bojador, an extent of coast, for the
most part desert, of seventy leagues, the whole of which is inhabited
by various tribes of Arabs, who have emigrated at different periods
from the interior of Sahara, and pitched their tents wherever they
could find a spot capable of affording pasture to their flocks. All
along this dangerous and deceitful coast, there are rocks even with,
or very near, the surface of the water, over which the waves break
violently; and the rapidity of the currents, which invariably set
in towards the land, too often drive vessels ashore here.[55]
In these southern climates the people are more superstitious than in
the northern provinces; the heat inflaming the imagination, multiplies
the number of fanatics, who under the name of Fakeers, or saints,
impose on the credulity of the people: they have but few mosques,
and therefore pray in the open air, or in their tents. Here we see
horses, camels, and other beasts, living together with men, women, and
children indiscriminately. When they are in want of water for their
religious ablutions, they substitute the use of sand. These restless
people are continually at war with their neighbours, which originates
in family quarrels; plunder keeps them incessantly in motion, and
they traverse the Desert to Soudan, Timbuctoo, and Wangara, with as
little preparation as we should make to go from London to Hampstead.
Wedinoon is a kind of intermediate depot for merchandize on its way to
Soudan, and for the produce of Soudan going to Mogodor. Gums and wax
are produced here in abundance; and the people living in independance,
indulge in the luxuries of dress, and use many European commodities. A
great quantity of gold dust is bought and sold at Wedinoon. They
trade sometimes to Mogodor, but prefer selling their merchandize on
the spot, not wishing to trust their persons and property within
the territory of the Emperor of Marocco. With Timbuctoo, however,
they carry on a constant and advantageous trade, and many of the
Arabs are immensely rich; they also supply the Moors of Marocco with
(Statas) convoys through the Desert, in their travels to Timbuctoo.
Some of the more enlightened merchants of Mogodor, towards the
close of the last century, had a great opinion of an establishment
somewhere on this coast, between the latitude of 27° and 30° north;
but a famine, and afterwards a most destructive plague, added to
various other incidents, conspired to prevent the execution of the
plan. It is certain that a very profitable commerce might be carried
on with these people; and most probably Bonaparte, if he succeed
in the final conquest of Spain, will turn his mind decidedly to an
extensive factory somewhere here, which (besides many advantages,
which existing circumstances prevent me explaining here) would
effectually open a direct communication with Timbuctoo, and Soudan,
and supply that immense territory with European manufactures at the
second hand, which they now receive at the fifth and sixth.
Having said thus much about the coast, we will proceed to describe
the principal inland towns, viz. Marocco, Mequinas, Fas, and Terodant.
[Illustration:_Plate 12._
_Drawn by J. G. Jackson._
_Engraved J. C. Stadler._
_West View of the City of Marocco with the Mountains of Atlas._
1 _Circular encampment of Arabs Tents._
2 _Strait encampment of Arabs Tents._
3 _Grove of Palm of Date Trees._
4 _Do.Do._
5 _Atlas Mountains._
_London Published June 4. 1811. by W. & G. Nicholl Pall Mall._]
MAROCCO.
The city of Marocco is situated in a fruitful plain, abounding in
grain, and all the other necessaries of life, and depastured by sheep
and cattle, and horses of a superior breed, called (Sift Ain Toga)
the breed of Ain Toga. At a distance, the city has a beautiful and
romantic appearance, the adjacent country being interspersed with
groves of the lofty palm, and the towering snow-topped mountains
of Atlas, in the back-ground, seem to cool the parched and weary
traveller reposing in the plains; for although none
“Can hold a fire in his hand,
“By thinking on the frosty Caucasus;”
SHAKSPEARE.
yet, in the sultry season, the traveller, by viewing these mountains,
experiences an agreeable sensation, difficult to be described. The
lily of the valley, the fleur-de-lis, lupins, roses, jonquils,
mignonet, jasmines, violets, the orange and citron flowers, and many
others, grow here spontaneously; and in the months of March and April,
the air in the morning, is strongly perfumed with their grateful and
delicious odours. The fruits are, oranges of the finest flavour,
figs of various kinds, water and musk melons, apricots, peaches,
and various kinds of grapes, pears, dates, plums, and pomgranates.
The city of Marocco was founded in the 424th year of the Hejira[56]
(1052) by Jusuf Teshfin, of the family of Luntuna, a tribe of Arabs
inhabiting the plains east of Atlas, on the way to Tafilelt; and in
the time of his grandson, Aly ben Yusif, it is said to have contained
a million of inhabitants; latterly, however, it has been much
depopulated, and owing to the devastations of succeeding conquerors,
retains little of its ancient magnificence; the accumulated ruins
of houses and gardens within the town, which were once the sites of
habitations, indicate its decay. It is surrounded by extremely thick
walls, formed of a cement of lime and sandy earth,[57] put in cases,
and beaten together with square rammers. These walls were in many
places broken and decayed, so that horses might pass through them;
but the breaches were repaired previous to the siege and capture of
the city by Muley Yezzid, in February, 1792. Some of the houses are
built with much elegance and taste, but being all behind high walls,
they are not visible from the street; and these outer walls are of
the rudest construction, for every individual here is anxious to
conceal his wealth, and to impress the public and the State with an
idea that he is poor and distressed!
The imperial palace of Marocco, which faces Mount Atlas, is built
of hewn stone, ornamented with marble. It is not so magnificent a
building as that of Mequinas; the architecture of the principal gates
is Gothic, embellished with various ornaments in the Arabesque taste;
the walls of some of the rooms are of filligree-work, and others of
(ezzulia, or) glazed tiles, similar to the Chinese tiles, which are
fixed in the walls with much art, and have a cool effect. Three
gardens are attached to the palace, the first and largest is
called Jinen el Erdoua, the second Jinen el Afia, and the third,
which is the smallest, and situated at a private door, Jinen Nile,
or the Garden of the Nile, so named from its containing the fruits
and plants of the Nile, Timbuctoo, and Soudan, with many others,
the produce of Barbary. In the two former of these gardens, the
Emperor allows the foreign merchants to pitch their tents whenever
they visit him, which is generally every time he goes to Marocco,
and in the Jinen Nile they have their audience of business, that is,
the second audience, the first being an interview of ceremony, and the
third, an audience of leave to depart. The two first gardens abound
with olives, oranges, grapes of various kinds, apricots, peaches,
pomgranates, water-melons, citrons, limes, &c.; these, however, are
surpassed in richness by the Jinen Nile, the orange trees of which
are small, but very fruitful, and the flowers extremely odoriferous;
the roses, in particular, are unequalled, and matrasses are made of
their leaves for the men of rank to recline upon. In these gardens
are (Kobba) pavilions about forty feet square, with pyramidal roofs
covered with glazed tiles of various colours, and lighted from four
lofty and spacious doors, which are opened according to the position
of the sun; they are painted and gilt in the Arabesque style, and
ornamented with square compartments containing passages from the
Koran, in a sort of hieroglyphic character, or Arabic shorthand,
understood only by the first scholars. As the luxury and convenience
of tables, chairs, and curtains are unknown in this country,
the furniture of these apartments is very simple, consisting of a
couple of sofas or couches, some china, and tea equipage, a clock,
a few arms hung round the walls, a water-pot, and carpets to kneel
upon in prayers. Here the Emperor takes coffee or tea, and transacts
business with his courtiers.
The grand pavilion in the middle of the enclosure is appropriated
to the women; it is a very spacious building, and fitted up in the
same style of neatness and simplicity as the others.[58]
Near to the palace is (the M’shoar, or) Place of Audience, an
extensive quadrangle, walled in, but open to the sky, in which the
Emperor gives audience to his subjects, hears their complaints,
and administers justice.
In Marocco are many temples, sanctuaries, and mosques; of these,
the most curious is one in the middle of the city, called Jamâa
Sidi Yusif, built by a prince named Muley el Mumen, on the site of
one erected by Sidi Yusif, which the former destroyed with a view
to obliterate the latter prince’s name; in this, however, he was
disappointed, for though he expended great sums in the erection of
the present building, and called it after himself, for the purpose
of transmitting his own name to posterity, yet the people continued
to call it by the old name, which it retains to the present time.
There is another mosque, said to have been built by Muley el
Monsore;[59] the body of it is supported by many pillars of marble,
and under it is a (mitfere) cistern, which holds a large quantity of
water, collected in the rainy season, and used by the Mohammedans
for their ablutions. The tower is square, and built like that of
Seville in Spain, and the one near Rabat already described;[60]
the walls are four feet thick, and it has seven stories, in each of
which are windows, narrow on the outside, but wide within, which
renders the interior light and airy: the ascent is not by stairs,
but by a gradually winding terrace composed of lime and small stones,
so firmly cemented together as to be nearly as hard as iron. On the
summit of the tower is a turret in the form of a square lantern,
hence called (Smâa el Fannarh) the Lantern Tower, which commands a
most extensive prospect, and from whence Cape Cantin, distant about
120 miles, is distinctly visible. The roofs of the different chambers
in this building, which are all quadrangular, are very ingeniously
vaulted: and indeed the whole workmanship is of the most excellent
kind. Prayers are performed here every Friday in presence of the
Emperor. That part of the city adjoining this edifice is quite a
heap of ruins.
There is another tower in the city, which may be mentioned,
from the circumstance of its having three golden balls on its
top, weighing together, it is said, 10 quintals, equal to 1205
lbs. avoirdupois. Several kings, when in want of money, have, it is
said, attempted to take them down, but without success, as they are
very firmly and artfully fixed; the superstitious people say they
are fixed by magic, that (jin) a spirit guards them from all injury,
and that all those who have attempted their removal, were soon after
killed.[61] There is a tradition, that the wife of Muley el Mumen,
desirous of ornamenting the temple built by her husband, caused these
globes to be made of the gold melted down from the jewels which the
king gave her.
At the extremity of the city, towards the Atlas, and near the imperial
palace, is the department for the Jews, called El Millah, the gates
of which are shut at night: these people have an Alkaid appointed
over them, to whom they apply for protection against insult: they
pay a certain tribute or poll-tax, (called Elgazia), to the Alkaid;
they are for the most part rich; but from motives of policy, under
this despotic government, they endeavour to appear poor, miserable,
and dirty. Not more than two thousand Jewish families now reside here,
great numbers having been induced, from various causes, to emigrate
to the adjacent mountains, where they are free from taxation.
In this quarter stands the Spanish convent, which, till lately,
was inhabited by two or three friars; but it is now deserted.
The Kasseria, or department for trade, is an oblong building,
surrounded with shops of a small size, filled with silks, cloths,
linens, and other valuable articles for sale. Here the people resort
to transact business, hear the news, &c. much in the same manner as is
done on the exchanges of European towns; and independent gentlemen,
who have no occupation at court, often hire one of these shops,
merely for the purpose of passing the morning here in conversation
on politics, and other subjects.
The principal gates of Marocco are the Beb El Khumise and Beb
Duquella; the former takes its name from a market called Soke El
Khumise, or the fifth day’s market, or Thursday’s market, where
horses, cattle, and all kinds of merchandize are bought and sold;
the latter, or Duquella Gate, takes its name from the province of
that name. Besides these, there is the Gate of the Millah, the Gate
of the Luksebba, or palace, and two or three other gates.
The city of Marocco is supplied with water from numerous wells and
springs amongst the different olive plantations, and the rich procure
it from the river Tensift, which flows at a short distance from the
city: this water is very salubrious, and anti-bilious, and is drank
in cases of indigestion. There is also a subterraneous aqueduct built
of brick, which surrounds the town, twenty feet below the surface,
and from which, at about every hundred yards, pipes of brick-work
branch off, and convey the water into the different houses; over each
of these branches are excavations from the surface, through which
persons descend to repair any injuries below; but this aqueduct is
now much neglected, and out of repair.
This city being now on the decline, little can be said of its
cleanliness; the streets are mostly filled with ruins of houses
which have gone to decay; and in the Millah, or Jews’ quarter,
heaps of dung and other filth are seen, as high as the houses. The
Moors, however, from a natural desire of cleanliness, in which the
Jews are scandalously deficient, pay more attention to the streets
in which they reside. The houses of the Alkaids, Shereefs, or nobles,
and other military officers, are lofty, spacious, and strongly built,
with a turret in the middle, or on one side, where the women take the
air, and pass the evening _in fresco_. The rest of the houses being
almost all old, they swarm with vermin, particularly bugs, which, in
the summer season, are literally a plague, the walls being covered
with them; at this period also, the inhabitants are much annoyed
with scorpions, which are frequently found in the beds, and other
places;[62] to these may be added the domestic serpent, but this is
rather considered as an object of veneration, than a nuisance.[63]
The air about Marocco is generally calm; the neighbouring mountains of
Atlas defend the plain in which it stands from the scorching Shume,
or hot wind (which blows from Tafilelt and Sahara), by arresting its
progress, and the snow with which they are always covered, imparts
a coolness to the surrounding atmosphere; in summer, however, the
heat is intense, though the nights during that period are cool; in
winter the cold is very sensibly felt: but the climate is altogether
extremely healthy. The inhabitants, particularly the Jews, are,
however, affected with ophthalmia.
On the death of Aly ben Yusif, a private individual named El Meheddi,
a man of ambitious character, sprung up in the Atlas mountains, and
levying a large army, proceded to Marocco, and laid siege to the town,
which was then commanded by Muley Bryhim, successor to Aly ben Yusif,
who collecting his forces, marched out to give El Meheddi battle;
but being completely overpowered and defeated, he fled to Imsmise in
the Atlas east of Marocco. El Meheddi not satisfied with his escape,
ordered his general in chief to pursue him with one half of his
numerous army, whilst he took possession of Marocco with the other;
the general pursued the King so closely, that he arrived immediately
after him at Oran, where the latter, finding no support, and being
driven to despair, mounted his horse in the night, and placing his
queen behind him, rode out of the place, and clapping spurs to the
horse, passed over a precipice, and was, together with his queen,
dashed to pieces. His body being discovered, the general, who was
a prince, and named Muley el Mamune, returned with the army to the
city of Marocco, where, on his arrival, finding El Meheddi dead,
and succeeded by his son, he attacked the city, and after a year’s
siege took it; irritated at being so opposed, he put El Meheddi’s
son to death, and a dreadful massacre of the army and citizens ensued,
after which he was proclaimed Sultan and Amer el Mumenine,[64] and
established the first Diwan, which consisted of ten men learned in
the Arabic language, and in the laws of the Koran. This El Mamune’s
posterity reigned at Marocco from the 516th to the 668th year of
the Hejira,[65] and then were dispossessed by a king of the tribe
of Marin, whose posterity reigned with despotic sway till the year
785 of the Hejira.
MEQUINAS.
The city of Mequinas stands in a beautiful valley about sixty
miles from Salée, near the sanctuary of Muley Dris Zerone; and
is surrounded by gentle eminences, and highly cultivated vales,
ornamented with plantations of dates, grapes, figs, pomgranates,
oranges, olives, &c., all which grow in abundance, the surrounding
country being well watered by various springs and streams.
This city owes its present extent and consequence to the Sultan
Muley Ismael, who, after having secured to himself the undisputed
sovereignty of the small kingdoms which now form the empire of
Marocco, determined, in order to keep his people in more complete
subjection, to have two imperial cities, and in consequence made
Marocco the capital of the south, and Mequinas that of the north;
he at the same time considerably enlarged the city to the westward,
and erected a beautiful palace, which is defended by two bastions
mounted with a few guns of small calibre.
In the plain, on that side of the city towards the Atlas mountains,
is a wall of circumvallation about six feet in height, which was built
as a defence against the Berebbers, whose attacks, though impetuous,
are momentary, and do not require a long defence. Muley Ismael, and
his successor, Muley Abdallah, have repeatedly defended themselves
in this city against these people, when, in attempting to bring them
under their yoke, they have been routed, and their armies pursued
to its very walls.
At the south end of the city stands the palace (which encloses
the Horem, or seraglio), a very extensive quadrangular edifice,
built by Ismael, after his own design; it contains several
gardens admirably laid out, and watered by numerous streams from
the adjacent country. I obtained permission to view this building
from the Emperor’s brother, as no person is suffered to enter it
without leave. In the centre of the enclosure is the horem, within
which is a spacious garden, planted with tall cypress trees; it is
surrounded by a gallery, supported by columns, which communicates
with the adjoining apartments, the largest of which are appropriated
to the women (the smaller rooms being for the eunuchs and female
attendants), and terminate in a hall, or large chamber, built on a
causeway which divides the gardens; here the females look through
the iron-latticed windows, and take the air, which, in the summer,
is perfumed with the smell of violets, jasmines, roses, wild thyme,
and other delectable odours. The palace is also interspersed with
buildings called Kobbah, which contain a spacious square room, the
roof of which is pyramidical, and on the inside curiously carved
and ornamented with painting and gilding.
This extensive palace is rendered more spacious by being built
altogether on the ground floor; the rooms are long and lofty, but
narrow, being about 12 feet wide, 18 high, and 25 long; the walls
are inlaid with glazed tiles of bright colours, which give an air
of coolness to the apartments; and the light is communicated by
means of two large folding doors, which are opened, more or less,
according to the degree of light required in the room. Between the
different suites of apartments are courts regularly paved with squares
of black and white marble; and in the centre of some of these stands
a marble fountain.
The Millah, or that part of the city inhabited by the Jews, is walled
round, and is extensive, and in good repair. Many of the Jews live
in affluence.
Contiguous to the Millah is another enclosure called the Negroes’
quarter, built by Ismael for the residence of the families of his
black troops;[66] of this, however, nothing remains but the walls.
In this city was an hospitium, or convent of Spanish monks, founded
about a century since by the king of Spain, for the relief and
spiritual comfort of Catholic captives, and Christian travellers. This
convent, and that at Marocco, were much respected by the Mooselemin,
from the essential service afforded by the monks to the poor, whom
they used to supply with medicines gratis; but, after a long practice,
they found their prescriptions were grossly abused by the Moors,
who took them without any regard to regimen; they were therefore
obliged to make a general medicine for all applicants, composed of a
decoction of simples with honey, and this they denominated the _dua
sheriff_, or princely remedy. This convent was deserted by the monks
previous to the accession of Soliman, the present Emperor.
The streets of Mequinas are not paved, and on this account it is
a very disagreeable place in winter, as the rains cause the mud
to accumulate, which renders walking abroad very unpleasant. The
inhabitants are extremely hospitable: they invite strangers to their
gardens, and entertain them sumptuously: indeed, the manners of the
people in this part of the empire, are more mild, perhaps, than in
any other.
Nature seems to have favoured the women of Mequinas, for they are
handsome without exception, and to a fair complexion, with expressive
black eyes, and dark hair, they unite a suavity of manners rarely
to be met with even in the most polished nations of Europe.
FAS.
This city (which is divided into old and new, called Fas Jedide,
and Fas El Bâlee) is the most celebrated in West Barbary; it was
founded about the 185th year of the Hejira (A.C. 786) by Idris,[67]
a descendant of Mohammed. It stands for the most part upon gentle
hills, except the centre, which is low, and in winter very wet and
dirty. It is not so extensive as Marocco, but the houses being more
lofty and spacious, it contains more inhabitants. The houses have
flat roofs ingeniously worked in wood, and covered with terrace,
on which the inhabitants spread carpets in summer, to recline upon,
and enjoy the cool breezes of the evening; a small turret, containing
a room or two, is also erected upon them for the use of the females
of the family, who resort thither for amusement and pastime. In the
centre of each house is an open quadrangle surrounded by a gallery,
which communicates with the staircase, and into which the doors of
the different apartments open; these doors are both wide and lofty,
and are made of curiously carved wood painted in various colours. The
beams of the roofs of the different apartments are whimsically painted
with gay colours in the arabesque style. The portals of the houses
are supported with pillars of brick plaistered over. The principal
houses have (Mitferes) cisterns under them, containing water used
in the baths, which are built of marble or stone. Every house is
also supplied with water from a river which rises in the Atlas, and
enters the town in various places by covered channels. The hospitals,
colleges, and houses of the great and wealthy have, withinside,
spacious courts, adorned with sumptuous galleries, fountains,
basons of fine marble, and fish-ponds, shaded with orange, lemon,
pomgranate, and fig trees, abounding with fruit, and ornamented with
roses, hyacinths, jasmine, violets, and orange flowers, emitting a
delectable fragrance.
In the city are a great number of mosques, sanctuaries, and other
public buildings; about fifty of these are very sumptuous edifices,
being ornamented with a kind of marble, unknown in Europe, procured
in the Atlas mountains.[68]
The maintenance of professors and students in the mosques, has
lately become very scanty, the wars having destroyed many of the
possessions by which learning was promoted. The students are mostly
employed in reading the Koran; if any one read a text which he
does not understand, the professor explains it to him in public;
at other times they dispute among themselves, and the professor
finally explains the passage.
A public bath is attached to each mosque, for religious ablutions;
there are also public baths in various parts of the town, whither
the common people resort;[69] the men at one hour and the women at
another; when occupied by the latter, a rope is suspended from the
cieling of the first apartment, as a signal to the stranger not
to proceed farther; and so particular are they in this respect,
that a man would not be here permitted to speak to his own wife,
such regard have they for their reputation. These baths produce
a considerable sum annually. Besides these there are chalybeate,
sulphureous, and antimonial baths; there is also a bath celebrated
as a specific for the venereal disease, which is said to be an
infallible cure in three months.
The hospitals which have been mentioned by early writers as being in
Fas, must have fallen greatly into decay, as there are now very few;
in these the poor are fed, but no surgeon or physician is attached to
them; women attend the infirm and sick till they recover, or death
terminate their sufferings. There is a Muristan, or mad-house,
where deranged people are confined; they are chained down, and
superintended by men who use them very harshly; their apartments
are disgustingly filthy.
There are nearly two hundred caravanseras or inns, called Fondaque,
in this city; these buildings are three stories high, and contain from
fifty to one hundred apartments, in each of which is a water-cock to
supply water for ablution and various other purposes. As the mode
of travelling is to carry bedding with one, they do not provide
beds in these inns, but leave you to make use of what you have got,
providing only a mat: and if you want any refreshment you cannot
order a meal, but must purchase it at a cook’s shop, or procure
it at the butcher’s, and get it dressed yourself, paying so much
per day for your apartment, the master of the Fondaque supplying
charcoal and Umjummars, or portable earthen fire-pots, &c.
There are a great many corn-mills in Fas; for the inhabitants being
mostly poor, and unable to lay up corn sufficient in store, they
purchase meal of the millers, who make great profit by it. The rich
buy their own corn, and send it to the mills to be ground.
Each trade or occupation has its separate department allotted to
it; in one place are seen several shops occupied by notaries or
scriveners, two in each shop; in another stationers; in another
shoe-makers: here a fruit market, there wax chandlers; another part
is allotted to those who fry meat, and make a light kind of bread
called Sfinge, fried in oil, and eaten with honey. Animals are not
suffered to be slaughtered in the city; this is done at a distance
from it, near the river, and the meat is sent from thence to the
different shops in the town, but first to the Mutasseb, or officer
who superintends the price of provisions, who, after examining it,
sets a price upon it on a piece of paper; this the venders show to
the people, who buy at the rate affixed.
The inhabitants of Fas are fond of poultry, which they rear in cages
to prevent them from running about the house, and dirting the rooms.
The Kasseria is a square place walled round, and divided into twelve
wards, two of which are allotted to the shoe-makers, who work for
the princes and gentlemen; the others consist of silk-mercers and
cloth and linen shops. There are sixty (Dellel) criers, or itinerant
auctioneers, who receive from the various shops, pieces of cloth,
linen, &c. and going about crying (al ziada) “who bids more,”
sell the lot to the highest bidder.
Fas Jedide, or New Fas, which lies contiguous to Old Fas, is a
well built town, in which are the looms and other machinery for
the different trades. The gardens here abound with all sorts of
delicious fruits; and roses and other odoriferous flowers perfume
the serene air, so that it is justly called a paradise. Westward,
towards the Emperor’s palace, stands a castle, built by one of the
princes of the Luntuna family, wherein the Kings of Fas kept their
court before the palace was built; but when New Fas was begun by the
sovereigns of the Marin dynasty, the castle became the residence of
the Governor of the city.
TERODANT.
This is the metropolis of the South, and was formerly that of
the kingdom of Suse: the town is spacious, and very ancient. The
buildings, generally speaking, are handsome. There is a magnificent
palace here, with gardens producing in abundance a variety of
the most delicious fruits. The adjacent plains are incredibly
fertile. The population of this city has decreased considerably; it
is now celebrated for salt-petre of a very superior quality; for the
manufacture of leather, and for saddles; also for dyeing. The river
Suse passes through the town. Terodant has stood various sieges;
and during the last, the inhabitants were reduced to the necessity
of eating rats and dogs, and burning their doors for fuel.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 40: There is in the middle of the town a mattamora, or
dungeon, where they used to confine their Christian captives taken
by the corsairs.]
[Footnote 41: In distinction from El Bahaira, which implies a
kitchen garden.]
[Footnote 42: It is well known that the vessels formerly fitted out
by the town of Salée, for the purpose of capturing the defenceless
merchant ships of Europe, were navigated by desperate banditti.]
[Footnote 43: One of the entrances of the town.]
[Footnote 44: The Count was nephew to the Duke de Crillon, and
had been confined in France during the reign of Robespierre, but
had effected his escape; the rigour of his confinement, however,
brought on a disorder which carried him off.]
[Footnote 45: Subterraneous vaults, or holes made in the form of a
cone, where corn is deposited, and these being closed at the opening,
it will keep thirty years or more.]
[Footnote 46: Formerly called Anafa, probably from the quantity of
anise-seed grown in the neighbourhood, _anafa_ being the Arabic word
for anise-seed.]
[Footnote 47: These mountains are said to abound in iron, as the
name expresses; they are covered with bole armoniac or red bole.]
[Footnote 48: Saweera being derived from Tasaweera, which, in the
African Arabic, signifies a drawing or painting.]
[Footnote 49: A cargo of corn free of duty, was given by the Emperor
to the person who presented him with this gun.]
[Footnote 50: When Commodore Crosby, in his Majesty’s ship Trusty,
accompanied by three small frigates, came down to Mogodor, he anchored
off the Long Battery, at about a mile and a half distant; at this
time the town was so little prepared for defence, that the guns were
not mounted, and when they began to do this, they were half an hour
in mounting one! It was understood that the Commodore’s orders were
indefinite; he was to act according to circumstances; but the Governor
was apprised by the Emperor of the probability of a visit from the
English, and had received orders at the same time to treat them in a
friendly manner; cattle and other provisions were accordingly sent
off to the ships, and all hostile operations were thus prevented;
the Commodore departed on the third day after his arrival; and the
two nations continued on friendly terms with each other.]
[Footnote 51: In all Mohammedan countries in Africa, the gates of
the town are shut on the Friday during prayers, on account of an
ancient superstitious tradition among the people, that their country
will be attacked by the Christians, and taken from them by surprise,
at that time.]
[Footnote 52: The Bashaw Billa.]
[Footnote 53: I have seen the fishermen draw more fish at one haul
of the net, than a boat could carry. After depositing the first
boat-load, they have gone back to load the remainder left on the
beach.]
[Footnote 54: See the Map of West Barbary.]
[Footnote 55: See Chapter XII.]
[Footnote 56: It appears from the testimony of the Moors as well
as the Berebbers, that Marocco is a more ancient town than Fas: we
have not, however, any written account of it previous to the 424th
year of the Hejira.]
[Footnote 57: This cement is called Tabia by the Moors. Livy tell
us that the walls of Saguntum were built with mortar made of earth.]
[Footnote 58: The Emperor, Seedy Mohammed, who died in 1790, after
reigning thirty-three years, shewed a great predilection for the
city of Marocco, and caused several regular pavilions to be built
by Europeans in the midst of the palace gardens; these are of hewn
stone, and finished in a plain substantial style. There are many
private gardens in the city, containing the most delicious fruits,
and having pavilions decorated much in the style of those above
described, which form a curious contrast with the real, or apparent
wretchedness of the surrounding buildings.]
[Footnote 59: This is the man to whom Rhazes, the Arabian physician,
dedicated his book de Variolis et Morbillis.]
[Footnote 60: See page 38.]
[Footnote 61: It appears, however, that they have been taken down,
and afterwards replaced, or others substituted.]
[Footnote 62: See under Zoology.]
[Footnote 63: See under Zoology. Though not now worshipped, the
serpent was probably one of the deities previous to the introduction
of Mohammedanism.]
[Footnote 64: An Arabic title implying commander of the faithful.]
[Footnote 65: The year of the Mohammedans is lunar. The Hejira began
in July 622 A.C.]
[Footnote 66: He built a town for the same purpose in the plains
of M’sharrah Rumellah, and in other places, all which are now
in ruins.]
[Footnote 67: This prince fled from Medina in Arabia, to avoid
the persecution of the Khalif Abd Allah, and retiring into Africa,
penetrated to the west of the Atlas, where, being struck with the
beauty of the adjoining plains, he founded the city of Fas, having
previously propagated the religion of the Arabian prophet at the
place now called the Sanctuary of Muley Dris Zerone, in the Atlas
mountains, west of the city of Mequinas.]
[Footnote 68: There are many other kinds of marble in this country,
similar to what is found in different parts of Italy, and the rest
of Europe.]
[Footnote 69: Most of the principal inhabitants have baths in their
own houses.]