Safi, Morocco

Coordinates: 32°17′N 9°14′W / 32.283°N 9.233°W / 32.283; -9.233
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Safi
آسفي
Safi city
Safi city
Province
Safi
Area
 • Total
34 km2 (13 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)[1]
 • Total
308,508
 • Rank13th in Morocco

Safi (

Second World War, Safi was the site of Operation Blackstone, one of the landing sites for Operation Torch
.

Etymology

11th-century geographer

Al-Idrisi wrote that from that time the city carried the name "Asafi".[3]

History

According to historians Henri Basset and Robert Ricard, Safi was not a very ancient city.

Periplus, as related by Pliny the Elder.[5]

Al-Idrisi mentions Safi as a busy port in the 12th century.

Almohads, replacing the port of Ribat Kuz (present-day Souira Kedima) that had served as the main port for Aghmat in the previous century.[6]

The city was under

Saadians
(who were at war with them), since the city proved difficult to defend from land attacks. The Portuguese fortress built to protect the city is still there today.

After 1541, the city played a major role in

Marrakech
, then capital of Morocco, helped expand the maritime trade in the city.
Louis De Chénier, consul of the French court in Morocco in 1767, reported that the city was the only usable seaport at the time.

A French Navy captive, Bidé de Maurville, who wrote the account of his stay in Morocco in his 1765 book Relations de l'affaire de Larache, reported the presence of an important number of foreign trading houses in the city: Dutch, Danish, British and French.

After the Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah built the city of Mogador (modern-day Essaouira), he banned foreign trade in all Moroccan ports except in his newly built city. Consequently, Safi stopped playing a leading role in the Moroccan trade.

Safi's patron saint is

Abu Mohammed Salih
.

In 1942 as part of Operation Torch, American forces attacked Safi in Operation Blackstone. During November 8-10, 1942 the Americans took control over Safi and its port and took relatively few casualties compared to the other operations at Casablanca and at Port Mehdia.

Climate

Safi has a

hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification
BSh).

Climate data for Safi (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 30.3
(86.5) 		32.0
(89.6) 		36.0
(96.8) 		37.7
(99.9) 		40.5
(104.9) 		45.8
(114.4) 		46.4
(115.5) 		46.5
(115.7) 		42.6
(108.7) 		39.5
(103.1) 		34.2
(93.6) 		27.4
(81.3) 		46.5
(115.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 18.7
(65.7) 		19.6
(67.3) 		21.5
(70.7) 		22.5
(72.5) 		24.3
(75.7) 		26.1
(79.0) 		29.1
(84.4) 		29.3
(84.7) 		27.5
(81.5) 		25.5
(77.9) 		22.2
(72.0) 		19.9
(67.8) 		23.8
(74.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 13.3
(55.9) 		14.3
(57.7) 		16.2
(61.2) 		17.5
(63.5) 		19.7
(67.5) 		22.0
(71.6) 		24.5
(76.1) 		24.8
(76.6) 		23.0
(73.4) 		20.9
(69.6) 		17.2
(63.0) 		14.8
(58.6) 		19.0
(66.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 7.9
(46.2) 		8.9
(48.0) 		10.9
(51.6) 		12.6
(54.7) 		15.1
(59.2) 		17.8
(64.0) 		19.7
(67.5) 		20.2
(68.4) 		18.6
(65.5) 		16.3
(61.3) 		12.2
(54.0) 		9.8
(49.6) 		14.2
(57.6)
Record low °C (°F) −2.2
(28.0) 		−0.1
(31.8) 		2.9
(37.2) 		5.8
(42.4) 		6.0
(42.8) 		11.6
(52.9) 		14.7
(58.5) 		15.1
(59.2) 		11.1
(52.0) 		8.9
(48.0) 		2.3
(36.1) 		2.2
(36.0) 		−2.2
(28.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 55.8
(2.20) 		48.2
(1.90) 		41.2
(1.62) 		24.5
(0.96) 		14.8
(0.58) 		3.2
(0.13) 		0.6
(0.02) 		0.2
(0.01) 		5.0
(0.20) 		41.6
(1.64) 		68.7
(2.70) 		62.2
(2.45) 		366.0
(14.41)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 5.7 5.0 5.2 3.7 2.0 0.6 0.2 0.0 1.0 4.0 5.7 5.4 38.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours 219.3 211.7 258.0 284.7 318.8 303.9 320.3 306.2 267.6 246.0 220.3 208.9 3,165.7
Source 1:
NCEI (sun, 1981-2010)[7]
Source 2: NOAA[8]

Population

The inhabitants are composed of Berber and Arab descendants.

The Berber origin is related to:

  • The Berbers who lived in the region before the foundation of the city.
  • The Berbers who came later from the Sous plains, south of the region.

The

Arab origin is related to two tribes:[9]

Safi also used to have a large

Jewish community, more than 20% of the population,[citation needed] many of whom subsequently emigrated to France, Canada and Israel
.

Economy

Pottery from Safi

In the early 20th century, the Moroccan potter Boujemâa Lamali established a pottery school in Safi, supported by the colonial administration. Since then pottery has been a mainstay of Safi's economy. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic there were 2,000 registered artisans working in the city's 212 workshops, and thousands more unregistered artisans.[10]

Sport

Olympic Safi have been competing in Morocco's premier football division, Botola
, since 2004.
The
Rugby Union
team of the same name is one of Morocco's best, having won the "Coupe du Trône" several times. There also is a little Tennis Sport Club with a couple of fields (following the high road, beyond the Colline des Poitiers).

European cemetery

There is an abandoned European cemetery in Safi. Some of the marble decorations have been stolen from the richest tombs, including: Russian, Portuguese, Spanish (e.g. the Do Carmo family), Italian (e.g. the Bormioli family), French (e.g., the Chanel family), German and other European nationals. Some engravings identifying or memorializing the deceased have also been stolen. Although there are 19th century tombs present, most are of pre-independence (1956) 20th century origin.[citation needed]

Notable people

See also

  • Tajine memorial
    Tajine memorial

References

  1. ^ a b "POPULATION LÉGALE DES RÉGIONS, PROVINCES, PRÉFECTURES, MUNICIPALITÉS, ARRONDISSEMENTS ET COMMUNES DU ROYAUME D'APRÈS LES RÉSULTATS DU RGPH 2014" (in Arabic and French). High Commission for Planning, Morocco. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  2. ISBN 9781134553044
    .
  3. ^ Arabian American Oil Company, Aramco Services Company, Saudi Aramco (1991). Aramco world, Volumes 42-43. Aramco. p. 12.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^
    OCLC 495469456
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-292-78970-8
    .
  6. ISBN 978-84-930615-1-7
    .
  7. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010: Safi". National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Safi Climate Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. ^ MENNIS, Allal. "Safi ville.com". www.safi-ville.com.
  10. ISSN 0013-0613
    . Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  11. ^ "Mehdi Aissaoui". IMDb. Retrieved Jan 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "Cabinet approves Meir Ben Shabbat as national security adviser". Ynetnews. Nov 12, 2017. Retrieved Jan 5, 2021.
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32°17′N 9°14′W / 32.283°N 9.233°W / 32.283; -9.233

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