Сафи: История и современность марокканского порта.

City in Marrakesh Safi, Morocco

Safi or Asfi (آسفي) is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of Asfi Province. It recorded a population of 308,508 in the 2014 Moroccan census. Safi is the main fishing port for the country's sardine industry, and also exports phosphates, textiles and ceramics. During the Second World War, Safi was the site of Operation Blackstone, one of the landing sites for Operation Torch.

11th century geographer Muhammad al Idrisi gave an explanation to the origin the name "Aasafi" as he linked it to the Arabic word "Asaf" (regret); Asafi (my regret). He based this claim on a strange story about some sailors from al Andalus who sailed to discover the other end of the Atlantic Ocean but got lost and landed on some island where the natives captured them and sent them back on their ships blindfolded. The ships eventually ended on the shores of "Safi" and locals helped the lost sailors and told them that they were two months away from their native land al Andalus. Upon hearing this one of the sailors responded by saying: "Wa asafi" (Oh my regret). Al Idrisi wrote that from that time the city carried the name "Aasafi".

Safi has a hot semi arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh).

Safi, under the name Safim (Zaffim or Asfi), is one of the oldest cities in Morocco. According to historian Mohammed al Kanuni, Safi must be identified with the ancient Thymiaterium or Carcunticus and was founded by the Carthaginian Hanno during his Periplus as related by Pliny the Elder. Under the Almohads it functioned as an important port to the capital Marrakesh. The city was under Portuguese rule from 1488 to 1541; it is believed that they abandoned it to the 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 Morocco as one of the safest and biggest seaports in the country. Many ambassadors to the Saadian and Alaouite kings during the 16th–18th centuries came to Morocco via Safi; its proximity to 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.

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.

Football and rugby are popular sports in Safi. The local football team 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).

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.