Description of the attraction
The Mazagan Fortress, located in El Jadida near the port, is the main historical landmark of the city. The beginning of the construction of the fortress dates back to 1514. The authors of this stronghold were two brothers - Francisco and Diego de Arruda, also known for the creation of other fortifications in Morocco.
After the loss of Agadir, in 1541, the fortress was fortified with additional fortifications, which were arranged by a group of architectural engineers - João Ribeira from Portugal, Benedetto Ravenna from Italy and Juan Castilla from Spain. Soon several churches and chapels were erected on the territory of the fortress.
Initially, the building had three gates: Bull's - from the west, Morskie - from the northeast, and the Main gate - from the southern rampart, through which it was possible to enter the citadel by a drawbridge. During the years of French rule, the fortress underwent some changes - the moat was covered with earth and a new entrance was made to the main street of the city of Rua da Correira.
After a long two and a half centuries of occupation, the Portuguese, according to the drawn up peace treaty with Mohammed Ben Abdullah, were forced to leave the walls of the fortress. Before leaving, they mined the main gate, thereby destroying the Governor's bastion and almost the entire southern rampart, and the city itself remained "dead" for half a century.
Only somewhere in the middle of the nineteenth century. Sultan Mullah Abderrahman was ordered to restore the destroyed parts of the fortifications and build a mosque to bring the city back to life. It was then that the city was given its modern name El Jadida.
By the present time, four bastions have survived on the territory of the Mazagan fortress, namely: the bastions of St. Sebastian, Angel, St. Spirit and St. Antoine. Only ruins remained from the Governor's bastion, which was located near the main entrance to the fortress. Nowadays, residential quarters and souvenir shops are located inside the citadel.
