Districts of Agadir

Agadir City Fog in Agadir

The current conurbation of Agadir is actually a combination of four communes:

the former town of Agadir city the urban commune of Anza the rural town of Ben Sergao and the rural town of Tikiwine The city centre

Large and dynamic, it includes the boulevards Mohammed V and Hassan II, the Valley of Birds, the avenues General Kettani, Mohammed VI, Moulay Abdellah, and Mokhtar Soussi as well as the main avenue of the FAR ( Royal Armed Forces of Morocco). The city centre also includes the Place Salam, Place de l'Esperance, the Loubnane Mosque, and the Square with two fountains that leads to the greenbelt of the municipality. With the combination of several communes, the city centre is process to gradually move towards the Haut Founty district where the new administraton have built a new building for the Court of Appeal.

The seaside

Lively and dynamic, the tourist area at the seaside consists of the boulevard of 20 August, Tawada Avenue, the Corniche, Avenue of Oued Souss, and the Founty district: Baie des Palmiers. It has many hotels, restaurants, trendy cafes, and residential villas.

A large beautification project for the city is in course of being completed. Agadir is well equipped with a beautiful waterfront promenade about 5 km long.

A recent marina with many luxury shops was built at the foot of the Casbah and at the beginning of the Oued Tildi.

Agadir Beach The Beach and the hill at the old Casbah New Talborjt

This area is known as the old district of Talborjt (meaning "small fort" in tachelhit, in remembrance of the water tower which was first built on the plateau in the former Talborjt). Lively, the New Talborjt which has been rebuilt away from the Old Talborjt, has as a main artery the Boulevard Mohammed Sheikh Saadi, who was the victor against the Portuguese in 1541. Other major avenues are the Avenue President Kennedy and the Avenue February 29. There is also the Mohammed V mosque, the Olhão garden (Olhão is a coastal city located in the south of Portugal, which is paired with Agadir) and its memorial museum and the garden Ibn Zaydoun. Some good hotels and restaurants have been built on the main arteries.

Residential Districts Swiss Village: the oldest district of villas bordered by the Avenue of FAR (Royal Armed Forces), Avenue Mokhtar Soussi, Cairo Avenue, and the Avenue of the United Nations. Mixed Sector District: the French and Spanish Consulates are in this district. Founty or "Bay of palm trees": a seaside area with residential villas, large hotels, holiday homes, and the royal palace. High Founty: a new district of buildings and residential villas, located in the new city centre between the new Court of Appeal and the Marjane supermarket. Illigh: to the east in front of the Hassan II hospital, is a residential area of large villas, housing the "new bourgeoisie". Charaf: The Hassan II hospital is in this district. Les Amicales: also known as the "city of bureaucrats". Dakhla: close to the faculty of Ibnou Zohr, it has a great mix between modern buildings, ordinary villas, and studio apartments. Hay Mohammadi: a new urbanization zone in Agadir with a villa zone and a zone for large groups of buildings to frame the extension of the Avenue des FAR in the northwest. Adrar City: a new district next to the Metro hypermarket. Other neighborhoods: Lakhyam, Massira, Alhouda, Tilila, Tassila, Ben Sergao, Riad Assalam, Islane, Ihchach (Yachech) Nahda, Anza, and Taddart. The Ports

Over the decades, Agadir has had several ports: two fishing ports, a major trading port, and the recent port for leisure boats with its marina.

The Avenue du Port, the main artery of the Anza district, is surrounded by canneries and has many popular small restaurants adjacent to the fish market.

The fishing port is one of the premier major sardine ports in the world. The commercial port is also known for its exports of cobalt, manganese, zinc, and citrus products.

The Fishing Port seen from the Casbah Another view of the Fishing Port form the Casbah The Casbah or Agadir Oufella

The Casbah (Agadir Oufella, Agadir le haut, Agadir N'Ighir, or Agadir de la colline) was, along with Founti by the sea, the oldest district of Agadir. An authentic fortress with winding streets and lively, the Casbah was built in 1572 by Moulay Abdallah al-Ghalib. Above the front door, you can read the inscription in Arabic and in Dutch: "Fear God and honour the King."

Of this fortress there remains, after the earthquake of 29 February 1960, a restored long high wall that surrounds land that is not buildable. The view, however, is exceptional over the bay of Agadir and the ports. The old people of Agadir remember the famous "Moorish café" of the Casbah and its panoramic view.

The hill bears the inscription in Arabic: "God, Country, King" which, like the walls, is illuminated at night.

Hill of the old Casbah

the old boundary walls of Agadir Oufella

The Ramparts

The Casbah at Night: God, Country, King (Ar)

Old Talborjt

Overlooking the waterfront and Wadi Tildi, this old district (whose name is sometimes spelled Talbordjt) was once a shopping area and very lively with its large square where there was a weekly market, hotels, schools, mosque 90% of the buildings in Old Talborjt were destroyed or severely damaged by the earthquake in 1960. Razed to the ground after the earthquake and now overgrown, it is classified as non-buildable area. Its main thoroughfare, the Avenue El Moun stretches over 2 km and serves only for driving schools who teach their students to drive.

The Abattoir (Industrial Area) Spices

One of the most popular neighbourhoods, it is known for its Square for taxis and buses. It is a junction that unites the heart of the city and its surroundings. This district was the least affected by the earthquake of 1960.

Souk El Had

This is the largest market in the region. It has about 6,000 small shops. It is surrounded by walls and has several entrances. It is organized into different sectors: furniture, crafts, clothing, vegetables, meat, spices etc. It is possible to find little marvels, including all kinds of handicrafts and traditional decorations. There are also objects of poor quality "made in China", imitation traditional slippers in plastic at ridiculous prices, and counterfeit articles.

The walls have been restored and the interior design is being finished.

La Médina La Médina

La Médina is a handicrafts space created in 1992 by the Italian artist Coco Polizzi, at Ben Sergao, a district close to Agadir 4.5 km from the city centre. Built using techniques of traditional Berber construction, it is a kind of small open-air museum, on five hectares and home to artisan workshops, a museum, individual residences, a small hotel, and an exotic garden.

Subdivisions

The prefecture is divided administratively into the following communes:

Name Geographic code Type Households Population (2004) Foreign population Moroccan population Notes Agadir 001.01.01. Municipality 77485 346106 1925 344181 Amskroud 001.05.01. Rural commune 1687 10020 0 10020 Aourir 001.05.03. Rural commune 5571 27483 55 27428 21810 residents live in the center, called Aourir; 5673 residents live in rural areas. Aqesri 001.05.05. Rural commune 857 4873 0 4873 Aziar 001.05.07. Rural commune 688 3803 0 3803 Drargua 001.05.09. Rural commune 6910 37115 1 37114 17071 residents live in the center, called Drargua; 20044 residents live in rural areas. Idmine 001.05.11. Rural commune 671 4279 0 4279 Imouzzer 001.05.13. Rural commune 1153 6351 0 6351 Imsouane 001.05.15. Rural commune 1704 9353 0 9353 Tadrart 001.05.21. Rural commune 1008 5703 0 5703 Taghazout 001.05.23. Rural commune 999 5348 16 5332 Tamri 001.05.25. Rural commune 2927 17442 8 17434 Tiqqi 001.05.29. Rural commune 1735 10078 0 10078