Mogador is a modern city, having been
built in the year 1760 of our era, by the Sultan Sidi Mohammed, under
the direction of a French engineer of the name of Cornut, who was
assisted by Spanish renegades.
The object of Sidi Mahommed was to found a central emporium of the
commerce of the Empire, and a port for the southern capital (Morocco).
This town belongs to the province of Hhaha, whose Berber tribes are its
natural defenders.
The site is a sandy beach with a rocky foundation or a base on the sea,
forming a peninsula, and is supposed to be the ancient Erythraea. The
houses are regularly built, with streets in direct lines, extremely
convenient though somewhat narrow. The residences of the consuls and
European merchants are elegant and spacious. There is a large
market-place, which, on days when the market is not held, furnishes a
splendid parade, or "corso" for exercising cavalry.
The city is divided into two parts; one division contains the citadel,
the public offices, the residence of the governor, and several houses
occupied by European consuls and merchants, which are all the property
of the Sultan; and the other is the space occupied by the houses of the
Moors and Jews.
The Jews have a quarter or _willah_ to themselves, which is locked up
during the night, the key being kept by the police. Nevertheless,
several Jews, especially Imperial traders, are allowed to occupy houses
in the Moorish quarter or citadel portion of Mogador, with the Christian
merchants.
Both quarters are surrounded by walls, not very thick or high, but which
are a sufficient protection, against the depredations of the
mountaineers, or Arabs of the plain. The port is formed by a curve in
the land and the isle of Mogador, which is about two miles from the
mainland.
This isle, on the verge of the ocean, contains some little forts and a
mosque, and its marabout shrines sparkle in the sun. It is a place of
exile for political offenders. When the French landed, at the
bombardment of Mogador, they released fifty or sixty state prisoners,
some of whom had been Bashaws, or ministers of this and former reigns.
The isle, however, is finely situate off the Atlantic, fanned and swept
by healthy gales, and the prisoners suffer only seclusion from the
Continent. The exiles never attempt to escape, but quietly submit to
their destiny.
In the port, there are only ten or twelve feet of water at ebb tide, so
that large vessels cannot enter, but must lie at anchor a mile and a
half off the Western battery, which extends along the north-western side
of the port. Such vessels do not lie there except in the summer months,
and then with extreme caution, being, as they are, right off in the
Atlantic, on one of its most dangerous coasts. There are some tolerable
batteries, but they cannot long resist a European bombardment, which was
demonstrated by the French.
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