- The Province Of Tafilett, The
Birth-Place Of The Present Dynasty Of The Shereefs.
The royal or capitals of the interior now demand our attention, which
are El-Kesar, Mequinez, Fez, and Morocco.
El-Kesar, or Al-Kesar, [24] styled also El-Kesue-Kesar, is so named and
distinguished because it owes its enlargement to the famous Sultan of
Fez, Almansor, who improved and beautified it about the year 1180, and
designed this city as a magazine and rendezvous of troops for the great
preparations he was making at the time for the conquest of Granada.
El-Kesar is in the province of the Gharb, and situate on the southern
bank of the Luccos; here is a deep and rapid stream, flowing W. 1/4 N.W.
The town is nearly as large as Tetuan, but the streets are dirty and
narrow, and many of the houses in a ruinous condition, This fortified
place was once adorned by some fifteen mosques, but only two or three
are now fit for service. The population does not exceed four or five
thousand souls, and some think this number over-estimated.
The surrounding country is flat meadowland, but flooded after the rains,
and producing fatal fevers, though dry and hot enough in summer. The
suburban fields are covered with gardens and orchards. It was at
El-Kesar, where, in A.D. 1578, the great battle of The Three Kings came
off, because, besides the Portuguese King, Don Sebastian, two Moorish
princes perished on this fatal day.
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