Archi­tec­turel Landmarks

El Jadi­da is renowned for its blend of French clas­si­cal archi­tec­ture from the colo­nial era (1919−1956) and the his­toric Por­tuguese Quar­ter, a UNESCO World Her­itage Site since 2004.

The Por­tuguese Quar­ter (16^th Century)

In 1541, the Por­tuguese found them­selves com­pelled to aban­don sev­er­al key for­ti­fi­ca­tions in Moroc­co, but they held firm­ly onto Maza­gan. King John III of Por­tu­gal (1502−1557) decid­ed to make Maza­gan the cor­ner­stone of Por­tuguese influ­ence in the region. To strength­en its defens­es, he dis­patched João de Castil­ho (1470−1552), a dis­tin­guished archi­tect, to over­see the for­ti­fi­ca­tion of the town.

El Mesqat (Maza­gan Cistern)

The Por­tuguese Cis­tern is an impres­sive under­ground struc­ture built in the ear­ly 16^th cen­tu­ry, around 1514. It is one of the most remark­able archi­tec­tur­al land­marks in El Jadi­da, Moroc­co, known for its unique design.

The cis­tern con­sists of an under­ground vault­ed cham­ber, sup­port­ed by five rows of mas­sive columns, form­ing a net­work of 25 bays. The vault is made of cut stone and fea­tures a Goth­ic archi­tec­tur­al style, with ele­gance that con­trasts with its func­tion­al pur­pose as a water stor­age facility.

Orig­i­nal­ly, the cis­tern was used to store water, show­cas­ing the mil­i­tary engi­neer­ing skills of the Por­tuguese in their colonies. This his­tor­i­cal struc­ture stands as a tes­ta­ment to the inge­nu­ity of Por­tuguese engi­neers, blend­ing strength and beau­ty in its design.

A pop­u­lar site for film­mak­ers, includ­ing Orson Welles’ Oth­el­lo, and admired by inter­na­tion­al artists.

Declared a UNESCO World Her­itage Site in 2004 as part of the Por­tuguese City of Maza­gan, empha­siz­ing its val­ue as a cul­tur­al landmark.

The Por­tuguese Cis­tern is not just a his­tor­i­cal site but a tes­ta­ment to the rich her­itage and cul­tur­al diver­si­ty of El Jadida.

Unfor­tu­nate­ly, it is closed for the pub­lic now, due to con­truc­tion works inside.

The Por­tuguese Fortress

The Fortress of Maza­gan is a remark­able exam­ple of Por­tuguese Renais­sance mil­i­tary archi­tec­ture, show­cas­ing inno­va­tions adapt­ed for the use of firearms. Orig­i­nal­ly, it fea­tured five bas­tions: St. Sebas­t­ian Bas­tion in the north, Holy Ghost Bas­tion in the south, Angel Bas­tion in the east, St. Antoine Bas­tion in the west, and the Gov­er­nor’s Bas­tion at the main gate along the west­ern wall. The fort was sur­round­ed by a 60-foot-wide, 9‑foot-deep sea­wa­ter-filled ditch, enhanc­ing its defens­es, and had three gates, includ­ing a sea gate for direct ocean access dur­ing high tide.

After the Por­tuguese left in 1769, aban­don­ing the city, the fortress under­went restora­tion in the mid-19^th cen­tu­ry and was renamed El Jadi­da (“The New”). It evolved into a thriv­ing com­mer­cial hub and a mul­ti­cul­tur­al soci­ety where Mus­lims, Jews, and Chris­tians coexisted.

The fortress remains well-pre­served, reflect­ing cen­turies of cul­tur­al and archi­tec­tur­al evo­lu­tion. Key mon­u­ments from the Por­tuguese era include the ram­parts with their bas­tions, the cis­tern — a strik­ing archi­tec­tur­al fea­ture — and the Catholic Church of the Assump­tion, a fine exam­ple of late Goth­ic design influ­enced by the ear­ly 16^th-cen­tu­ry Manoe­line style.

Church of the Ascension

The Church of the Ascen­sion, locat­ed in the Por­tuguese Quar­ter of El Jadi­da, is a his­tor­i­cal land­mark that show­cas­es the city’s cul­tur­al and archi­tec­tur­al diversity.

Built in the 16^th cen­tu­ry by the Por­tuguese, it orig­i­nal­ly served as a Chris­t­ian place of wor­ship dur­ing their occu­pa­tion of the region.

The church fea­tures a blend of Goth­ic and Renais­sance styles, with ele­gant stone arch­es and a sim­ple, refined design.

After the Por­tuguese depart­ed in 1769, the church became part of the local her­itage. In recent years, it has been trans­formed into a cul­tur­al the­ater with­in the Por­tuguese Quar­ter. Today, the space is used for var­i­ous cul­tur­al events, includ­ing the­atri­cal per­for­mances, art exhi­bi­tions, and musi­cal activities.

The Church of the Ascen­sion is not just a his­tor­i­cal site; it is now a vibrant hub for artis­tic and cul­tur­al expres­sion in the heart of El Jadida.

Restora­tions in the 19^th century

the 1800s, sig­nif­i­cant efforts were made to repair, ren­o­vate, or pre­serve the struc­ture of the Church of the Ascen­sion and oth­er relat­ed build­ings in the Por­tuguese Quar­ter. These restora­tions aimed to:
Fix any struc­tur­al dam­age caused by time, nat­ur­al ele­ments, or human activ­i­ty since the Por­tuguese era.
Main­tain the archi­tec­tur­al and his­tor­i­cal integri­ty of the site for future gen­er­a­tions.
Mod­i­fy cer­tain parts of the build­ing to suit its evolv­ing role in the com­mu­ni­ty, such as its trans­for­ma­tion into a cul­tur­al venue.

Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque in El Jadi­da is one of the city’s most sig­nif­i­cant reli­gious and his­tor­i­cal land­marks, locat­ed in the Por­tuguese Quarter.

Built after the city was reclaimed in 1769, with one of the Por­tuguese tow­ers con­vert­ed into its minaret.
It is con­sid­ered a sym­bol of cul­tur­al coex­is­tence and a key part of the her­itage of the Por­tuguese Quar­ter, which is clas­si­fied as a UNESCO World Her­itage Site.

Sidi Bou Afi The Lighthouse

The Sidi Bou Afi Light­house is a his­toric mar­itime land­mark locat­ed near the city of El Jadi­da on Moroc­co’s Atlantic coast. Built between 1914 and 1916 by Ger­man pris­on­ers of war dur­ing World War I, the light­house was designed by French archi­tects. It was con­struct­ed to guide ships nav­i­gat­ing from the Azores arch­i­pel­ago to Moroc­co and Europe.

Stand­ing at about 33 meters tall, the light­house fea­tures a sim­ple yet impos­ing cylin­dri­cal design, paint­ed white, mak­ing it vis­i­ble from great dis­tances. Its light flash­es can be seen up to 50 kilo­me­ters at sea, help­ing ships nav­i­gate safe­ly, espe­cial­ly in bad weather.

The light­house orig­i­nal­ly oper­at­ed with tra­di­tion­al light­ing meth­ods, but over time, it was upgrad­ed with elec­tric light­ing. Sidi Bou Afi’s strate­gic loca­tion and role in mar­itime nav­i­ga­tion make it a key sym­bol of Moroc­co’s mar­itime his­to­ry and tech­no­log­i­cal advance­ments of the ear­ly 20^th century.

Today, the light­house remains an impor­tant cul­tur­al and his­tor­i­cal site, draw­ing vis­i­tors inter­est­ed in its archi­tec­tur­al and mar­itime sig­nif­i­cance. It serves as a sym­bol of El Jadi­da’s rich his­to­ry and its role in inter­na­tion­al trade and navigation.

The His­tor­i­cal Mem­o­ry Space for Resis­tance and Lib­er­a­tion :

The His­tor­i­cal Mem­o­ry Space for Resis­tance and Lib­er­a­tion in El Jadi­da com­mem­o­rates Moroc­co’s strug­gle against French colo­nial­ism. It dis­plays pho­tographs, doc­u­ments, and arti­facts from the resis­tance era, cel­e­brat­ing the sac­ri­fices made for inde­pen­dence. This cul­tur­al cen­ter edu­cates vis­i­tors, espe­cial­ly the younger gen­er­a­tion, about the country’s his­to­ry and the role of its free­dom fight­ers. It serves as an impor­tant site for pre­serv­ing Morocco’s nation­al mem­o­ry and pro­mot­ing aware­ness of its path to independence.