About Agadir

On the tourist map Agadir is the most southern city of Morocco. Being located so deep in the south of the country, in the best climate Morocco has to offer and at the beaches of the Atlantic, Agadir had everything to become a major tourist resort.
With its surrounding towns and villages, Agadir has a population of almost 700,000; the population of the city proper is estimated at 200,000. The mild winter climate (January average midday temperature 20°C/68°F) and good beaches have made it a major "winter sun" destination for Northern Europeans.
The city is located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, near the foot of the Atlas Mountains , just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean.
Today, Agadir is an important fishing and commercial port, the first sardine port in the world, (exporting cobalt , manganese and citrus).It is also a famous seaside resort with a long sandybeach . Because of its large buildings, wide roads, modern hotels , and European-style cafés , Agadir is not a typical city of traditional Morocco, but it is a modern, busy and dynamic town. Agadir is famous for its sea food and agriculture.
The city's main neighbourhoods is the so named “Secteur Touristique” or Touristic Area.

History

During medieval times, there was only a fishermen village here, in Agadir el-arba.

In 1505 the Portuguese established there a trading post named Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué, under a governor. In 1541, the city came under Wattasid control and in 1572 a stronghold was built on the top of the hill overlooking the bay, the Kasbah. Agadir became prosperous for two centuries.
In 1911 the arrival of a German gunboat, officially to protect the local German community, triggered the Agadir Crisis between France and Germany which allowed France, in 1913, to establish a protectorate over nearly the whole kingdom of Morocco.