About Asilah
Asilah or Arzila is a small city situated on the northwest tip of Morocco with a history that dates back to 1500 B.C.
As a lovely, old, white washed town, Asilah feels and looks a lot like an Andalucian town in Spain - with this difference that it is tranquil.
Sometimes you can not help but wonder where all the noise has gone.
Asilah sometimes reminds of its sister port town in the south, Essaouira. Both have a more or less comparative turbulent history.
Being ruled by Rome, Morocco, the Portuguese, and the Spanish, it is a wonder that the town remains so calm after such a historical juggling of identity. Iberians were shipped here during Rome’s brief rule over the area and the Portuguese came near the end of the 1400s.
Spain re-captured the area near the end of the 1500s, while Morocco regained the territory with the rule of Moulay Ismail near the end of the 1600s
The Phoenicians used the city as a trading site. The Portuguese conquered the city during the 15th century, but John III later decided to abandon it because of an economic crisis in 1549.
In 1692, the town was taken by the Moroccans under the leadership of Moulay Ismail. 1912-1956 was part of Spanish Morocco
