Mechouar & Chambre de l'Artisanat et des Métiers

Very little remains of the early settlement of Agadir, but the camp Youssef ben Tachfine occupied during his siege of Agadir has now become the Mechouar (entrance on av Cdt Ferradj). A citadel was built over the camp in 1145 and has been one of the town’s centrepieces ever since. The Zianide ruler Yaghmorassen moved his residence inside the Mechouar walls in the early 14th century and a mosque was built in the 1310s. The Ottoman admiral Barbarossa used it as his stronghold in the 16th century and the French followed suit after the fall of Tlemcen, using it as a barracks and hospital. Today the Mechouar offers a place of peace inside its massive walls and across its broad esplanade. The Moorish mosque, restored in 2003, is currently closed. One of the central buildings houses the Chambre de l’Artisanat et des Métiers, where local handicrafts, including embroidered camel saddles and hand-woven covers, are on sale at fixed prices.