Beyond the Haffet el-Beida, a spur of the hill-region of Sahel, once famed for its cork-tree groves and its fertility, we near the broad mouth of the Lukkus or El-Kus, the Lix of antiquity, and obtain a splendid view of the white sandstone walls and the castellated Kasba of Larash.
Larash, also called Larache or Laraiche, Arabic El-Araïsh (Hot. Lukkus, on the river-bank; landing or embarkation 1 p.; Brit. vice-cons., L. Forde), a somewhat dirty town of 13,220 inhab. (incl. 3000 Jews and 200 Europeans), one of the chief seaports of Morocco, lies on the left bank of the Lukkus, about 100 ft. above the river. The total exports and imports are valued at 18 million francs. In the 16th cent. the town was an important Portuguese centre of trade, and in 1580–1689 it belonged to Spain. It then became a war-harbour and the headquarters of the pirates of Morocco, and was fruitlessly attacked by the French in their disastrous expedition of 1765, and by an Austrian squadron in 1829. The former harbour, which was rendered inaccessible to vessels of larger draught by the bar obstructing it and the shallowness of the river-mouth, is being superseded by a new harbour now under construction. The town-walls, the moats, the coast-batteries, and the small fortifications on the S. bank of the river date from the Spanish occupation.
From the landing-place on the N.E. margin of the town we pass through the harbour-gate into the spacious Inner Market (Sûk ed-Dakhl), with the old Spanish Merchants’ Hall (Fondak el-Essbenyoli) and arcades lined with shops. Gateways lead thence to the N.W. to the picturesque Kasba (no admission), and to the S.E. to the Government Palace (Dâr el-Makhzen). The Chief Mosque was once the Spanish cathedral, and several of the dwelling-houses are still Spanish in character.
Outside the Bâb el-Khemis lies the extensive Outer Market (Thurs.). Excellent oranges and other fruit are grown in the beautiful gardens around.
Some Roman ruins, relics of the old town of Lixus (p. [95]), now overgrown with brushwood, lie on the Jebel Tshemmish, a low hill on the right bank of the Lukkus, about 1½ hr. from Larash (best reached by boat).
As the Steamer proceeds there appears on the horizon a range of sand-hills, 31 M. long, which separates the Sebu bay from the sea. This bay (p. [93]) is now dry land, with the exception of two shallow lakes (Merja ez-Zerga and Merja Râs ed-Dôra) and large tracts of swamp. To the E. rises the Jebel Sarsar (1805 ft.), near Ksar el-Kebîr. On the left bank of the Sebu (ancient Subur), near the Mamora Forest, the largest plantation of cork-trees in Morocco, lies Mehedia or Mehdiya (pop. 500), a thriving seaport during the sway of the Almohades, but now fallen to utter decay. A fine Moorish town-gate of the 12th cent. and many ruins of the Portuguese period may be visited.
Rabât (Hot. Ignace, R. 2, pens. 10 fr., Hot. Alegría, Spanish, both unpretending; Brit. vice-cons., A. H. Cross; Engl. Church service), or Rbât, situated in the Tell (p. [93]) on the left bank of the Bu Regreg, 138 M. from Tangier, is one of the sultan’s residences and vies with Tetuán (p. [102]) as a most interesting coast-town. Its population together with that of Salee (p. [106]) is 47,140 inhab., incl. 3000 Jews and 100 Europeans. As it is the ‘key of Morocco’, where the caravan routes from Tangier, Fez, and Casablanca (Marakesh) converge, and is also exposed to the attacks of the turbulent inland tribes of the Zemmûr and Zaïr, it has been fortified with an inner and two outer walls. A Fort, built in 1888–92, defends the entrance to the harbour, now much choked with sand. The difficulty of landing (charge for each passenger 2½ p.) has caused the trade of the place (imports and exports about 8 million francs) to decline and to fall behind that of Tangier, Larash, and Mogador. Several of the industries have long been famous (carpet-making, wool-weaving, woodwork, saffian leather, etc.).
Founded in 1197, opposite to Salee (see below), by the Almohade Yakûb ibn Yûsuf (p. [61]), the still prosperous town is noted for its well-educated population, mostly Moorish, and its genuine Moroccan character. The dwelling-houses, in the Andalusian-Moorish style, vie in their internal architecture with those of Tetuán. Noteworthy are also the old town-gates, the portal of the Kasba, with the barracks of the Udaia, and the decayed Medersa (school of the learned), with its picturesque colonnaded *Court. At the S.E. angle of the town, not far from the harbour-gate and the Mohammedan cemetery, is the Mellah or Jews’ quarter.
Outside the Bâb el-Hâd, on the W. side of the inner town-wall, is the Jewish burial-ground, adjoining the Sûk el-Hâd, or Sunday market, the most important cattle-market in the whole country, supplied chiefly by the Zemmûr, Zaïr, and Zaiân tribes.—On the terrace of the coast, by the W. outer wall (reached also from the Bâb el-Alû by the road past the Christian cemetery), stands the handsome, but now disused sultan’s palace of El-Kebibât.
Beyond the Jews’ quarter, and not far from the *Bâb Shellah (1178–84) with its two octagonal towers, we see rising amidst orchards, above the Bu Regreg, the conspicuous *Hassan Tower, the great landmark of Rabât. This was once the minaret of a mosque, erected, according to tradition, by Jâbir (p. [62]) for Yakûb ibn Yûsuf in 1197, but now entirely destroyed saving a few columns and fragments of masonry. The unfinished tower, with its notched arches and ornamentation in relief style, is 145 ft. high.