SAFFJ
hills to the south, is much admired, having cultivated
land in the foreground.
The bold outline of the old palace built by Mohammed
XVII. (bin Abd Allah) is a prominent object above
the town. It contains many large rooms, dwe-
ifi Palace. * * * i t * r n i i nahs * and beautifully decorated courts in
IN TH E SAFFI PA LA C E .
Photograph by Herbert White, Esq.
tolerable repair. With all its defects, Mauresque architecture
presents great attractions to travellers, and in
Saffi are many interesting buildings and ruins deserving
the attention o f both archaeologists and artists.
* Small suites for guests.
Some writers mention remains of the chapel of a
Gothic church, having Portuguese arms etc. on the centre
and side, with its vaults intact, but with thq Historic
walls buried up to the cornice in rubbish, Remains.
Dr. Leared speaks of Portuguese stone-work
with heraldic devices as being still visible over the principal
entrance to the Sultan’s palace. There are other
relics of Portuguese days, as the bath in the passage
beside the chief mosque, and part of the nave and aisle
of a church in the street called Derb Sidi Abd el Kareem.
The madarsah or college is said to have been once a
monastery, and in a passage to one of the baths is a
reputed hermit’s cell. C h r i s t i a n tombs, were found on the
site of the present Customs warehouse in 1886, the
contents of which were removed to the cemetery outside
the Sha’ba gate. Underneath the beach, well inside the
Portuguese wall, is a second wall with a gateway and
a large number of marble columns, all of which have
been laid bare occasionally by exceptional storms.
The local authorities of Saffi comprise the governor
and vice-governor, with the umana and their staff in
charge of the customs house; the amin enkas L0Cal
— who collects market dues and government Authorities.
rents— the kadi, and two captains of the water-
port, who are in charge of lighter-men and boats.
The European Powers are represented by eleven viceconsulates
or consular agencies, * the holders of which,
seven in number, constitute the Sanitary Board, whose
duties chiefly consist in imposing quarantine.
The original Muslimin inhabitants of Saffi, expelled by
the Portuguese in 1508» migrated to a fertile district one
day’s journey to the south-east of Marrakesh, which they
named Mesfiwah, and have become a large and pros-
Neither France nor the United States are represented here.