El Jadida
Morocco
Sister City Since 2007
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The Tacoma-El Jadida Sister City relationship centers around education and support for Khaldoon High School, as well as promotion of cultural and economic exchanges.
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Our Current Committee Chair:
C Bey-El, Business Owner, El Alhambra
Past chair:
Bruce Sadler
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About El Jadida
El Jadida is a port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, in the province of El Jadida. El Jadida means the “new place” in Arabic and is beautiful and unique with architectural mixture of Moorish-Portuguese-French influence.El Jadida has a beautiful and long coast line that attracts over 10 million visitors from around the world each year. It has a population of 195,000 (2014 census) and is the port for Marrakech and other Moroccan cities.Morocco is the most westernized Arabic nation in the world. The United States and Morocco have enjoyed a long friendship. In fact, Morocco was the first sovereign nation to recognize the US after the Declaration of Independence in 1776.Facts
El Jadida is just 90 kilometers south of Casablanca, and has been influenced throughout history by many European countries, especially France and Portugal.El Jadida, previously known as Mazagan (Portuguese: Mazagao), was seized in 1502 by the Portuguese. In 1769, it came under Moroccan rule and the city was renamed, El Jadida, meaning “new.”It is the only city in Morocco registered as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, since 2004, on the basis of its status as an “outstanding example of the interchange of influences between European and Moroccan cultures” and as an “early example of the realization of the Renaissance ideals integrated with Portuguese construction technology.”According to UNESCO, the cistern housed within the stone walls of the ancient Portuguese fort and the Manueline church of the Assumption are the most important buildings in the city.Visitors from around the world, find El Jadida to be a progressive city that has all the amenities.El Jadida is one of Morocco’s underrated destinations. Visitors can see a different side of the country, far away from the large tourist crowds of places like Marrakech and Fez.Tagine and couscous are, unsurprisingly, widely available but the town is also known for its delectable seafood and fish.