Casa del Mar, Colonial fortress in Tarfaya, Morocco
Casa del Mar is a coastal fortress in Tarfaya featuring eight rooms distributed across ground and upper floors, with fortified walls and strategic watchtowers. The structure includes six water storage tanks designed to sustain the garrison during extended periods of isolation.
The fortress was established in 1882 by Donald Mackenzie and the British North West Africa Company to control trade routes between Timbuktu and Wadi Noun. It was built during a period of intense competition for commercial dominance along the West African coast.
The fortress is known locally as دار البحر in Arabic, reflecting how it functioned as a meeting point for trade rather than purely military purposes. The way rooms were organized shows how merchants and traders lived and worked together in this remote coastal location.
The structure sits along Tarfaya's coast and is accessible on foot, though conditions can vary depending on weather. Visitors should prepare for sand, salt spray, and the exposed coastal setting.
The fortress operated under different names including Port Victoria and Mackenzie's factory before its current designation. These shifting names reveal how European trading posts along the coast changed hands and identities over time.
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