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Sidi Ifni

SIDI IFNI is uniquely interesting: a town that was relinquished by Spain only in 1969, after the Moroccan government closed off landward access to the colonial enclave. More than thirty years on, it still preserves an outpost air and can seem rather wonderful. Built in the 1930s, on a cliff top site, it is full of sweeping architectural lines and elaborate ironwork: all in all, a bizarre memorial to colonialist purpose (or perhaps the lack of it), and surely the finest and most romantic Art Deco military town ever built. It is a very relaxed place with a decaying film-set atmosphere, but unfortunately much of it really is decaying, and many of its fine 1930s buildings are sadly becoming the victims of neglect. On Sundays a large souk takes place just east of the abandoned air field. On June 30 every year there is a festival to celebrate Ifni’s 1969 rein corporation into Morocco.

The town, or more accurately the site then known as Santa Cruz del Mar Pequeno, “Holy Cross of the Small Sea”, was held by the Spanish from 1476 to 1524, when the Saadians threw them out. In 1860, the Treaty of Tetouan the culmination of Morocco’s first military defeat by a European power in 200 years – gave it back to them, though they didn’t reoccupy it until 1934, after they (or rather, the French) had “pacified” the interior.

The Town

It is the Spanish feel – and the Art Deco architecture – that is most attractive about Sidi Ifni. The town beach, with a marabout tomb at its northern end, is not that great and is prone to long sea mists.

Sidi Ifni

The obvious place to start out is the Place Hassan II, still conmonly known by its original name, Plaza de Espaiia. It stands at the heart of the town and immediately sets a tone for the place. Its centerpiece is an Andalusian garden with Spanish tiled benches and a Moroccan tiled fountain, flanking a plinth which once bore the statue of General Capaz, who took Ifni for Spain in 1934. At one end of this square stands a Spanish consulate – a building straight out of Garcia Marquez, now, it seems, terminally closed. Next to it, a church in Moorish-Art Deco style has now been adopted for use as the law courts. At the other end of the plaza, by a town hall complete with town clock, the former governor-general’s residence is now the royal palace. Many of these buildings are in immaculate condition, with their stunning pastel shades picked out.

More Art Deco splendor is to be seen off the square and along Avenue Hassan II, as well as around the post office which was also rather splendid before the top story was demolished, and from where the town issued its own stamps under Spanish rule, featuring wildlife, traditional costumes and even the town’s buildings, as stamp collectors may recall. Next to the Hotel Suerte Loca and alas sadly dilapidated nowadays, a building in the shape of a ship once housed the naval secretariat – its two forward portholes being windows of cells where miscreant sailors were held. And there is a whole sequence of monumental stairways, rambling down towards the port and beach, and a magnificent Art Deco lighthouse.

If you have a special interest in Ifni’s past, you may want to visit the barber’s shop at 25 Av MohammedV, where Hassan Aznag, the barber, will be glad to show you his collection of old photos of the town and to chat about its history.