Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Sidi Ifni
POP 40,000
Returned to Morocco by the Spanish as late as 1969, Sidi Ifni adds a dash of Gabriel García
Márquez to the usual Moroccan tajine. The slowly decaying art-deco buildings on the hilly
streets are a haunting reminder of colonial ambitions. At the heart of what was the Spanish
Sahara, Ifni was once a base for slave-trading operations and later a large exporter of fish to
the Spanish mainland. When the sun sets on the esplanade and dilapidated
calles
(streets),
and the Atlantic mist gives everything a soft focus, Ifni seems an eerie outpost.
The locals have painted the town blue and white, and continue the colour scheme in their
turbans and robes. They support Spanish football teams, they take siestas and they're more
likely to greet travellers with
hola
than
bonjour
. You might hear Bob Dylan blaring from a
cafe or get into a philosophical conversation; it's an intellectual spot, where the expats and
local cafe crowd are laid-back even by Moroccan standards.
History
Spain acquired the enclave of Sidi Ifni after defeating the Moroccan forces in the war of
1859. They christened their new possession Santa Cruz del Mar Pequeña, but seem to have
been uncertain what to do with it as they did not take full possession until 1934. Most of
Ifni dates from the 1930s and features an eclectic mix of art deco and traditional Moroccan
styles.
On Moroccan independence in the late 1950s, Spain refused to withdraw, citing the fact
that some 60% of the town's population was Spanish. The protracted dispute over territorial
rights included the Ifni War, in which the town was besieged. The dispute eventually ended
in 1969, when the UN brokered an agreement for Spain to cede the enclave back to Mo-
rocco. Santa Cruz was renamed Sidi Ifni, after a holy man buried in the town in the early
1900s. Ifni still celebrates 'Independence Day' (30 June) with a festival on the abandoned
airfield.
Ifni is mostly a contented place, but clashes occasionally erupt between the police and
townsfolk, sparked by high unemployment and the marginalisation of the independently
spirited town.
