Smara

For the capital of Eritrea, see Asmara. For the city in Russia, see Samara. For the city in Iraq, see Samarra. For the city in Ethiopia, see Semera. For a geographic region in the Middle East, see Samaria.

Smara السمارة Esmara
Smara Location in Western Sahara
Coordinates: 26°44′22″N 11°40′13″W
Non-self-governing territory	Western Sahara
Claimed by	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Controlled by	Kingdom of Morocco
Founded	1869
Area
• Total	69.72 km2 (26.92 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	57,035
• Density	820/km2 (2,100/sq mi)

Smara (Template:Lang-ar as-Samāra, also romanized Semara; Template:Lang-es) is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station.

History

The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. In the center of the city the remains of a stone fortress can be found, the Zawiy Maalainin, which enclosed a mosque. The Maalainin lived there from 1830 until 1912. It was made a capital and religious center in 1902 by shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn, in what was then Spanish Sahara. The location of the city was intended to ensure its becoming a caravan trade hub in the sparsely populated Sahara desert. The enlargement of Smara was carried out by local Sahrawis as well as craftsmen sent by the sultan Hassan I. In 1902, shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn moved to Smara and declared it his holy capital. Among other things, he created an important Islamic library, and the town became a center of religious learning.

In 1904 the shaykh declared himself an imam and called for holy war (jihad) against French colonialism, which was increasingly pressing into the Sahara at this time. During the campaign against Ma al-'Aynayn, Smara was sacked almost completely in 1913 by the French Army, and its library destroyed. The town was then handed over to the Spanish. In 1934 the town was once again destroyed after Sahrawi rebellions against the Spanish occupation.

The Vieuchange brothers

Reaching Ma el Ainain's mysterious Smara was the goal of the brothers Vieuchange, early 20th-century French writers and romantics. Michel Vieuchange's painful journey through the rebel-held Sahrawi lands in 1930 disguised as a Berber tribeswoman, eventually reaching Smara on 1 November 1930, and the dysentery that led to his death on the return, is documented in his journals. Comprising seven notebooks and more than 200 photographs, the account was published posthumously in 1932 as Smara: The Forbidden City (1932) by his brother Jean and became a bestseller.

After 1975

In 1975, Morocco took control of Saguia Elhamra as Spain withdrew, according to the Madrid Accords. The Moroccan army took the city from the Polisario Front in 1976. Near Tindouf, Algeria, there still exists a Sahrawi refugee camp named after Smara. It is one of the four camps of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic administration in Algeria.

The town is controlled by the Moroccan authorities, as part of what the government terms its Southern Provinces, and enclosed by a section of the Moroccan Wall.

On 29 October 2023, the Polisario Front carried out an operation in the Es Semara Province of the region, dropping four explosive projectiles, killing one Moroccan civilian and injuring three.

Transport

CTM, Supratours and Satas companies have daily travels from Smara to Agadir. Supratours have daily travel from Smara to Laayoune.

Notable people

Brahim Ghali, 3rd President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Notes and sources

Notes

Sources

• Vieuchange, Michel (1988) [1932]. Smara: The Forbidden City. Fletcher Allen, Edgar (translation); Vieuchange, Jean (editor; introduction, notes, postscript); Claudel, Paul (preface). (Reprinted ed.). New York: Ecco. ISBN 978-0-88001-146-4.

External links

• Entry in Lexicorient
• ad for "Smara: The Forbidden City" by Jean and Michel Vieuchange (ISBN 0-88001-146-7)
• Satellite view in Google Maps