Portuguese Citadel of El Jadida Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is a view of the Portuguese Citadel of El Jadida, taken from one of the bastions of the walls that surround all of it. Locals refer to the place as Cité Portugaise when they use French. It looks like a small town inside a huge heavy walled castle that was built in the early 16th century, just after the town was conquered by the Portuguese, who were having their glory days then. Having started by conquering Ceuta in 1415, one century later they controlled most of the more important Atlantic ports of Morocco, from Ceuta and Tangier to Agadir. On every of those ports, they built powerful fortresses that were crucial to assure the defence with reduced forces (many believe that there weren't much more than a million Portuguese in the 16th century). Fortresses like the one of El Jadida (that was called Mazagão by the Portuguese and later Mazagan by the French) existed (some of them still exist) all over the coasts of Africa, Brazil, Uruguai, the actual Oman, Iran, India (mainly the West side), Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China and perhaps other places in the Indian Ocean.

The citadel of El Jadida is said to be the more well preserved Portuguese fortresses of that time, or at least the one where it's still more evident its Portuguese origin. I guess that one of the reasons of this fact is that the town was practically abandoned after the Portuguese fled in late 18th century and it only regained some importance in the 20th century. It is classified by Unesco as World Heritage Site. Quite frankly, it's a bit disappointing, at least for anyone who isn't Portuguese and/or isn't too interested in History. Nevertheless, I found interesting strolling its streets, still much "Portuguese" in the architecture, but at the same time already very Moroccan - every house that isn't completely ruined, which is a common event, is habited and there is much more life in the streets, namely because there are children, than in old parts of Portuguese towns and villages. I know that the distance to Portugal isn't that much, but apart from that and much similarities on some landscapes, Morocco is quite a different culture, so the impact is almost the same as finding something familiar in a much more distant place.

The town of El Jadida proper is rather modern, the citadel being the only noticeable antiquity, but it's a rather pleasant seaside town, bordered by a long sandy beach and it's easy to understand why it is a popular destination for the summer beach holidays of many Moroccans. Foreigners are quite rare, at least in August, and I think that the vast majority of them only comes here to visit the citadel.

Other posts and WS's of mine of the place: view of the area of the citadel to the left of this image (WS); view of the fishing port and the beach, about 150 degrees to the left (earlier WS); the cistern (post).

Links to more info: Unesco World Heritage, Wikipedia, Lexicorient.

Location (latitude, longitude): 33.2554,-8.4992

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Update 18-April-07: Jean Charles Guegan (JCG) antecipated me in making the stitch suggested by Kath Featherstone (feather), using this post and an earlier WS shot on the same place. I invite you to take a look at it, because it is very well done.

Tayon, adores, ribeiroantonio, axiotea, ViktorVaughn, Docarmo, siolaw, riclopes, bostankorkulugu, Vinsachi, alentejo, jmcl, ChrisJ, JCG, Benedict, xuaxo, AnaRita, Charo trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Tayon (1840) 2007-04-15 20:30

Olá José

Bonita tomada desta bela peça arquitetonica.
bons DOF, POV e cores, a nitidez esta ótima e a luminosidade tb graças ao dia sem muitas luzes diretas.
Tayon

trinko (2940) 2007-04-15 20:31

interesting architecture, i like the cannon.

adores (15713) 2007-04-15 21:24

Olá José!
Excelente ideia mostrares esta herança Portuguesa em terras marroquinas ( acho que muita gente até se esquece que isto existe). O pov está muito bom, acho que dás uma ideia muito boa do local. É curioso ver ainda os canhões(portugueses?) e gosto da forma como captaste aqueles terraços todos com algumas palmeiras no meio.As cores também ficaram boas!
Anabela

ribeiroantonio (21959) 2007-04-15 21:47

É muito bonito ver que ainda se mantêm intactas as fortalezas e outros locais que os portugueses deixaram por este mundo. Eu ainda estou na Birmânia (vou-me embora amanhã) mas, que eu saiba, não há nenhuma construção portuguesa. No entanto, ainda aqui há dias encontrei referências à presença portuguesa no museu de Sittwe, que é uma pequena vila junto à fronteira com o Bangla Desh.
Não sei se é do ecrã deste laptop em que estou a ver o TE neste momento mas acho a tua foto um pouco pálida. Pessoalmente, teria dado mais cor à imagem. No entanto, não deixa de ser um bom PDV e um bom registo histórico, que também é importante para o nosso ego!
António

axiotea (16229) 2007-04-15 23:30

Olà José,
A note well illustrated with the view of the citadel with good luminosity and many details to see. I would have maybe cropped a bit of the sky to give more impact to the citadel. I like also the WS of 'General view of the citadel'.
Um abraço
Marilyn

Docarmo (8844) 2007-04-16 0:18

Olá José,
É incrível como os portugueses "scanearam" (in the meaning of examining by point-by-point observation) o planeta inteiro, nas suas navegações. Há traços lusitanos um pouco por toda parte.
Ótima nota explicativa.
Parabéns,
Maria do Carmo

siolaw (25800) 2007-04-16 0:49

Hi Jose,
A well chosen POV down the arch, and to the city and sea, maybe the sun did not come to the appointement but the colors are still nice and soft, real looking... I like the line of palm trees in the bottom.
Laurent

UnTrained (0) 2007-04-16 2:22

Olá José,
it is a nice view and a good balancing with the door and the canon as the foreground eye catchers. In my eyes it is a bit pale, less vivid. The main reason seems to be the grey weather. I did some changes, see yourself please. You know better about the reality as you have done the shot.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

riclopes (33117) 2007-04-16 3:55

Olá José, dava para colares as duas e fazeres uma Large Version...O que acho piada é também actualizares os posts antigos com links para estes. A do interior da cisterna está excelente. Esta parece de facto, uma daquelas muralhas do Algarve, se bem que o casario faz-me lembrar mais algumas zonas da Andaluzia. Gosto bastante da vista geral, mas a composição desta está muito melhor, aliás adoro a atmosfera desta imagem com estes tons suaves - eu teria a tendência para puxar pelos contrastes e cores e estragava tudo. Muito bonita.
Um abraço,
Ricardo

feather (50040) 2007-04-16 5:23

You had a great vantage point to over-see a lot of the area. There are several lines on this shot for our eyes to travel; down through the open door; along the city wall to the distant horizon; along the canon wondering where it is pointing. I looked at the WS and wondered if a stitch was possible. Good work.
Kath

deblink (2548) 2007-04-16 9:16

Hello Jose,
Great composition of these walls and the inner city. The cloudy sky contrasts well with the colours of the buildings. The palm trees in the distance are an added bonus.
Cheers,
Debbie

batalay (21126) 2007-04-16 13:07

Hello José,

It warms my heart to see comprehensive notes, accompanying such a compeling photo. I don't feel quite a guilty when I write long tomes.

I like the position of the canon in the photograph, which gives an extra dimension to the scene, which is otherwise peaceful. Under the Moroccan sun you get those sun-drenched colors, the bleached terracota, and in the distance the azure sky and sea blending into each other. Well composed shot, flawlessly exposed.

Warm regards,

Bulent

cuneyt-sb (6559) 2007-04-17 4:30

Hi Jose
That Cannon still work? Im asking because in Turkey some of them does work still. Asspacialy in ramadan .
Nice place and good capture my friend
TFS/Kind regards

bostankorkulugu (33888) 2007-04-17 6:25

the weather wast the best but the place looks amazing... i like the pov including the canon into the image... the open door looks inviting i think... cheers jose...

korkut

alentejo (1954) 2007-04-17 12:28

Ola José !
Muito bem tirada esta foto, sim senhor !!! Gosto do portao aberto que permite-nos de ver o patamar inferior do forte. As cores estao boas, tal como a grande profundidade de campo. As nuvens permitiram uma vista sem fortes contrastes e uma melhor definiçao e nitidez. Belo trabalho.
Um abraço.

jmcl (14073) 2007-04-17 23:48

Hi José

I like this a great deal ..
I like the softness of the palette works against the massive scale and depth created by your composition and point of view .. I think I would like to have seen about a meter more of foreground .. but still a really well done image.

take care,

John

pboehringer (770) 2007-04-18 1:03

Registro interessante e belo da presenca portuguesa no continente africano. Parece estar bem conservado e mesmo aquele canhao ainda parece ser funcional. Boa documentacao fotografica.
Abracos, Peter

ChrisJ (70419) 2007-04-18 4:49

Hi Jose

I like the downward pov & subtle warm vs cold colour opposition between the blue & pastel yellow / red tones in the white washed walls. The cannon is a good inclusion. Tfs!

sufi (9568) 2007-04-18 7:31

Merhaba José, my friend...
It's another wonderful point of view and perfect perspective... The view of the town is beautiful... Also wonderful light, colors and contrast between the blue and tones of the cream...
TFS...
Stay well..
Salim.

JCG (25687) 2007-04-18 15:47

Hi José,

A really interesting note on this citadel. An area which I does not know but this images gives desire for crossing Méditérannée. The additional photographs supplement well the subject, it is very interesting. On the councils of Kath (Feather) I allowed myself a small WS (stitch). I hope you will like it.

With all my friendships,

Jean-Charles

[workshop] [compare] +

Benedict (7062) 2007-04-20 2:07

a piece of history well presented in this shot. POV, clarity and sharpness are excellent. mais desse tipo, jose!
benedict

xuaxo (5815) 2007-04-20 11:40

Olá José
Apresentas aqui um pedaço de História com uma magnífica foto, bem luminosa, e uma excelente nota (um nadinha grande demais).
O trabalho de Jean Charles Guegan (JCG) está espectacular.
F

gelor (3224) 2007-04-22 6:30

Bonjour José,
Une image impressionnante ! Tout le Maroc se trouve dans celle-ci. J'aime beaucoup tant par les couleurs très vraies que par la composition. Excellent. Bon week end.
Gérard

emilbo (9569) 2007-04-25 14:34

Ola Jose!
Un magnifique vue de la ¨Citadel of el Jadida". Je reconnais bien les couleurs du Maroc qui ressemble étrangement à celle de la Tunisie. Bonne composition avec l'arche et le canon que j'aime bien. Ta note est excellente.
Merci de m'écrire en Portugais.
Félicitations!...
Emilius

Charo (31677) 2007-10-30 14:53

Hola Jose,
Magnífica perspectiva de esta ciudadela y al fondo las casas y las palmeras.
Un encuadre excelente con mucha luz y contrastes.
Cordialmente
Charo

paura (39036) 2007-12-06 1:31

José,
A profundidade está excelente, bem como a composição e o ponto de tomada. Alguma coisa se perte na qualidade do céu o que, obviamente, não é culpa sua. Interessante que apesar de nublado, estava bem claro, o que se pode constatar pelo f/11 e 1/750 seconds.

Abraço

Paulo

noborders (14201) 2008-01-06 0:39

Hello Jose,

J'espère que tu ne m'en voudras pas, encore une fois j'ai profité de ta photo pour éclaircir (expliquer) la mienne, ayant posté une autre vue des mêmes remparts, mais d'un autre côté et beaucoup plus sombre ; j'ai pris la même photo que celle-ci mais je ne pense pas que je la posterai ici, en tous cas pas dans les jours qui viennent !

Tu as eu de la chance d'avoir du soleil, mais d'un autre côté il devait faire chaud alors ! J'aime bien les petits palmiers émergeant de cette forêt de pierre, ils ont l'air contents sous le soleil...

Tes textes sont remarquables, celui de la citerne l'était aussi... Et le stitch est en effet très bien fait !
Bravo,
A +,
Cath.
:))

Photo Information

Copyright: Jose Pires (stego) (22376)
Genre: Lieux
Medium: Couleur
Date Taken: 2006-08-06
Categories: Châteaux
Camera: Olympus E-300, 14-45 mm Zuiko Digital
Exposition: f/11, 1/750 secondes
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Versions: version originale, Workshop
Carnet de voyage: Morocco 2006
Thème(s): World Heritage Sites Part IV, Fortresses, !Top rated ex [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-04-15 20:27