Grand Socco
The Grand Socco is a large market-place in Tangier, Morocco. The term, socco is a Spanish corruption of the Arabic souq (or souk). The Grand Socco and the Petit Socco occupy Tangier's medina (old quarter) and continues to operate as a bazaar or market-place.
Description
Grand Socco (meaning "Big souk", officially known as Place du Grand 9 Avril 1947 although the name is rarely used) is a square in the medina area of central Tangier, Morocco and the larger of the Petit Socco which make up the medina of the city. The Grand Socco divides the medina from the Ville Nouvelle area of Tangier. The square was named Place du Grand 9 Avril 1947 after the speech of Mohammed V in support of Moroccan independence on April 9, 1947. Mendoubia Gardens forms part of the area where there is a large marble fountain and park benches.[1]
The square, which underwent further development in 2005,[2] is particularly active during the evenings when vendors put up their extensive displays and sell a diversity of second-hand goods and fruits and spices in the square. The market is particularly colorful, and the female peasant sellers are known for their striped foutas and wide-brimmed straw hats. Nearby are the Anglican Church of St. Andrew (1894) and the Sidi Bou Abib Mosque (1917).[3]
References
- There is a lot on the history of the Mendoubia area in the 16th and 17th century in Martin Malcolm Elbl, Portuguese Tangier (1471-1662): Colonial Urban Fabric as Cross-Cultural Skeleton (Baywolf Press: Toronto and Peterborough, 2013) ISBN 978-0-921437-50-5. It can be found by search and through index. http://www.trentu.ca/admin/publications/psr/monvol001.html and https://books.google.com/books?id=AeTBAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0
- Humphrys, Darren (2008). Frommer's Morocco. John Wiley & Sons. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-470-18403-5.
- Morocco. Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guides. 2006. p. 133.
