Larache

Larache (Arabic: العرائش, romanized: al-ʿArāʾish) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast, where the Loukkos River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Larache is one of the most important cities of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region.

Many civilisations and cultures have influenced the history of Larache, starting in the ancient city of Lixus during the 12th century BCE. Between the period of being a strategic Berber town and then a Phoenician trading centre to Morocco's independence era around the 1950s, Larache was a nexus for many cultures.

The city is not mentioned in Arabic historical sources until the 13th century. It was founded by the Idrisite Banu 'Arus.^[2] Because of the abundant vines in the area, they named it al-'Ara'ish, meaning "trellis of grape vines", or al-'Arīsh mtā' Bnī 'Arūs ("grape vine trellis of the Banu 'Arus") in longer form. The Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur (r. 1184–1199) built a fortress here in the late 12th century. In 1270, the Spanish led a successful raid on the city.^[3]

In 1471, the Portuguese settlers from Asilah and Tangier drove the inhabitants out of Larache, and again it remained uninhabited until the Saadi SultanMohammed ash-Sheikh decided to repopulate it and build a stronghold on the plateau above river Loukos. He constructed a fortress at the entrance to the port as a means of controlling access to the river.

For a long time, attempts by the Portuguese, Spanish and French to take it met with no success. The Portuguese established the nearby Graciosa fortress in 1489. The Kasbah, which was built in 1491 by Moulay en Nasser, later became a pirate stronghold.

In 1610, the town passed to the Spanish, who stayed there until 1689, but who mainly used the ports as trading stops and never really administered the town. Moulay Ismail finally conquered Larache in 1689.

Attacks on Larache continued, but it still remained in Muslim hands. In 1765, a French fleet failed in the Larache expedition. In 1829, during the Austrian expedition against Morocco (1829), the Austrians punitively bombarded the city due to Moroccan piracy.^[4] In 1911, during the colonisation era, Spain occupied Larache and held it for 45 years until 1956.

On 7 March 2023, Moroccan archaeologists discovered an ancient tomb dating back over 2,000 years to the Mauretanian period.^[5]

La ciudad está situada en la costa noroccidental de Marruecos, en la margen sur de la desembocadura del río Loukkos . ^{[ 3 ]} Se encuentra aproximadamente a 80 kilómetros (50 millas) al suroeste de Tánger. ^{[ 6 ]} La ciudad consta de una medina compacta (casco antiguo histórico), situada junto al río, y una "ciudad nueva" más grande, establecida fuera de la antigua medina por la administración colonial española después de 1911 y que se extiende hacia el sur sobre la meseta costera. ^{[ 3 ] [ 7 ]} 

En el censo marroquí de 2024 , la comuna de Larache registró una población de 133.731 habitantes. ^{[ 10 ]}

Larache offers 3 types of education systems: Arabic, French and Spanish . Each offers classes starting from pre-Kindergarten up to the 12th grade, as for German in the three last years of high school. The Baccalauréat, or high school diploma are the diplomas offered after clearing the 12 grades.

• Jean Genet lived for several years and had requested to be buried there. His grave is in the Spanish cemetery of Larache
• Amina Filali, whose suicide in 2012 sparked a political debate on women's rights and article 475 of the Moroccan penal code
• Juan Goytisolo, Spanish novelist, is buried in the Spanish cemetery of Larache
• Mohamed Chrif Tribak, Moroccan filmmaker and screenwriter

• Almuñécar, Spain

• 
  Plaza de España
• 
  Bab Behar or Old Medina
• 
  Larache Fortress
• 
  Balcon Atlantico
• 
  Larache Souk
• 
  Larache Music Academy
• 
  Spanish Consulate
• 
  Iglesia Pilar
• 
  Oued Loukous
• 
  Larache and the Atlantic Ocean

• Larache Province
• Lixus
• Loukkos River
• Chabab Larache an old famous football club from the city
• Oussama Belhcen a musician from Larache
• European enclaves in North Africa before 1830

• Sitio web con las últimas noticias sobre la ciudad y su región, disponible las 24 horas. Archivado el 24 de junio de 2024 en Wayback Machine.
• Sitio web oficial en español
• Foro de la ciudad de Larache en árabe
• Entrada en Lexicoorient archivada el 4 de febrero de 2005 en Wayback Machine.
• Enciclopedia del Islam (pág. 418)