Cruise ships pass through the Straits of Gibraltar while cruising the North African coastline
Photo © 2002 Linda Garrison, licensed to About.com, Inc.

More of this Feature • Silversea Cruise Ship Pictures • Preview of the Silversea Silver Whisper Hideaways & Idyllic Isles Cruise • Silversea Barcelona Shore Excursions • Silversea Tarragona Shore Excursions • Silversea Mallorca Shore Excursions • Silversea Casablanca, Morocco Shore Excursions • Silversea Porto Santo (Madeira) Shore Excursions • Silversea Funchal (Madeira) Shore Excursions • Silversea Tenerife, Canary Islands Shore Excursions • Silversea Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

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Many guidebooks describe Safi as the "pottery capital of Morocco." Safi lies on Morocco's central Atlantic coast and has been an important port since Roman times. Then it was known as Asfi, and its people were among the first Moroccans to embrace Islam. Now Safi is an industrial center, processing phosphate rock into fertilizer and harboring a fleet of sardine fishing boats. The city also has many canning factories. (I'll have to admit, I'm curious about the smell!)

Most tourists avoid the fish canning and phosphate factories and focus on experiencing the local color and tradition of the old town and potter's quarter. The old walled city is home to the Castle of the Sea, Dar el Babar. It is the city's most photographed site. The potteries and their smoking kilns sit just outside the city walls. The Silver Whisper will be in Safi for about six hours, allowing a short time ashore and the passengers who visited Marrakech to rejoin the cruise ship.

• Safi City Sights -- 3.5 hours ($49 in August 2002)
This city tour includes all of Safi's highlights. It is more expensive because the tour buses have to drive overland from Casablanca! The tour first drives to the 14th century Portuguese citadel, Dar el Babar. Next there will be a stop at the medina, where the group will walk the narrow streets to the palace gardens and the remains of the Chapelle Portugaise. The tour also allows time for visiting the potters' quarter and for ceramic shopping.

• Safi On Your Own
The small ship Silver Whisper docks at the commercial dock about three miles from the town center. Safi doesn't have many other tourist attractions other than those covered in the city tour.

The Silver Whisper leaves Safi, Morocco, and Africa and sails on to the volcanic islands of the east Atlantic--Madeira and the Canaries.

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