The object of Sidi Mahommed was to found a central emporium of the commerce of the Empire, and a port for the southern capital (Morocco).  This town belongs to the province of Hhaha, whose Berber tribes are its natural defenders.

The site is a sandy beach with a rocky foundation or a base on the sea, forming a peninsula, and is supposed to be the ancient Erythraea.  The houses are regularly built, with streets in direct lines, extremely convenient though somewhat narrow.  The residences of the consuls and European merchants are elegant and spacious.  There is a large market-place, which, on days when the market is not held, furnishes a splendid parade, or “corso” for exercising cavalry.

The city is divided into two parts; one division contains the citadel, the public offices, the residence of the governor, and several houses occupied by European consuls and merchants, which are all the property of the Sultan; and the other is the space occupied by the houses of the Moors and Jews.

The Jews have a quarter or willah to themselves, which is locked up during the night, the key being kept by the police.  Nevertheless, several Jews, especially Imperial traders, are allowed to occupy houses in the Moorish quarter or citadel portion of Mogador, with the Christian merchants.

Both quarters are surrounded by walls, not very thick or high, but which are a sufficient protection, against the depredations of the mountaineers, or Arabs of the plain.  The port is formed by a curve in the land and the isle of Mogador, which is about two miles from the mainland.

This isle, on the verge of the ocean, contains some little forts and a mosque, and its marabout shrines sparkle in the sun.  It is a place of exile for political offenders.  When the French landed, at the bombardment of Mogador, they released fifty or sixty state prisoners, some of whom had been Bashaws, or ministers of this and former reigns.  The isle, however, is finely situate off the Atlantic, fanned and swept by healthy gales, and the prisoners suffer only seclusion from the Continent.  The exiles never attempt to escape, but quietly submit to their destiny.

In the port, there are only ten or twelve feet of water at ebb tide, so that large vessels cannot enter, but must lie at anchor a mile and a half off the Western battery, which extends along the north-western side of the port.  Such vessels do not lie there except in the summer months, and then with extreme caution, being, as they are, right off in the Atlantic, on one of its most dangerous coasts.  There are some tolerable batteries, but they cannot long resist a European bombardment, which was demonstrated by the French.