Mouth of Sebou

The Sebou reaches the Atlantic beneath the heights of Mehdia, where its estuary opens onto the Moroccan coast. In the Almohad period the river mouth served as an important harbor and shipyard. Its strategic value endured: Spain occupied Mehdia in 1614 and built the fortress of San Miguel de Ultramar overlooking the water. Moulay Ismaïl retook it in 1681, renaming the place and making its kasbah part of his defenses along the Atlantic shore.