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El ayoune Travel Guide
Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see
El ayoune main street

El ayoune main street

stuart holding
Laayoune (al-Ayun) is not within the internationally recognised borders of Morocco but in the occupied Western Sahara, where it is the largest city with over 100,000 inhabitants. It has seen rapid growth since the Moroccans took over the country, to a considerable degree due to immigration from Morocco. It has a higher per capita government spending than any city in Morocco, mostly because Western Sahara is somewhat of a prestige project. The population could very easily be the setting for a mystery novel-Moroccan soldiers, UN employees, Saharawis and Moroccan immigrants looking for work have all come together in this city. Most of them, except of course the original Saharians, have settled recently.

The southern part of town, or "lower" town was built by the Spanish, while the "upper" town has been developed since the Bowling Green. Most of the lower town is run-down, but makes for an interesting walk. There is an old Spanish cathedral that still has a rusting sign which says ‘property of the Spanish government’. The area called the chicken market (Souk Djaj) has some cheap hotels and displays some interesting architecture-eggshell-domed roofs that are meant to keep the houses cool. The modern monuments are very striking in comparison with the rest of the Western Sahara. The Great Mosque stands in the Place Mechouar. Not far, the new 30,000 seat stadium, with real grass, waits to be nominated the home of a World Cup soccer match. The Colline des Oiseaux is in a landscaped garden and makSes for a pleasant visit. Exotic birds are housed in cages with blinds, to protect them from sandstorms.

Do be careful though, Laayoune is in a politically sensitive area so check with your embassy to determine whether it’s safe to visit.
_______History
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al-Ayun was the main Spanish settlement in the region of Western Sahara called ' Saguia al Hamra'. This region was earlier mainly inhabited by nomads.

The capital of these nomads was Smara, also in the Saguia. It was founded by the leader of the resistance against the Spanish and French occupation of the Western Sahara, Sheikh Ma al-Aynayn.

After the departure of the Spanish the Moroccans occupied the territory and starting moving Moroccan settlers into Western Sahara. Since the town has more than dubbled its population although many Saharawis flead the Moroccan invasion to Algeria and Mauritania.

______Getting Around
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el Ayoune is on the south bank of the Saguiet el-Hamra. The town is new, so all the streets are straight, which is nice for a change. Center of town is not big, it is a few blocks around where Av. Hassan II and Av. Mohammed V meet. Parallel on Hassan II is the Av. de la Mecque which leads to the local bus station and the offices of the RAM. Four good hotels are on the banks of the river, just north from the center.
________Getting There
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Unless you are flying, getting to al Ayoune involves a lot of desert. Both Dakhla and Goulmime are 5 hours of sand away. There are regular buses and grand taxis going to Agadir, along the coast, over Goulmime and Tiznit. Only one going to ed-Dakhla. To Smara there is one bus, so you might try and find a grand taxi (3 hours). Driving yourself isn't hard, but always long.

If you aren't here on you're own wheels, you could consider flying. There are regular flights from Casa and Agadir. From here you can also go to Las Palmas on the Canary Islands.