In Memory of Old Imsouane

In January 2024, much of old Imsouane — the cluster of homes, cafés, surf shops and guesthouses that had grown up around the bay and the fishing harbour — was demolished. This page is a small place of remembrance: for the families who lost their homes, the businesses built over decades, and the unmistakable character of a village that welcomed travellers from all over the world.

On 18–19 January 2024, bulldozers arrived at the Imsouane seafront, accompanied by police and army. Residents and business owners were given only about 24 hours’ verbal notice to clear out. Over the following days, roughly 80 homes and 30 businesses were razed, displacing around 150 people, according to reporting at the time.

Some of the houses had been lived in for more than forty years, and a few of the old cave dwellings dated back to the late 1960s. Witnesses described scenes of chaos, with people running to save whatever belongings they could carry.

Gone were the waterfront restaurants and cafés, the small hostels and surf shops, and the iconic blue-and-white houses above the bay that travellers often compared to a Moroccan Santorini. With them went decades of family memory and the particular, hard-to-define charm that drew surfers and visitors to Imsouane in the first place.

The demolitions were carried out as part of a nationwide operation to reclaim the domaine public maritime — the public maritime domain. Under Moroccan law, the strip of land within roughly 30 metres of the shoreline belongs to the state, and the authorities said the structures were unlicensed, built outside official plans or without proper sanitation.

Residents, however, said they received no genuine consultation, and at the time no clear explanation, rebuilding plan or compensation had been made public. Many feared the cleared seafront would make way for new resort development.

Imsouane lives on — in its wave, its harbour, and above all in its people. This page remembers the homes and livelihoods that were lost in January 2024, and honours the community that made the old village what it was.

If you have photos or memories of old Imsouane that you would like to share, we would be honoured to hear from you — get in touch.

Sources: The National, RFI, Surfline (January–February 2024).