Agadir

Agadir is the entrance point to Southern Morocco and the desert. It has a small Jewish community, and a small group of Berber Jews lives in the neighboring town of Inezgane. Agadir Jews were active in trade with Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe before the 1760's, when the Sultan moved 2 000 of them to Essaouira. The community gradually rebuilt itself. However, an earthquake hit the city on February 29, 1960 killing more than half the population, including 1 200 Jews. Jewish, Muslim and Christian cemeteries were set up side by side to bury the victims. Two-thirds of the tombs in the Jewish cemetery are from earthquake victims.

Taroudant

Taroudant is a walled city much like Marrakech, but smaller in size. The Jewish community is believed to have been established in the region in the 11th century. The city was a major stopping point for the caravan trade that went from Marrakesh through Akka to Timbuktu. As a result, it was fought over frequently by the Moroccan sultans and Berber chieftans. Jews made up more than 10% of the population and played an important role in the city's economy.
  Poverty in the Twentieth Century
With the end of the caravan trade, the economy of Taroudant deteriorated. Running water was unavailable as late as the 1950s. Over 40% of the Jewish population was supported by the community at that time. Alcoholism was a major problem. To escape poverty, many Jews moved to Marrakesh and on to Israel in the early 1960s.
Rural mellahs
Jews lived in the mellahs of Freij and Tiout. In Tiout, they lived in an area next to the Kasbah high up on the hill. The oasis below is called "Below the Jews." Nearby is the tomb of a Jewish saint, Shalom Benzaquin. The tomb of another Jewish saint, Rabbi Daoud Ben Baroukh, is found in Souk Tlat de Mnahba on the road to the mountain pass Tizi n Test.