Petit Socco

Petit Socco, also known as the "Souq Dakhli", is a square and its surrounding streets in the medina quarter of Tangier, Morocco. The words are a combination of the French word petit, meaning 'little/small', and the Spanish word zoco (often spelled as socco in northern Morocco), meaning souq, bazaar (Persian) or marketplace. Petit Socco was once home to many notable writers and affluent people in the city and is connected by the Rue Es-Siaghine[1] The square lies in the area of Tangier on which the forum of the Roman Tingis once stood. Petit Socco was once one of the greatest souqs in all of Morocco and people would flock from miles around to buy food and clothes.[2] In the nineteenth century the area grew wealthier and trade with Europe accelerated. By the early twentieth century, businessmen, diplomats and bankers had their offices located around the square and cafes, hotels and casinos were testament to the wealth of the area. However, by the 1950s, the hub of city life had moved to the Ville Nouvelle and today the square is less popular.[3]

The square was once known for drugs and prostitution.[4]

References

1. Humphrys, Darren (2008). Frommer's Morocco. John Wiley & Sons. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-470-18403-5.
2. The history of the Socco under the Portuguese and the English in the 16th and 17th century is written up in Martin Malcolm Elbl, Portuguese Tangier (1471-1662): Colonial Urban Fabric as Cross-Cultural Skeleton (Baywolf Press: Toronto and Peterborough, 2013) ISBN 978-0-921437-50-5. http://www.trentu.ca/admin/publications/psr/monvol001.html and https://books.google.com/books?id=AeTBAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0
3. Morocco. Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guides. 2006. p. 133.
4. "Tangier Old & New :". www.moroccoholidayarchitects.net. Morocco Holiday Architects. Retrieved 30 January 2019.