The Moroccan port city of El Jadida, in the Doukkala-Abda region of the country, holds a position on the Atlantic Ocean coast some 106 kilometres south of Casablanca. The city was originally named Mazighen by its Berber people, and later known as Mazagao by the Portugese, who seized it in 1502, and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 because of its importance in illustrating the differences between Moroccan and European cultures. It has a population of just about 200,000 inhabitants and enjoys its International standard 18 hole golf course and its own racecourse, Hippodrome Lalla Malika near Bouskoura where the principal race is the Grand Prix de La Fete Du Trone Journee d'El Jadida which is staged in early July.
