A Historic City. 240 Km of Laayoune. 225 Km south of Tan-Tan. Smara is the new provincial capital. It was established in the alluvial valley of the Seguiat by Cheikh Maa el Ainin at the end of the last century on the orders of Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz.

Formely on the caravan route, it is now renewing its tradition as one of the principal waystation on the trans-Saharan axis, opening the regions of the south-eat to the north of the country and the Atlantic.

The growth of Smara around the Zaouia de Maa el Ainin, in the oldest lower part of the city, is making Smara the major city of the desert.

Smara has important remnants of its past, including the Kasbah and the city walls with their five monumental gates, and the great mosque, which formely housed an important medresa(university).