Oujda is Morocco’s most populated northern city. When compared to the cities southward in the Rif Mountains, Oujda has an open, liberated air to it that is comparable to Rabat. Due to its closeness to Algeria and its strategic location, different empires and governments have controlled it over the last centuries.
Spain gave up control over Oujda when France began sectioning off areas of the country that they held as a part of their protectorate. The French did more for the infrastructure of the city than Spain by building a ville nouvelle and constructing roads and a railway that continues into Algeria. When the French left Morocco, Oudja fell back into Moroccan control, where it has remained ever since. Interestingly, before Spain or France vied for parts of the country, Oudja was once a part of the Ottoman Empire and was considered their capital in North Africa. The neighboring city to the north is Melilla, which is still a part of Spain yet on Moroccan soil.
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