Gems of al-Andalus

The Story Behind the Name Safi The 11th-century Andalusian geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi gives an unusual explanation for the origin of the name Safi (Asafi), connecting it to the Arabic word asaf, meaning regret. According to al-Idrisi, a group of sailors from al-Andalus set out across the Atlantic in search of what lay beyond it. After becoming lost, they eventually came to an island where they were captured by its inhabitants then sent back to sea blindfolded and eventually reached the shores of Safi. When the local people found them, they helped the sailors and told them that they were still two months away from their homeland, al-Andalus. Upon hearing this, one of the sailors reportedly exclaimed: "Wa asafi!" — "Oh, my regret!" Al-Idrisi relates that from this expression the city came to be known as Asafi, or Safi. Allah knows best on the historical origin of the name.