Any inveterate traveler who discovers North West Africa should definitely stay for a vacation in Essaouira, Morocco. This city has long lost its commercial and political significance, but due to its antiquity it is fraught with numerous mysteries of history.
At the moment, in Morocco, Essaouira is recognized as one of the most attractive places for tourists who want to delve into history and at the same time relax.
Historical reference
Although now mainly Essaouira in Morocco is known for its beach vacations, one cannot but recognize that the city has retained the charm of antiquity. Previously, a large port city was considered one of the main centers of trade and fishing, but now it has lost much of this status. The history of Essaouira in Morocco begins as early as the 7th century BC, but until recently the city had a completely different name - Modagor. However, for many centuries the place was considered only a small settlement.
The true heyday of Modagora began only in the mid-18th century, when the Sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah came to power. Once a famous French engineer named Theodore Cornu was captured. He was ordered to build up the city, turning it not only into a port, but also an impregnable fortress that could not be taken from the sea. The Frenchman complied with the order, and soon a huge port city appeared on the site of a small town, attracting merchants from around the world to import gold, salt and oysters. In addition, nearby, it was possible to produce expensive at that time dark sugar.
Essaouira gradually became more and more in Morocco, until in the mid-19th century the defenders of the city during the war surrendered it to the French troops under the command of Prince Joenville. From this began the gradual fall of a previously powerful trading city. Gradually, he turned into a small seaside town, and quite poor.
However, the most popular place brought one of the most famous musicians in the world - guitarist Jimmy Hendricks. He lived and worked here in the 60s of the 20th century, which led to the fact that Essaouira began to be considered a city for hippies.
Beach in Essaouira, Morocco
Numerous tourists arrive in the city not only to admire its ancient history. They are attracted by the magnificent beach vacation, where you can enjoy windsurfing with great pleasure. The length of this magnificent beach is about 6 km, it is completely filled with soft sand, where you can lie down with pleasure. Since the city is located far from the famous tourist routes, there is usually no stampede, so you can relax and enjoy the silence.
Every year, numerous windsurfing enthusiasts come here to participate in competitions in this sport. The Atlantic Ocean washes the beach with blue waves, giving the charm of the area. At the moment, the beach in Essaouira is considered one of the cleanest and most beautiful beaches in the world.
Major Attractions
Essaouira is a fishing city, its air is saturated with algae and fish, and thousands of seagulls sweep over the sea, giving a special flavor. Built by a European engineer, he largely absorbed the features of European cities - wide streets, large houses and white squares. There are not many attractions in Essaouira in Morocco, but each of them has its own unique heritage. This Arab city can be safely called one of the most civilized and cleanest, perhaps because of the attractiveness of the resort for Americans and Europeans.
Ancient medina
Most Moroccan cities were built on the site of old buildings, so they have the so-called Old Town, or Medina. If a tourist wonders what to see in Essaouira in Morocco, then this place should be the answer. At the moment, this Medina is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, because it is distinguished by its original architecture, which has no analogues in other cities in Africa.
The architectural style of Europe is too visible here, since the city plan was developed before construction began. But if you look closely, you can also find organically built-in features of Arabian architecture - in the center of the Medina, unlike the rest of the city, narrow and curved streets form intricacies that are not only pleasant to walk along, but you can also get lost. Such development was carried out on purpose, so that in the event of the capture of Essaouira by enemies, they could not navigate well and become easy prey.
Also here is the largest market of the city - Suk Jadid. It is divided into 2 parts - on one they sell fish, and on the other - antiques and second-hand things.
Fortress
Essaouira in Morocco has long been considered a true fortress, which is almost impossible to capture. However, now all that remains of the original defensive system is the external fortress wall, characteristic of European cities due to beveled battlements. But at the same time, the inner wall was built in Islamic traditions, since its battlements with square sections resemble the style of defensive walls in Marrakesh.
In total, 3 gates were knocked out in the fortress walls - Bab Sebaa in the south, Vab Marrakesh in the east, and another lead directly to the Old Town - Vab Duk-kala.
Bastions
In addition to the walls, two sea bastions were built as a defense of the city:
- The Yurodsky bastion provided protection in the northeast. Now he left a platform with battlements, the Northern Bastion and a number of guns spread over them. It was built on the site of a Portuguese fortress. It was here that in 1949 Orson Welles directed scenes for the iconic film Othello. It offers a wonderful view not only of the ocean, but also of the Purple Islands.
- In the south, the Port Bastion was built adjacent to the Port of Essaouira itself.
These 2 bastions are now considered one of the most striking attractions of the area that attract tourists.
Sea port
This city has always been considered fishing because of its proximity to the ocean. It was here that for many years almost half of the trade turnover that took place in the Atlantic was concentrated. That is why the port is still fully operational, albeit not at the level of past times.
Now a traditional shipyard is working here, where they make wooden boats painted blue. On them, every night, fishermen go to the ocean to bring catch to the market. Here you can easily find everything that a seafood lover could wish for, however, it is sardines and various marine reptiles that are especially popular. Numerous cafes are located nearby, which will prepare just-bought food for a moderate fee.
Jewish quarter
In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was the Jewish community that occupied the main place in the economic activity of the city. Particular attention was paid to skillful jewelers. However, in 1967, all Jews were ordered to be evicted from Essaouira, so their quarter, chalk, now has no Jews. However, their houses and shops remained almost in their original form. If you walk along Darb Laaluj street, you can see balconies that are not in Muslim architecture, as well as inscriptions in Jewish.
Essoyera in the 20th century lost its economic importance, but at the same time, despite its scarcity, the city retained a touch of antiquity and charm, which attracted tourists to rest.