Essaouira, Coastal fortified medina in South Atlantic Morocco.
Essaouira is a walled coastal town on Morocco's Atlantic shore, where stone defense towers surround a sprawling medina with winding lanes and a working harbor. The whitewashed houses stand in tight rows along cobbled paths, while workshops and shops are distributed among the residential buildings.
A Moroccan sultan commissioned French engineers in the second half of the 18th century to design a fortified trading post on the Atlantic. The layout followed European fortress principles with bastions and straight thoroughfares to control maritime commerce.
The local boatbuilding tradition shows how carpenters still work with traditional methods to create these small wooden vessels. Furniture craftsmen often display their technique openly in the souks, with the warm smell of planed cedar drifting through the alleys.
The best time to visit is during morning hours when fishermen at the harbor mend their nets and the noise of gulls fills the air. The constant sea breeze keeps temperatures mild all year round, though it can blow quite forcefully at times.
Orson Welles filmed parts of his Shakespeare adaptation here in the 1950s, and a small commemorative plaque has marked a side alley near the Skala ever since. The film sets are long gone, but some older residents still recall the production.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
