Essaouira, Coastal fortified medina in South Atlantic Morocco.
Description
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.
History
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.
Culture
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.
Practical
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.
Did you know?
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.
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide. Discover all places nearby (Essaouira Province).
Morocco offers a wide range of subjects for photographers. Cities like Marrakech and Casablanca have mosques, palaces, and gardens where colors, geometric patterns, and craft skills come together. You can photograph the 210-meter minaret of the Hassan II Mosque facing the ocean, the blue walls of...
Essaouira is a port city on Morocco's coast where the 18th-century medina stands protected by UNESCO. Massive fortification walls topped with Portuguese cannons enclose the winding streets where traditional markets, mosques, and synagogues sit side by side. Fishing boats painted in blue and white...
Riads are traditional Moroccan houses built around an interior courtyard or garden. In Essaouira, these accommodations are mainly located within the medina, the old town enclosed by 18th-century ramparts. The buildings often date from different periods and have been converted into guesthouses while...
Bab el-Marsa
571 m
Medina of Essaouira
156 m
Iles Purpuraires
2.6 km
Sqala of the port
638 m
Port of Essaouira
693 m
Place Moulay Hassan
386 m
City Walls
366 m
Bayt Dakira
235 m
Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum
278 m
Sqala of Kasbah
419 m
Borj Al Baroud
2.8 km
Bab Doukkala
442 m
Chaim Pinto Synagogue
351 m
Plage d'Essaouira
1.6 km
Jewish cemeteries of Essaouira
641 m
Bab Sbaa
217 m
Bab Marrakech
344 m
Simon Attias Synagogue
307 m
Fish Market
167 m
Bab Sebaa
214 m
Kasbah Mosque
272 m
Slat Lkahal Synagogue
307 m
Ben Youssef Mosque
79 mFaro del Cabo Sim
13.7 km
Sidi Megdoul Lighthouse
2.4 km
Azur Art & Spa
333 m
Riad Baladin
322 m
Riad Chems Bleu
128 mDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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