A stopover in Essaouira, Morocco
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Loading... - Arthur Garcia
- 19 Jan 2023
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The fetching Atlantic port of Essaouira lacks the fame and grandeur of more famous Moroccan cities like Casablanca, but that is exactly its draw. Easier to navigate than the vast medieval labyrinth of Fez and far more manageable than hectic Marrakesh, Essaouira (pronounced ess-uh-WEE-ruh) is coastal North Africa at its most quaint and picturesque.
Blue wooden fishing boats haul in the day’s catch. Dromedaries roam the beaches. Come evening, the sunset casts its glow on the crenelated ramparts and watchtowers. It is little wonder that productions like Orson Welles’s 1951 “Othello” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones” have filmed here. These days, art galleries, stylish guesthouses, and a blossoming design scene add to the eye candy, while summer music festivals like the Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival provide the beat.
Here is the perfect agenda for a 32-hour Essaouira stopover:
Friday4pm: Peer into the past. A portal into the past opens down Rue de la Sqala, a passageway off Essaouira’s main square, Place Moulay Hassan. Strolling alongside the high battlements, you pass beneath stone arches and ascend a long ramp to reach the city’s most scenic spot: a promenade lined with 18th-century cannons pointing out to sea.
The wide walkway and its majestic watchtower offer sublime vistas of the craggy coast and the Purple Islands, where ancient Phoenicians and Romans crushed murex shells to make much-prized violet dyes. Seagulls whirl above. Waves crash below. For a moment, time stands still. Read More…
