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Essaouira
Essaouira, formerly known as Mogador, is a harbor city located on Morocco's Atlantic coast. The city's medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed as an example of a late 18th century fortified town. Occupied since prehistoric times, Essaouira has a long and interesting history. As one of the safest ports to drop anchor along the Moroccan coast, due to partial protection by the island of Mogador, the city was established as a trading post as early as the 5th century BCE. Overtime, Essaouira called the attention of a more exciting nature; it became famous as an anchoring spot for pirates.
In the 15th century, the city was colonized by the seafaring Portuguese. The Portugueses mark on the city can still be seen in the pastel-colored houses with their multi-tiered outward looking houses. They named the city Mogador, presumably for a Muslim saint buried in the area. Today's actual city was mostly developed under Mohammad III in the 18th century, including a fortress. Souira means "the small fortress" and later it was changed to Es-souira to mean "the beautifully designed."
Due to the strong trade winds on the coast, Essaouira is also known for kite surfing and windsurfing. Every June, the Gnawa Music Festival is hosted here drawing a crowd of 400,000 from North Africa, Europe and North America. The Gnawa music is centuries old and draws from African animistic and Islamic-Sufi rituals.
Today, this lazy harbor town beckons travelers with its excellent seafood, relaxed atmosphere, and workmanship from numerous artists who live in the city. With its interesting history and coastal nature, Essaouira offers not only a different perspective of Morocco, but it also offers a great place to relax and end one's traveling experience through this beautiful country.
Add Essaouira as an extension to any of Wildland Adventures' trips to Morocco!
