Essaouira, Morocco

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called Morocco 2026
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Today we took a “little” (110 mile) drive to the city of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. This area has been inhabited since ancient times because of its protected bay and harbor. It’s also in a perfect location as a trade port with Africa, Europe, and even the Middle East. While the Portuguese and French made short forays into the area in the 16th and 17th centuries, it really came about as a city in the mid-18th century when the Moroccan King (Mohammed III) wanted to expand is empire with a focus on the Atlantic to improve trade with the European powers. He hired a number of architects and engineers (including Theodore Cornut, a military architect who had created fortifications for the French and British) to construct the the entire city of Essaouira and focused Morocco’s trade there. In fact, until the end of the 19th century, was Morocco’s principal port, linking Africa to the rest of the world.

Stopping at a roadside rest about halfway to Essaouaira
It was actually quite a nice roadside rest, complete with geese wandering around.
We passed a number of argan trees along the way. It’s the nut from these trees that is pressed to get the oil of the same name.
A free range camel munching on some shrubs as we approached the ocean and city. The fog was starting to build.
This welcome sign at the city’s visitor center is written in three languages: Arabic, Berber, and French.
I really liked the way they laid out the city map on the floor, with key sights popping up vertically.
We started our exploration of the city by heading to the port. The first stop was the Squala du Port, part of the main fortification of the port when defense was a very important element of life there.
This led to the Bab el-Masar (the marine gate to the port).
But there was some clever marketing going on here. If you look at the top of the gate, there are some Arabic inscriptions on the triangle that praise Allah and name the ruler and states the date it was built. All the visitors entering the Medina from the port side see this inscription and the three signs showing interfaith harmony namely the Islamic Crescent, the Christians Scallop of Santiago and the Jewish Star of David. Y’all come!
Today the port is used primarily for local fishing using long lines to go after a variety of fish.
The offshore boats were getting ready for the next night’s run. The bigger, deep ocean fishing boats are in the background.
Lots of local catch to choose from.
They even have giant crabs here!

It was this trade that caused the king to recruit Moroccan Jews to settle in the town and by the mid-1800s, they represented at least half of the population. In later years, the combination of the creation of Israel and ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict led to their mass departure from the country (Today there are only three Jewish inhabitants). The old city is still in remarkably good shape. We started by walking over to the port which started out primarily for defense, but with the rise of trade, became the portal into the city through the Porte de la Marine. For many years, they had a thriving fishing industry, but with increasing competition from the region and internationally, today it supports mostly its local population. We then worked our way through the Medina which today houses lots of small arts and crafts businesses. What I liked was that many of these businesses were co-ops, including for art and cabinet-making that were happy to give demonstrations (and yes, we did…). In some respects, the arts and crafts focus when hippies from the US and around Europe settled in Essaouira and set up shop. The town is also now becoming a center for World Music, originally focused on Gnaoua music (a spiritual and rhythmic music from West Africa and parts of Morocco), but now much broader. We also visited one of the former Jewish synagogues that is now a museum about the contributions that the Jews made to Essaouira’s history. At the end of our stay, we went up to the Harbor Scala (fortress/citadel) at one end of the Medina. It is lined with 20 cannons acquired from different countries. It’s only been in action twice, first from the Confederate States of America (yeah, I didn’t know that either — they lost there too) and later during a brief French occupation for Essaouira’s support of some anti-French rebels. The views seaward are quite spectacular. Sadly we were there on a foggy day, making what is apparently a lovely beachside vacationing spot a little less appealing.

From there, we wandered around the town. Many of the artisan workshops are in the old Jewish Quarter.
We spent a lot of time chatting up the artists at a local co-op…
… and also in the furniture shop. They did amazing inlay work here…
Here is a finished 3-part table made of rare Moroccan Thuya wood (related to the cypress), black insets using Acacia tree wood, and inlaid mother of pearl. Beautiful work!
A funky little square by the silver craftsmen.
One of the more interesting and sobering stops was at the Bayt Dakar (House of Memory) dedicated to the Jews who migrated here at the king’s behest and the significant contributions they made.
While there are only three Jews left in the city, the Temple Altar is still used in ceremonies when Jewish gatherings are held there.
Entering the Harbor Scala (after fortress overlooking the sea).
With 20 cannons, it was an imposing impediment to anyone wanting to attack from the sea.
The offshore rocks and swells helped as a discourager as well.
This entry was posted in Africa, Morocco, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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