"Essouira" Essaouira by Marjara

Essaouira was like no place I had visited before. It has two main features: the old city (medina) and the fishing wharf, which is just beyond the fortifications. The fortification walls and ramparts, with gun emplacements, enclose the old town along the western and north-western seacoast. walls are there on the eastern and southern sides and they have bastions but no ramparts or gun emplacements. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to try to establish their base on the Moroccan coast but they were soon chased out. They were joined by their European rivals like the Dutch, the French and the English, who tried to establish their hegemony but ultimately thought it better to restrict themselves to trade and benefit from it rather than dominate the people with the force of arms. The fortifications are the work of many European engineers from France, England and Italy, who were commissioned by the Sultans to strengthen the defenses of the city during the 18th century. The old city was designed by a Frenchman, Theodore Cornut, and built mainly during the same period. Much of the town is laid out in a grid pattern. A boulevard cuts through the town from Bab El Menzeh in the south-west to Bab Doukala in the north-east along with two other parallel streets. They are crossed through by a main street which begins in the south-east at Bab Marakkesh. The souks (markets) are located on these main streets close to where they intersect. The prominent among them are the Souk au Poisson (Fish Market), the Souk au Grains (Grain Market) and the Souk aux Bijouteries (Jewellery Market). The smaller streets are mainly residential and mostly blind alleys rather than thoroughfares. The residents preferred them that way to prevent the strangers passing through and gawking at their women. The Mellah (Jewish Quarter) lies in the north-east close to Bab Doukala but most of the Jews, who found Morocco to be safe haven from the Spanish persecution after the reconquista, have emigrated to Israel. Many of the shops for tourists lie on the street that runs along the defensive western wall that leads to the Bastion du Nord (Northern Bastion) and further on to Bab Doukala.

Gulls Galore

The main social centre of the town is the Moulay Hassan Square, which lies to the southwest of the town just to the left of Bab Menzeh. The main feature is Hotel Casa Vera and the café below it which serves “tapas españolas” on the outdoor tables covered over with parasols. A path, probably a causeway, leads to the harbour across the fortifications through a gate under the ramparts. There is a jetty that continues into the sea both on the left and the right. Most fishing boats and trawlers bring their hauls here and unload them. The place is comparatively quiet before noon when the blue coloured boats and larger trawlers have gone out to the sea to catch fish. Once they are back the scene becomes chaotic. Much of the buying and selling happens on the spot. The place fills up with screaming gulls who clamour for a share of the catch. If you love seafood, you will enjoy not only the smell but also the commotion that the love of seafood can cause even among the ravenous seagulls who seems to be so bold as to snatch the fish out of the hands of the fishermen.

The Port, the Fort and the Beach

The town is associated with a Muslim saint of the Middle Ages, Sidi Mogdul, who has a shrine in this town, where he is buried. The town, it is claimed, was also a favourite retreat for many well-known western personalities. Just beside the El Mezneh Gate, there is a little squarish plot of land called Place Orson Welles, which commemorates the love that the renowned director-actor had for this town. If you walk further along the eastern wall to Bab Marrakesh, you will pass by the parking lot where the Supratour inter-city buses have their terminal. You will also see the bastions and the fortification wall on the left and the sea on the right. Chances are that you will see people having fun on the beach, depending on the weather, on the tides and on the time of day or year. Bab Marrakesh and Bab Doukala are the main entrances to the Medina from the new town.

• Pros:A compact city. Every place worth seeing is situated within a short walking distance.
• Cons:Not being a seafood lover I found the fishy smell a little too much to take.
• In a nutshell:A fishing village and much more with a lot of tourism value.