"Essaouira - African Sea-pearl! " a Essaouira Travel Page by LuisGuimaraes

Essaouira is one of my favourite spots! It's a magic small town, with white blue-striped houses within a wall, where the most beautiful sunset of the world can be enjoyed surrounded by the north-african sounds and coulours, while spices and fresh fish arriving at the nearby harbour fill up the lungs and the appetite..

Located in middle-eastern Morocco, Essaouira was once portugese town "Mogador", before being taken by the spanish and later become part of nowaday's Morocco. It possedes the amazing mixture of Europe's coastal villages and Africa's environment, creating a place I consider unique, with that special touch of "chill-out" places!

Once you park your car and enter the wall, some joyful feeling takes over your body and mind: white and blue houses, narrow and loud streets packed with sellers travellers and locals, markets, food-sellers, handcraft..people from all races, food for all tastes, paintings and cloth with all colours..And over each house its terrace, and over it the African sun, inviting for a swin outside the walls, in one of the million beaches along the coast..
But Essaouira has also its share of quiet streets, angle-caffees for a morning or late-afternoon chill, or the wonderful seaside-promenade, on the walls of the town, where you can watch the never-ending Ocean from one of the ancient towers.

Essaouira has the abbility to create the feeling of being part of something, maybe a community of people enjoying life. Most common day-time activity is going to the beach, so there is the wonderful summer atmosphere of smiling "flip-floppers", wandering around, sipping a tea, buying a cheap painting or silver bracelet, enjoying the view or eating fresh-grilled fish on the main square. It just "smells" like summer, but chill summer, not mass-tourist beach resort..in fact, the absolute opposite. It is developing, but I would still consider it a bag-packing jewel.

One of the things I like most (but this applies to muslim-countries as a whole) is being on the streets and five times a-day hear the prayers, flowing enchantingly (for me, as a non-muslim, at least) from the high mosque-towers!

I would mention two special places (other than the as-cheap-and-beautiful-as-it-gets house we rented for a few days) in Essaouira: the main square (damn, I always forget the names) and the harbour.

Both are beautiful but please - please!! - don't leave Essaouira without enjoying them at dawn..on the harbour, fishermen sell their fish, all kinds of small and big seafood. And on the square, lean on the wall and watch the sun go down in front of your eyes (West is right in front of you), between flying seagulls, spanish 17th-century towers and a gathered and enchanted international crowd.