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The Medina of Essaouirad: UNESCO World Heritage site
Essaouira is an outstanding and well preserved example of a late 18th century European fortified seaport town translated to a North African context. It is a town that is unique by virtue of
its design: it was created in conformity with a predetermined
plan. Since the beginning, the medina of
Essaouira has been a major place for the peaceable coming
together of the architectural and town-planning models of
Europe and of Morocco itself. In this way a symbiosis was
achieved between building techniques from Morocco and
elsewhere which gave birth to some unique architectural
masterpieces (the Sqalas of the port and of the medina, the
Bab Marrakech bastion, the water gate, mosques,
synagogues, churches, etc).
A long sand beach
A
long and beautiful beach is stretched on nearly 10 km to the dunes of Cap Slim. It is a protected bay. Suntanning and and family bath is ideal when the wind is not too strong. Water is quite cold in winter and fresh in summer (21°C). The beaches away from the city are splendid but not supervised sothey are sometimes dangerous. The beach of Sidi Kaouki (14 km in the south) is famous for its windurf and kitesurf spot.
A port full of animation
For many years the port of the city was the first port in the World for sardine fishing. Even if the wearing of Agadir and Casablanca since French protectorate slowed down the economic and maritime expansion of the port of Essaouira, it is still nowadays in activity. The fish fished here is sold in all Morocco. Come to see there a port in activity with the departure and the arrival of the trawlers, the vivid colors of the racks and nets, and usual animation.
A town of artists and craftsmen
While walking in the streets of the Medina, you will see many craftsmen at work. The city is indeed famous in all Morocco for:
- Marquetry
Marquetry and the cabinet work are among the artisanal activities most characteristic of Essaouira. The wood used by this craft industry comes from the forets of the province. Geometrical arabesques decorate the coffee tables, the pieces of furniture and the boxes of all sizes and all forms.
- Orfevrery
The craft industry of jewellery has been very prosperous in Essaouira for many centuries thanks to the old Jewish mâalam. Who didn't hear about famous "Dag Souiri" and the "Rose of Mogador" , an ornament specific to Essaouira?
- les carreaux de Zellige
The work of these very beautiful tiles of enamelled Zellige earthenware, nowadays preserved still well decorates minarets, mosques, and gates. Fragments traced beforehand on enamel, trimmed, cut, before being related to the other parts, these mosaics geometrical are finely worked and form arabesques in all the forms: tables, fountains, squares, etc.
History
Archaeological excavations have shown that the site of
Essaouira was originally a Phoenician trading settlement;
they were followed by Cretans, Greeks, and Romans. The
earlier name of Mogador derives from Migdol, meaning a
small fort. In 1506 it was to become the site of a Portuguese
fortress.
The present town dates from 1765, when the Alaouite Sultan
Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah decided to build a port that
would open Morocco up to the outside world and assist in
developing commercial relations with Europe. He sought the
help of Nicholas Théodore Cornut, a surveyor specialist in
military fortifications from Avignon, who was strongly
influenced by Vauban’s defences at Saint-Malo. He partially
dismantled the Portuguese fortress to build an esplanade with
a row of cannons, known as the Sqala.
The Mellah is the Jewish quarter where the apartment is located. It played a very important
role in the history of the town, since the Sultan made use of
this community to establish relations with Europe and to
organize commercial activities with them. They were given
the title of Toujjar Es-Sultan (Royal Merchants), giving them
considerable economic and political privileges
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