Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001 and swept by the trade winds, about 175 km west of Marrakech, lies the small fortified white and blue port city of Essaouira, “the ex-Mogador”, with its Vauban ramparts and its medina “Mecca of Hippies during the 1970s”…
Famous for its historic past as a former trading post and, a real source of inspiration, it attracts artists from around the world, lovers of authenticity, culture and refinement, including painters, writers, filmmakers (Orson Welles for “Othello” ) … and many musicians, especially during its exciting Gnaoua music festival in June …
Essaouira also stands out for the marquetry of thuja, precious woods whose subtle scent hangs in the alleys of the medina and the mellah, the Jewish quarter, with its vaulted shops where harmony and lightness reign … for the pleasure of bargain hunting, the 5 senses on the alert …
The lively and colorful atmosphere of the port with the perpetual ballet of seagulls, the fishing nets drying on the quays, the boats and trawlers of ancestral manufacture encourages to sit down and have lunch **, in order to taste fish, crustaceans (crab , prawns, lobster ..) freshly caught and golden on the barbecue … before your eyes …
along the way we can stop to see the famous Argan tree where goats clamber up the low branches and feed. Sometimes there are as many as 20 goats sitting up in one tree. It is a an absolute must when it comes to getting a photo opportunity and fascinating sight.
At low tide you can walk on the fine sandy beach to meet surfers, sand yachts … you can also visit one of the argan oil cooperatives (a tree unique in the world, classified by UNESCO as universal heritage , growing in the Souss region, of Agadir-Essaouira) held only by women.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001 and swept by the trade winds, about 175 km west of Marrakech, lies the small fortified white and blue port city of Essaouira, “the ex-Mogador”, with its Vauban ramparts and its medina “Mecca of Hippies during the 1970s”…
Famous for its historic past as a former trading post and, a real source of inspiration, it attracts artists from around the world, lovers of authenticity, culture and refinement, including painters, writers, filmmakers (Orson Welles for “Othello” ) … and many musicians, especially during its exciting Gnaoua music festival in June …
Essaouira also stands out for the marquetry of thuja, precious woods whose subtle scent hangs in the alleys of the medina and the mellah, the Jewish quarter, with its vaulted shops where harmony and lightness reign … for the pleasure of bargain hunting, the 5 senses on the alert …
The lively and colorful atmosphere of the port with the perpetual ballet of seagulls, the fishing nets drying on the quays, the boats and trawlers of ancestral manufacture encourages to sit down and have lunch **, in order to taste fish, crustaceans (crab , prawns, lobster ..) freshly caught and golden on the barbecue … before your eyes …
along the way we can stop to see the famous Argan tree where goats clamber up the low branches and feed. Sometimes there are as many as 20 goats sitting up in one tree. It is a an absolute must when it comes to getting a photo opportunity and fascinating sight.
At low tide you can walk on the fine sandy beach to meet surfers, sand yachts … you can also visit one of the argan oil cooperatives (a tree unique in the world, classified by UNESCO as universal heritage , growing in the Souss region, of Agadir-Essaouira) held only by women.
