January 21, 2007

• Morocco – Day 8: Wind and Surf

   

   

  Date: December 29     Location: Essaouira     Weather: Warm and Windy     Cannons: 31

  As we left Marrakesh, YH (our cousin’s husband) suggested that we take a trip to Essaouira, a beautiful coastal city, instead of heading straight back to Rabat. I was all for it (having read through the travel guide already), my sister was all for it, and after some convincing, my mother acquiesced as well. It turned out to be a great decision.

  

  Essaouira has an amazing history behind it (skip these two paragraphs if you’re lame and get bored by history). The area was first discovered by Phoenicians around 600BC, then colonized by Carthaginians in 450BC (i.e., annexed to Rome when Carthage fell). Much of its economy was trade-based and related to Tyrian (“royal purple”) dye which was produced here. Much later, the Portuguese established a base here in the late 1400s, which lasted about fifty years until it was back in Moroccan hands (Saadians).

  What we see of Essaouira now is primarily from the mid-1700s onwards. The Sultan hired a French architect to redesign the city, which would be a commercial link between Mali and Europe; that’s when the coastal fortress, ramparts, and the foundation much of the city was laid out. The population grew to about 36,000 people, with one-sixth of the population Jewish.

  What this means is that Essaouira is a beautiful coastal town with weather like Southern California, a 2500-year-old history, and buildings where the town’s Arab, Portuguese, and Jewish roots can still be seen.

  

  The town is also known for its seafood. Once we arrived, we had lunch on the terrace of a restaurant with a wonderful view of the coastal fortress.

  

  We went down to look around the fortress in the afternoon. The cannons along the fortification still have the place and date of manufacture: Barcelona – Dec 12 1785, or Seville – Jan 16 1786. The view from the ramparts of the coast was equally brilliant.

  
  

  I couldn’t resist reaching out over the edge and having a peek inside one of the cannons. It was… underwhelming.

  

  As the sun began to set, the birds began to roost, and the sky darkened.

  

  I rushed to get a better view of the coast. The waves crashing against the rocks as the tide came in were incredibly picturesque.

  

  Standing between the parapets in the fortress, I knelt down to get a shot of the sun as it disappeared beneath the horizon.

  

  We left Essaouira soon thereafter to return to Rabat. KF

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