Travel Morocco
Essaouira
Chill Out in Essaouira
Essaouira is Morocco's surfing capital on the Atlantic coast and has miles of sandy beaches to enjoy.
Ask any surfer and they will all say in unison that the reason why they come to Essaouira is the combination of great wind every day a beautiful city, fresh food and superb sun. The only downside is the water. It is COLD!
It has been proven by archeologist that Essaouira has been occupied since prehistoric times. Essauria is rich with history and the Portuguese, Arab and Jewish influences can be seen in the architecture. Ever since Essaouira has been a town of many ethnic influences.
thus between 1506 and 1510 The Portugese seized Essaaouira and called it then Mogador. Later on they were forced abandon most of their settlements between 1541 and 1550.
In addition to this in 1757 Mohammed ben Abdallah sultan of Morocco (1757- 1790) encouraged Moroccan Jews to settle in the town and handle the trade with Europe. The Jewish community represented almost half of Essaouira population at that time. The Jewish quarter, or mellah contain many old synagogues. The town also has a large Jewish cemetery. Today we can still see traces of the Jewish presence in the main door of the rampart in Essaouira. At the top of this magnificient door there is an insription from the Holy Koran and encarved in the stone below it there is a sequence of the Holy Jewish Star of David. You can see it on this picture below.
Essaouira like the rest of Morocco became a French colony in 1956.
Today Essaouira is ran by a female mayor Ms Asma Chaabi who graduated at Westminster University in London. She was the first woman to be ever elected for a Mayor position in Morocco. She was elected in 2003 and is still in duty today.(The second one being the mayor of Marrakech. Fatima Zahra Mansouri.)
At the harbour in Essaouira the fishermen sell their catch of the day in the market, and serve fresh seafood to locals and tourists alike.
Essaouira is also home to The Gnaoua and World Music Festival which is held each June.
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