Medina of Essaouira
This is where usually the tour starts once you're in the city, the Medina of Essaouira has had it's own story with the Portuguese, as In 1506, the king of Portugal, Manuel I, ordered a fortress to be built there, named "Castelo Real de Mogador". The fortress fell later to the local resistance, so there you have all the monuments with all what is still left of their cannons facing the sea.
Essaouira is the only Arab town who has had a majority of a Jewish population, it is a coastal city (approx. 2,5 hour driving from Marrakech) providing a fantastic chance to relax and enjoy the beach. The Medina of Essaouira is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In your tour you will have both history and tradition, with a city guide (If it is included) will take you around and show you all the best of what the city has to offer. Essaouira has long beautiful sandy beaches.
It is safe to swim as well as surfing. There are many activities taking place on the beach – local boys are playing football and surfing. The beach owners offer camel rides and quads over the coastline. It is a perfect opportunity to get off the pressure of the town and enjoy the coastal area of Essaouira’s cooler climate.
The tour begins at 8:30 hour from your accommodation in Marrakech and returns back to Marrakech at 7:30pm. Through the trip, you will even be able to enjoy different landscapes in the surrounding countryside.
Once called Mogador by merchants and Western sailors, Essaouira is well known at first place for the Argan Oil production, wood but also famous because of its annual Gnaoua Music Festival that draws 300,000+ people in June. Gnaoua or Gnawa music is a rich Moroccan repertoire of ancient African Islamic spiritual religious songs and rhythms,
Additionally, Essaouira comes with an extensive beach for surfing named Plage de Safi. The trip to this former colonial fishing town provides easy access to Berber villages along the road. Essaouira is also known as the Wind City in Africa and is a pitstop for the hippie journey from Marrakech. If you like art, there is a lot of art galleries which can be visited.
In the city, you will have a short walk across the town, through narrow streets. You will also visit the Skala du Port, the fishing harbor which provides spectacular views over the Portuguese ramparts. Discover all kind of spices and jewelry at the souks of the medina. Around the fishing harbor, you can enjoy fresh delicious seafood in one of the local restaurants.
Essaouira’s history is a memory of changing times when England and Spain struggled to keep control over its coasts. It’s an average colonial harbor that is a sensational example of colonial and Moorish architecture.
If you have a local guide, you will be able to visit the Mellah, Cemetery and Synagogue. Essaouira’s Mellah includes more than 10 percent of the city, but Jews constituted nearly 40 percent of the population within the late 1880’s. Jewish personalities about the gates towards the Mellah display their education to which Jews were approved to the stage that a few of the richer Jews didn’t actually reside in the Mellah, in Essaouira. Commemorative plaques show the structures by which synagogues were found.
With our driver we will make sure to also take you visit one of the best Argan Oil Women Cooperative in Morocco Preferably very few kilometers just before getting to Essaouira, as that’s where the best of them are located.
After visit all what the city of Essaouira has to offer we will drive back to Marrakech, around 7:30pm we will drop you off at your accommodation in Marrakech where the trip comes to an end.
