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Essaouira (formerly known as Mogador, its older name) is a city and tourist resort in western Morocco, on the Atlantic coast.



During the Middle Ages, a muslim saint named Sidi Mogdoul was buried in Essaouira. In 1506, the king of Portugal ordered a fortress to be built there, named "Castelo Real de Mogador". The fortress fell to the local resistance of the Regraga fraternity four years later.

During the 16th century, various powers including Spain, England, the Netherlands and France tried in vain to conquer the locality. Essaouira remained a haven for the export of sugar molasses and the anchoring of pirates.

The actual city of Essaouira was only built during the 18th century. Mohammed III, wishing to reorient his kingdom towards the Atlantic for increased exchanges with European powers, chose Mogador as his key location. He hired a French engineer, Théodore Cornut, and several other European architects and technicians, to build the fortress along modern lines. Originally called "Souira", "The small fortress", the name then became "Es-Saouira", "The beautifully designed".

Mohammed ben Abdallah encouraged the establishment of Jewish and other foreign traders. They numbered approximately one thousand by 1780. He also forced European nations to establish consulates in the city, but the city did not flourish, as she was too far from the traditional caravan trade routes.

In the early 1950s film director and actor Orson Welles stayed at the Hotel des Iles just south of the town walls during the filming of his 1952 classic version of "Othello" which contains several memorable scenes shot in the labyrynthine streets and alleyways of the medina. Legend has it that during Welles's sojourn in the town he met Winston Churchill, another guest at the Hotel des Iles. Several other film directors have utilised Essaouira's photogenic and atmospheric qualities.

Despite common misconception, Jimi Hendrix's song "Castles Made of Sand" was written two years before he visited the castles of Essaouira.

The Medina of Essaouira (formerly "Mogador") is a UNESCO World Heritage Listed city, as an example of a late 18th century fortified town, as transferred to North Africa.

Essaouira is an exceptional example of a late-18th-century fortified town, built according to the principles of contemporary European military architecture in a North African context. Since its foundation, it has been a major international trading seaport, linking Morocco and its Saharan hinterland with Europe and the rest of the world.

Criterion ii Essaouira is an outstanding and well preserved example of a late 18th century European fortified seaport town translated to a North African context. Criterion iv With the opening up of Morocco to the rest of the world in the later 17th century Essaouira was laid out by a French architect who had been profoundly influenced by the work of Vauban at Saint-Malo. It has retained its European appearance to a substantial extent.

from UNESCO web site

Essaouira is also renowned for its kitesurfing and windsurfing, with the powerful trade wind blowing almost constantly onto the protected, almost waveless, bay. Several world-class clubs rent top-notch material on a weekly basis.