Moroccan Top Ten: Laid Back Essaouira

Essaouira, Morocco 

#6.  Visit a Hammam

Essaouira was a welcome stop after our desert pilgrimage (and ahem, a touch of old Moroccan Misery!).  We stayed in a pleasant riad (Dar el Qdima) in the heart of the old medina, close to city ramparts and port.  Rachida expertly guided us around town pointing out interesting features, including the markets, port, old city defensive walls built by the Portuguese, restaurants for a later “nus-nus” (milk coffee) fix, and best of all, how to get back to our Riad through the maze of streets.  

Our Guide leads us through the richly decorated old medina

We didn’t swim on the beaches here, though neither did many Moroccans.  Powerful and cold Atlantic waters were attracting a surfing and windsurfing crowd, though not a sport for us. Having walked the Port earlier with its large and ancient sardine fishing fleet, we knew swimming was not an option there either; the waters were a bit grim.   However a couple of sailing yachts had berthed, so the Cap’n took note for “later” options to explore.  

Every sailor's dream....

Essaouira translates from Arabic as “image”.  In 1765, the Sultan employed a French architect to design a medina with a grid of relatively wide streets, to attract European merchants away from rival trading towns along the coastline.  The city has since attracted more than merchants with the likes of Orson Wells, Jimi Hendrix and film-maker, Ridley Scott (Kingdom of Heaven).  The alternate theme abounds with plenty of dreadlocks (on European visitors), large portraits of Che Guevara, and laid back Gnaoua musicians (local sufi/soul music inspired by African slaves). 

Fort Protection

We shopped in hassle free markets, bought silver jewellery (as you do), ate fresh lobster grilled beside the Skala du Port, explored the medina again and snapped up a few more bargains. Sadly, the purple dye that Essaouira was once famous for, now no longer exists.  Murex, a shellfish and source of the dye, were fished to provide Roman Emperors with their robes of rank. The Iles Purpuraires now remain only in name.

Spices.  How do they do that?

Time to relax in Essaouira took on a whole new meaning with a visit to the nearby hammam or Moroccan communal steam bath.  The Cap’n bravely stepped up for the complete experience, including a gummage (or scrub) with mud pack and then body massage.   Our exhausted Cap’n returned with tales of his body being pummelled and kneaded for hours by an enthusiastic “Berber Bear”.

Meanwhile, some other kneading was going on in town