COOL MEDINA
With its multicultural history, stunning ocean views and irrepressibly chill attitude, Essaouira is the Moroccan seaside town that has it all
It’s ironic that time seems to stand still at Essaouira, when change has been its only constant over the centuries. This small city on Morocco’s wild Atlantic coast has through the ages welcomed the Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Romans, Portuguese and French, who arrived on Essaouira’s famed alizee, or tradewinds, to ply assorted ambitions, trades and religions. In the late 18th century and during the 19th century, the city was a major Atlantic commercial hub (trading everything from grain and salt to slaves) between Africa and Europe. The diverse people who passed through it have indelibly shaped the city as it is today, a compact fortified old town and UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with restaurants, galleries and shops bordered by a bustling port and a wide swath of ecru-sand beach.
A stiff breeze blows perpetually through Essaouira’s medina, which, unlike Marrakech’s sprawling, maze-like souks three hours away, is small and easy to navigate. A stroll from its fortified gates takes you to the wide sandy crescent of the main beach, where steady winds and a waveless sea draws wind- and kite-surfers from April through November. At Essaouira’s bustling working port, cobalt-blue skiffs bob in the current while fishermen sort through glistening piles of sardines, all under the impatient gaze of the city’s numerous stray cats and cawing seagulls looping in the wind overhead.
With its laid-back, bohemian atmosphere, Essaouira has always drawn free spirits such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, and more recently, Hollywood moviemakers, who have filmed “Othello,” “John Wick 3” and, most recently, “Game of Thrones” in Essaouira’s labyrinthine alleys and the sweeping oceanside terraces of Skala du Port and the Kasbah Skala, lined with 18th-century bronze artillery guns. It’s also known for its festivals — the annual Gnaoua World Music Festival, for example, is a sonic extravaganza that sees the local three-stringed hajhouj in a strum-off against rock guitars.
In the medina, the past whispers from abandoned 19th-century consulates (local children call them “ghost-houses”) built by the Dutch, Portuguese and French, alongside the visual cacophony of street stalls selling everything from hammered brass lamps to Morocco’s ubiquitous boucherouite rugs (Berber rugs woven from recycled material), tagines, spices and argan oil. Dotted in between are woodcraft stores such as Coopérative Artisanale de Thuya, which turn aromatic thuya wood into dazzlingly intricate wood-marquetry boxes, trays and furniture. Shopping in Essaouira’s picturesque medina (think whitewashed alleys, accented by doors in Yves Klein blue, lemon yellow and pistachio) is an altogether more
leisurely affair than in Marrakech (with its aggressive stallholders), but similar rules apply here, says Mr. Eric Molle, general manager of Heure Bleue Palais Hotel. “If you like it, buy it, because you won’t see it again,” he adds.
A Gallic vibe permeates the city, thanks to a wave of French émigrés who have opened guesthouses, restaurants and chic little boutiques such as Rafia Craft, a pink-doored store selling colorful woven shoes (from 150 Dirham) that are perfect for travel. Caravane Cafe, meanwhile, is owned by French artist Didier Spindler, whose “eclectic” sensibility informs the globally inspired menu, vibrant wall-to-wall artworks, and fire-eaters who serve as entertainment.
“I first came here 13 years ago to run in the desert. I knew I’d come here again one day,” says Ms. Patricia Finel, who decamped to Essaouira from France to set up a beachside restaurant just outside the city. “I just love it here — it’s so nice and quiet at the end of the world.”