GETTING THERE

I buy several bottles, lured in by the promise of better skin and fewer wrinkles; it’s also brilliant for hair, thanks to its high concentration of fatty acids and Vitamin E (thanks to the Phoenicians for discovering it).

Returning to cosy confines of the hotel, it is time to put the claims into action in a hammam treatment. First into a Turkish sauna, which looked from the outside like a wardrobe — instead of finding Narnia I uncover a steam-filled circular room, big enough for four, like a huge bread oven.

Suitably glistening and baked, my skin is rubbed smartly with black soap, dead skin sloshed off by buckets of warm water as I lie on a slab trying not to be Britishly self-conscious in the nude.

The argan oil is massaged in at the end of the treatment, leaving my newly scrubbed self soft and velvety. I don’t know if it is the massage, the heat or the oil but my afternoon nap is glorious.

Feeling revitalised, the next day I head out to explore the medina with a local guide. Essaouira’s cobbled streets work to more of a semblance of a grid than Marrakech, partly because the city was built by the Portuguese but partly because of its different quarters. The Jewish Quarter inhabits one of the oldest parts, with a strong Jewish merchant community here from the 18th century.

Reaching its peak at the turn of the 20th century, Jews were in the majority and the city was feted as a shining example of religious tolerance.

Today few people — and fewer Jews

THE Heure Bleue Palais’ argan oil three night discovery package starts at £403 per person B&B, including hammam ritual, and two meals. heure-bleue.com

— live inside the protected Medina with its crumbling walls but visitors can still see the private Simon Attias synagogue dating back to the 19th century, currently being restored, one of the original dozens which still remains .

There’s also Rabbi Chaim Pinto’s home and synagogue, not far from Bab Doukkala. A little way down the street, the Slat Lkahal, is also undergoing

Direct flights to Essaouira from Luton from around £53 with EasyJet. easyjet.com

renovations by the community.

Stars of David are etched above the medieval doorways next to the Moroccan Hand of Fatima — to ward off evil spirits. As rich lived alongside poor in the medina, everything of splendour was tucked away inside around interior courtyards so as not to embarrass less fortunate neighbours.

And everywhere I find that hauntingly rich blue, on doors and window frames, in between piles of handmade rugs and baskets, like chasing a memory through lanes of dreams. The medina’s alleyways are hemmed in by ancient walls but they thrum with history, as today’s inhabitants constantly ebb and flow on bikes, mopeds and donkeys.

It’s totally enchanting and feels a lot safer (even for a woman alone) than the pushy, tourist-y atmosphere of central Marrakech.

While there are no kosher restaurants inside the medina, there are plenty of vegetarian options as well as some smaller vegetarian-only cafes; for more style, Restaurant La Decouverte overlooks the Atlantic, with a mix of vegetarian and local fish dishes on the menu.

On my last day after a long leisurely breakfast amongst the courtyard palms, freshly made pancakes dotted with amlou — an argan oil, crushed nut paste like a local version of peanut butter — I stretched out on the hotel’s tempting rooftop day beds, a foot dangling langurously into the shimmering waters of the pool.

I can hear the waves breaking on the city’s wide sandy beach, I watch the kite surfers which dot the horizon like a flock of prehistoric birds, and dozed.

Argan oil may have amazing properties for my skin, but I discovered that a few days in Essaouira are also very good for the soul. It’s an ancient spot, just as argan is an ancient elixir and I for one am all for the power of the ancients.