From way back in history, Essaouira opened its doors and heart to the passing visitors and sailors, and most notably to the artists who are still welcomed as members of the family. You are not artist? In Essaouira, one is always a bit of an artist…
There are countless excuses that make one fancy a trip to Essaouira: the city’s festivals of Andalusian and gnawa music, the relics of the Portuguese with their magnificent forts, the unique liveliness of its medina. The city’s mild, temperate climate keeps the weather always nice. And certainly, there are the city’s beaches! One comes to relax in there, surf, play kites, or simply watch the sun go down on the purplish islands off the city’s coast.
 A Bit of history :Throughout history, Essaouira and its surroundings have come under occupation by a number of settlers. Various exploration and archeological research expeditions performed in the region have substantiated the existence of those settlements.
The city had several names all through history::
Thamusiga, named by Ptolemy in the second century BC
Mogador, in 1506, by the Portuguese King Manuel the Great
Essaouira, in 1760, by the Alaouite Sultan Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah
Location :
The city is175 km west of Marrakech.
Essaouira is the administrative center of a 6,335 km² province where about 433,683 inhabitants live (75,437 of whom reside in Essaouira proper). Constructed on a rocky peninsula with a series of islets scattered across the coastal area, the city’s old town (medina) covers an area of around thirty hectares.
Attractions :
The fortress Bab Marrakech is the most important defensive structure on the land side. It consists of a circular formation conceived for a dozen cannons covering a span of 270 °, thus controlling almost all the entry points of the medina’s eastside.
The Qasbah Mosque:
This building, located in the ancient Qasbah, was built when the city was founded. It was erected with its square-shaped minaret along with a medersa and dormitory units for students. The design of the mosque is a standard one, as the lot of the building itself is a square of 30m per side, covering a total area of 900 m2.
The Ben Youssef Mosque:
Located in the southeastern area of the medina, the Ben Youssef mosque is one of the most imposing buildings of the city-- a large part of its front wall leans on the ramparts that surround the Mechouar.
The Portuguese Church:
Constructed towards the end of the 17th century by the first European merchants who came to stay in the city, the church-- dubbed Portuguese-- is located at the foot of the southern door of the medina’s Skala. Nested at the inner side of a partly-covered dead-end street, the church’s facade and main entrance are closely knotted within the adjoining historical fabric of the old city.
The Synagogue of Simon Attias:
The medina of Essaouira also sheltered a large number of synagogues, reflecting the dynamism of the city’s Jewish population. One of the most important, most ancient of these synagogues is the Synagogue of Simon Attias located in the middle of the ancient Qasbah. The synagogue was built at the end of the 19th century by a local merchant whose name it still bears.
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