Atlantic Coast - Morocco - page 439

The fishing harbour is just as busy as it always was, the woodworkers are still amazing at
their craft and the medina is just as important for locals as it is popular with tourists.
Essaouira lies on the crossroads between two tribes: the Arab Chiadma to the north and
the Haha Berbers in the south. Add to that the Gnawa, who came originally from further
south in Africa, and the Europeans, and you get a rich cultural mix. The light and beauty
have forever attracted artists to Essaouira, and the town has a flourishing art scene. The
sculptor Boujemâa Lakhdar started the local museum in the 1950s and, in the process, in-
spired a generation of artists. Since then, the autodidactic naïf painters, who paint their
dreams in a colourful palette, have earned international renown, mainly thanks to the ef-
forts of the Galeries d'Art Damgaard.
Winter is the time to get closer to the real Essaouira, when the wind howls at its
strongest and the waves smash against the city's defences. In summer the town is invaded
by throngs of Moroccan tourists, the beach is crowded and it is hard to find accommoda-
tion.
History
Most of the old city and fortifications in Essaouira today date from the 18th century, but
the town has a much older history that started with the Phoenicians. For centuries, for-
eigners had a firm grip over the town, and although Moroccans eventually reclaimed it,
the foreign influence lingers on in the way the town looks and feels today.
In 1764 Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah installed himself in Essaouira, from
where his corsairs could go and attack the people of Agadir who rebelled against him. He
hired a French architect, Théodore Cornut, to create a city in the middle of sand and wind,
where nothing existed. The combination of Moroccan and European styles pleased the
Sultan, who renamed the town Essaouira, meaning 'well designed'. The port soon became
a vital link for trade between Timbuktu and Europe. It was a place where the trade in gold,
salt, ivory and ostrich feathers was carefully monitored, taxed and controlled by a garrison
of 2000 imperial soldiers.
By 1912 the French had established their protectorate, changed the town's name back to
Mogador and diverted trade to Casablanca, Tangier and Agadir. It was only with inde-
pendence in 1956 that the sleepy backwater again became Essaouira. After Orson Welles
filmed Othello here, and following Jimi Hendrix' fleeting visit and hippies choosing Es-
saouira as a hang-out, the town has seen a steady flow of visitors, from artists, surfers and
writers to European tourists escaping the crowds of Marrakesh.