Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tours
Ecotourisme & Randonnées
HIKING
( 0615 76 21 31;
www.essaouira-randonnees.com/
; Rue Houmman El Fatouaki, Restaurant La Dé-
couverte)
Offers hiking tours in the countryside outside Essaouira (Dh200/450 half-/full-
day tours), including to local argan groves, the Sidi M'Bark waterfall and the Ksob River.
Strong on birdwatching.
JIMI HENDRIX: CASTLES OF SAND OR PIE IN THE SKY?
There are a few stories that you might hear in Essaouira. That Jimi Hendrix lived here on and off for a
few years in the 1960s. That he owned a riad that you can now stay in, or maybe it's a restaurant you
can eat at. He stayed in quite a few other riads. He stayed in a campervan, or perhaps a tent. He tried
to buy Île de Mogador. He composed 'Castles Made of Sand' here. He signed a photo of himself that
now graces the walls of a local restaurant. He wanted to adopt a Moroccan boy. He sired various chil-
dren. He shared a room with Timothy Leary.
You can hear all of these stories in Essaouira - but they're all bunkum. Hendrix did visit Morocco
for about a week, once only, in July 1969, with his then girlfriend, Colette Mimram, and spent two or
three days in Essaouira. But he didn't even bring a guitar. This was 18 months after the album contain-
ing the song 'Castles Made of Sand' was released.
And that photo, signed '
A mon ami Sam, 63'
is quite simply a forgery!
Festivals
Essaouira has two major festivals that draw hoards of performers and spectators to town.
Gnaoua & World Music Festival
(
www.festival-gnaoua.net
;
3rd weekend Jun)
Essaouira overflows every year for the celeb-
rated Gnaoua & World Music Festival, a four-day extravaganza with concerts on Pl
Moulay Hassan, Bab Doukkala and elsewhere.
MUSIC
Festival des Andalousies
Atlantiques
(
www.facebook.com/FestivalDesAndalousiesAtlantiques
; late Oct)
An eclectic mix of Andalucian
music, art and dance by local and international performers.
MUSIC
