The Medina of Essaouira

The medina of Essaouira is a magical place. It combines the best of Moroccan Medinas and of Mediterranean coastal villages. The white-washed Medina is decorated with bright blue doorways and windows and many of the streets are painted different colors, with each alleyway leading off to a new nook to discover. It's not all that big and you can see it all in two full days (that is, if you're busy. I could spend weeks just lounging around Essaouira!). There are two or three main streets which intersect at the souk area in the middle. You can walk to pretty much anywhere in town in about 20min.

My favorite thing to do in the Medina was just wander through the various neighborhoods, admiring the ornate and evocative doorways, exploring the winding alleyways in the Mellah (but don't go at night!), and simply following my way around the city walls.

The Essaouira medina is not only a place to me, for me it is related to literature and to the sea. Many travelers feel an incredible attraction to places that they associate with books, and for me Essaouira is a city linked to dreams and readings, to a world where the adventures are laced with pirates and adventurers. A world where the sea was the means to explore other worlds, to travel and be adventurous. You can access Essaouira by bus from Marrakech and I have to say that from the first moment I saw it I felt its compelling force, by its medina, its seaport, by its walls, through the canyons overlooking the sea, the fishermen returning the sea, the ships in the harbor, by the people.

The white walls bring to mind the neighboring cities of Andalusia. The whitewashed walls give way to one of the most beautiful cities in Morocco: Essaouira. Although it is better organized than other urban centers, it is still a maze of narrow alleys. The sky is blue and cloudless. In the background kites and surfers take advantage of the day at sea and a little beyond, the island of Mogador. The market the eternal haggling continues.