Purple Isles House
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ESSAOUIRA
view towards the north bastion
Easily accessible from the international airports of Marrakech and Agadir, Essaouira appeals particularly to independent travellers. Known as ‘the pearl of the Atlantic’, it is not difficult for visitors to see why.
Essaouira combines an alluring, though manageable, medina with a picturesque, though working, fishing port. ‘A quintessentially Moroccan town and one of the most enchanting places in the country’
(Eyewitness Travel Guides), Essaouira’s exceptional character has recently resulted in the entire walled medina being deemed a world heritage site by UNESCO.
Enjoying a remarkably equable climate all year round, with its trade winds generally keeping temperatures in the 20s (70s), Essaouira’s beach is also one of the finest in Morocco.
Founded in the 7th century BCE by the Phoenicians, the town gained renown in the 1st century as the centre of purple dye used exclusively by Roman emperors. Colonised by the Portuguese in the 15 century, it acquired the name Mogador.
The town as one now sees it was built around 1760, when the Moroccan sultan decided to found a unique trading centre for foreign merchants, including both European Christians and Jews. Essaouira retains this tolerant atmosphere of its beginnings.
The town, the harbour, and the fortifications were designed and built by Theodore Cornut, a renowned French architect who had worked for Louis XV. The result is a perfect blend of European and Islamic architecture that cannot fail to enthrall.
From the 18th century almost half the Atlantic sea trade passed through Essaouira, which became known as the Port of Timbuktu. This was the final destination of the exotic salt road goods, which were shipped from sub-Saharan Africa to European ports.
Its traditional shipyards still make their fishing boats from wood and catch much of the world’s sardines. Stalls in the port prepare an incredible variety of fresh fish to eat on the spot for pennies.
The medina’s souks still reflect the former international port’s wealth of exotic goods, which include beautiful ceramics, old and new silver Berber jewelry, colourful weavings and carpets, spices, stained glass and metal lanterns, and objects made from the local fragrant thuya wood, a tree unique to Morocco.
After years of French occupation, the roads in this part of Morocco remain good and the food combines the best of French and North African culinary traditions. There are numerous restaurants in the town to please everyone from the most fussy gourmet to more adventurous gastronomic spirits.
For a sneak preview of Essaouira, view the ravishing opening scenes of Orson Welles’s famed Othello, filmed on Essaouira’s ramparts in 1949, or more recently The Kingdom of Heaven. Welles’s splendid esplanade—which Purple Isles House overlooks—commands a view of the ocean and the Iles Purpuraires, which shelter the only remaining specimens of Queen Eleanora’s falcons.
The kindness and gentleness of the local people is reflected in the fact that they became so attached to Welles, they agreed to be paid in sardines when the film’s budget was exhausted. Essouirans remain enviably kind and tolerant to this day.
