Essaouira ( ; ), known until the 1960s as Mogador (, or ), is a port city in the western Morocco region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic Ocean. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014.
The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of the Moroccan 'Alawid sultan Mohammed bin Abdallah, who made an original experiment by entrusting it to several architects in 1760, in particular Théodore Cornut and Ahmed al-Inglizi, who designed the city using French captives from the failed French expedition to Larache in 1765, and with the mission of building a city adapted to the needs of foreign merchants. Once built, it continued to grow and experienced a golden age and exceptional development, becoming the country's most important commercial port but also its diplomatic capital between the end of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century.
Medina of Essaouira was designated by the UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 2001.
Name and etymology
The name of the city is usually spelled
Essaouira in Latin script, and الصويرة in Arabic script. Both spellings represent its name in
Moroccan Arabic,
aṣ-Ṣwiṛa. This is the diminutive
[On the formation of diminutive nouns in Moroccan Arabic, see R.S. Harrell, A short reference grammar of Moroccan Arabic (Washington, D.C., 1962), p. 81.] (with definite article) of the noun
ṣuṛ which means "wall (as round a yard, city), rampart".
[See T. Fox and M. Abu-Talib, A Dictionary of Moroccan Arabic (Washington, D.C., 1966), p. 148.] The pronunciation with pharyngealized /sˁ/ and /rˁ/ is a typically Moroccan development. In Classical Arabic, the noun is
sūr (سور, with plain /s/ and /r/), diminutive
suwayrah (سويرة); this is the only form cited in all dictionaries of Classical Arabic. Hence, the spelling of the name in Arabic script according to the classical pronunciation is السويرة
al-Suwayrah (with
sīn not
ṣād).
Until the 1960s, Essaouira was generally known by its Portuguese name, Mogador. This name is probably a corruption of Amegdul (), which was mentioned by the 11th-century geographer al-Bakri.[Mac Guckin de Slane (ed. and transl.), Description de l'Afrique septentrionale par el-Bekri (Alger 1913), Arabic text p. 86 مرسى امقدول marsá Ameqdūl "the port of Ameqdūl", translation p. 175 Amegdoul ( Amegdul), with footnote: "Le tombeau ou chapelle de Sîdi Megdoul est situé tout auprès de Mogador; ce dernier est une altération de Megdoul".] The name Mogador originated from the Phoenician word Migdol, meaning 'small fortress'.
History
Archaeological research shows that Essaouira has been occupied since
prehistoric times. The bay at Essaouira is partially sheltered by the island of Mogador, making it a peaceful harbor protected against strong marine winds.
Antiquity
Essaouira has long been considered one of the best anchorages of the Moroccan coast. The
Ancient Carthage navigator Hanno visited in the 5th century BCE and established the trading post of Arambys.
Around the end of the 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE, the Berber people king of Mauretania Juba II established a Tyrian purple factory, processing the murex and purpura shells found in the intertidal rocks at Essaouira and the Iles Purpuraires. This dye colored the purple stripe in the worn by the Roman Senate of Roman Empire.
A Roman villa was excavated on Mogador island.[ Marokko Ingeborg Lehmann, Rita Henss p.243] A Roman vase was found as well as coinage from the 3rd century CE. Most of the artifacts are now visible in the Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum and the Rabat Archaeological Museum.
plate with red slip, 7th century BCE, excavated in
Mogador island, Essaouira. Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum.]]
amphora found in Essaouira, 1-2nd century CE.]]
coins excavated in Essaouira, 3rd century.]]
Early modern period
During the
Middle Ages, a
Muslim saint named
Sidi Mogdoul was buried in Essaouira, probably giving its origin to the name "Mogador".
Portuguese establishment (1506–1510)
In 1506, the king of Portugal, D. Manuel I, ordered a fortress to be built there, named
Castelo Real. Altogether, the Portuguese are documented to have seized six Moroccan towns and built six stand-alone fortresses on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, between the river Loukos in the north and the
Sous River in the south. Four of them only had a short duration: Graciosa (1489), São João da Mamora (1515),
Castelo Real (1506–10) and
Souira Guedima (1520–25). Two became permanent urban settlements: Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué (modern
Agadir, founded in 1505–06), and
Mazagan, founded in 1514–17. Following the 1541 Fall of Agadir, the Portuguese had to abandon most of their settlements between 1541 and 1550, although they were able to keep
Ceuta,
Tangier and Mazagan.
[ City walls: the urban enceinte in global perspective, James D. Tracy, p.352]
The fortress of Castelo Real of Mogador fell to the local resistance of the Regraga fraternity four years after its establishment, in 1510.
During the 16th century, powers including Spain, England, the Netherlands and France tried in vain to conquer the locality. Essaouira remained a haven for the export of sugar and molasses and as an anchorage for .[ Notes to The History and Description of Africa and of the Notable Things Therein by Leo Africanus p.338]
De Razilly expedition (1629)
France was involved in an early attempt to colonize Mogador in 1629. As Richelieu and Père Joseph were attempting to establish a colonial policy, Admiral Isaac de Razilly suggested they occupy Mogador in 1626, which he had reconnoitered in 1619. The objective was to create a base against the Sultan of Morocco and asphyxiate the harbour of Safi.
He departed for Salé on 20 July 1629 with a fleet composed of the ships Licorne, Saint-Louis, Griffon, Catherine, Hambourg, Sainte-Anne, Saint-Jean. He bombarded the city of Salé, destroyed three corsair ships, and then sent the Griffon under Captain Treillebois to Mogador. The men of Razilly saw the fortress of Castelo Real in Mogador and landed 100 men with wood and supplies on Mogador island, with the agreement of Richelieu. After a few days, however, the Griffon reembarked the colonists and departed to rejoin the fleet in Salé.[ E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 9 by Martijn Theodoor Houtsma, p.549]
After these expeditions, France signed a treaty with Abd el-Malek II in 1631, giving France preferential treatment, known as "capitulations": preferential tariffs, the establishment of a Consulate, and freedom of religion for French subjects.[ France in the age of Louis XIII and Richelieu by Victor Lucien Tapié p.259]
Foundation of modern Essaouira (1760–1770)
The present city of Essaouira was built during the mid-eighteenth century by the Moroccan King.
Mohammed III tried to reorient his kingdom toward the Atlantic for increased exchanges with European powers, choosing Mogador as his key location. One of his objectives was to establish a harbour at the closest possible point to Marrakesh.
[ The Anglo American, Volume 3 by Alexander D. Paterson p.521] The other was to cut off trade from Agadir in the south, which had been favouring a political rival of Mohammed III, and the inhabitants of Agadir were forced to relocate to Essaouira.
For 12 years, Mohammed III directed a French engineer, Théodore Cornut, and several other Moroccan and European architects and technicians to build the fortress and city along modern lines.[Of Essaouira: "He employed European architects to design it, one a Frenchman said to be his prisoner, and the other an Englishman, converted to Islam and known as Ahmed el-Inglizi— otherwise Ahmed the Englishman." in Morocco, Dorothy Hales Gary, Baron Patrick Balfour Kinross, Viking Press, 1971, p.35] Originally called "Souira" ("the small fortress"),
Thédore Cornut designed and built the city itself, particularly the Kasbah area, corresponding to the royal quarters and the buildings for Christian merchants and diplomats. Other parts were built by other architects, including Moroccan architects especially from Fez, Marrakesh, and Rabat. The harbour entrance, with the "Porte de la Marine", was built by an English Turncoat by the name of Ahmed el Inglizi ("Ahmed the English") or Ahmed El Alj ("Ahmed the Renegade").
From the time of its rebuilding by Muhammad III until the end of the nineteenth century, Essaouira served as Morocco's principal port, offering the goods of the caravan trade to the world. The route brought goods from sub-Saharan Africa to Timbuktu, then through the desert and over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh. The road from Marrakesh to Essaouira is a straight line, explaining the king's choice of this port among the many others along the Moroccan coast.
.]]
in 1744, installed in Essaouira.]]
Jewish presence
Mohammed III encouraged Moroccan Jews to settle in the town and handle the trade with Europe. Jews once comprised the majority of the population.
According to a French botanist who visited in 1867, the total population of Essaouira was 12,000 and half of the population was Jewish.
The Jewish quarter (or
mellah) contains many old
and the town also has a large Jewish cemetery. The city flourished until the caravan trade died, superseded by direct European shipping trade with sub-Saharan Africa.
[ The Sultan's Jew: Morocco and the Sephardi World by Daniel J. Schroeter, pp. 17 ff] Changes in trade, the founding of Israel, the resulting wars with Arab states, and the independence of Morocco all resulted in Sephardic Jews leaving the country. As of 2017, Essaouira had only three Jewish inhabitants.
On 15 January 2020, King Mohammed VI visited
Bayt Dakira, a Jewish heritage house, in Essaouira.
European trade and diplomacy
In the 19th century, Essaouira became the first seaport of Morocco, with trade volumes about double those of
Rabat.
[ The Anglo American, Volume 3 by Alexander D. Paterson p.520 ff] The city functioned as the harbour for Marrakesh, as it was only a few days from the inland city.
[ The sultan's Jew: Morocco and the Sephardi world by Daniel J. Schroete,r p.125] Diplomatic and trade representations were established by European powers in Essouira.
[ The sultan's Jew: Morocco and the Sephardi world by Daniel J. Schroeter p.17] In the 1820s, European diplomats were concentrated in either Tangier or Essaouira.
[ The sultan's Jew: Morocco and the Sephardi world by Daniel J. Schroeter, p.121]
French interventions and Protectorate
Following Morocco's alliance with Algeria's Abd-El-Kader against France, Essaouira was bombarded and briefly occupied by the
French Navy under the Prince de Joinville on 16 August 1844, in the Bombardment of Mogador, an important battle of the First Franco-Moroccan War.
Bombardment by the Confederate States Navy (1864)
In the spring of 1864, the
Commerce raiding, CSS Georgia of the Confederate States of America's Navy arrived off of the coast of the City as a reprieve from a hard winter's sail. Upon arrival, the crew were able to lower a Cutter and bend oars towards the shore. Upon landing, the crew was greeted by hostile Moroccans who knew both who they were and that their government was hostile towards them, despite spoken neutrality. The officers were then forced, at gunpoint back towards the sea and into the boats from which they arrived. Back on the ship, Captain Matthew Fontaine Maury ordered a shot from the
Georgia's ten inch turret gun, followed by a salvo bombardment. No Moroccan casualties were recorded, due to their retreat from the shore during the initial shot fired. This marked the only time that Confederate guns were fired anywhere besides North America.
French Colonial Empire
From 1912 to 1956, Essaouira was part of the French protectorate of Morocco. Mogador was used as a base for a military expedition against Dar Anflous, when 8,000 French troops were located outside the city under the orders of Generals Franchet d'Esperey and Brulard. The Kasbah of Dar Anflous was taken on 25 January 1913. In 1930, brothers, Michel and
Jean Vieuchange used Essaouira as a base before Michel set off into the
Western Sahara to try to find
Smara.
France had an important administrative, military and economic presence. Essaouira had a Franco-Moroccan school, still visible in Derb Dharb street. Linguistically, many Moroccans of Essaouira speak French fluently today.
Recent history
In the early 1950s, film director and actor
Orson Welles stayed at the Hotel des Iles just south of the town walls during the filming of his 1952 film adaptation of
Othello. Beginning in the late 1960s, Essaouira became something of a
hippie hangout.
The skala or fortified harbor was used as a filming location in the third season of the American TV series Game of Thrones, representing Astapor.
Geography
Essaouira is protected by a natural bay partially shielded from wave action by the
Iles Purpuraires. A broad sandy beach extends from the harbour south of Essaourira, at which point the
Oued Ksob discharges to the ocean; south of the discharge lies the archaeological ruin, the Bordj El Berod.
[C.Michael Hogan, Mogador: promontory fort, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham, 2 November 2007 [12]] The
Canary Current is responsible for the generally southward movement of ocean circulation and has led to enhancement of the local
fishery.
[William Adams Hance, The Geography of Modern Africa, Columbia University Press, 1975 ] The village of
Diabat lies about five kilometres () south of Essaouira, immediately south of the
Oued Ksob.
The Essaouira-Mogador Airport is locaated some away from the town.
and Essaouira]]
tree near Essaouira]]
Climate
Essaouira's climate is semi-arid climate (
BSk/BSh), with mild temperatures year round. The gap between highs and lows is small and summers are warm while winters are mild. Annual rainfall is usually . The highest temperature ever recorded in Essaouira was on 18 April 2017.
The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 29 January 2005. The lowest maximum temperature ever recorded was on 15 February 2018. The highest minimum temperature ever recorded was on 13 October 2017. The maximum amount of precipitation recorded in one day was on 8 March 2013.
Economy
The medina is home to many small arts and crafts businesses, notably
cabinet making and 'thuya'
wood-carving (using roots of the
Tetraclinis tree), both of which have been practised in Essaouira for centuries.
The fishing harbour, suffering from the competition of Agadir and Safi, remains rather small, although the catches (, ) are surprisingly abundant due to the coastal upwelling generated by the powerful trade winds and the Canaries Current. Essaouira remains one of the major fishing harbours of Morocco.
Essaouira is also a center of argan oil production.
Education
There is a French international school in Essaouira, Groupe scolaire Eric-Tabarly.
[" Groupe scolaire Eric-Tabarly – OSUI ." AEFE. Retrieved on 12 May 2016. "25 rue Princesse Lalla Hasna, Quartier des Dunes, 44000 Essaouira"]
Culture
Since 1998, the Gnaoua Festival of World Music is held in Essaouira, normally in the last week of June. It brings together artists from all over the world. Although focused on
Gnawa music, it includes rock, jazz and reggae. Known as the "Moroccan
Woodstock" it lasts four days and attracts around 450,000 spectators annually.
[ Gnaoua Festival Press Kit ]
Sights
Jewish quarter "Mellah" of Essaouira's old medina
-
Bayt Dakira - "House of Memory" (Jewish museum)
-
Chaim Pinto Synagogue
-
Slat Lkahal Synagogue
-
Jewish cemeteries of Essaouira (old and new)
-
Gravesite of Rabbi Haim Pinto
-
Medina
-
Fortifications:
-
Sqala du Port
-
Sqala de la Kasbah
-
The most picturesque gates:
-
Port de la Marine
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Bab Manjana with clocktower
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Tagart beach (with sand dunes)
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Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption church (catholic, operational)
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Sidi Mogdoul mosque
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Sidi Mogdoul lighthouse
-
Ben Youssef mosque
International relations
Essaouira is
Sister city with:
Notable people
See also
Notes
Further reading
-
David Bensoussan & Asher Knafo, "Mariage juif à Mogador" Éditions Du Lys, www.editionsdulys.ca, Montréal, 2004 ()
-
David Bensoussan, Le fils de Mogador, www.editionsdulys.ca,Éditions Du Lys, Montréal, 2002 ()
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David Bensoussan, Il était une fois le Maroc : témoignages du passé judéo-marocain, éd. du Lys, www.editionsdulys.ca, Montréal, 2010 (); Deuxième édition : www.iuniverse.com, , 620p. ebook , Prix Haïm Zafrani de l'Institut universitaire Élie Wiesel, Paris 2012.
-
David Bensoussan, La rosace du roi Salomon, Les Éditions Du Lys,www.editionsdulys.ca, 2011, .
-
Hamza Ben Driss Ottmani, Une cité sous les alizés, MOGADOR, Des origines à 1939, Éditions La Porte, Rabat, 1997
-
Jean-Marie Thiébaud, Consuls et vice-consuls de France à Mogador (Maroc), L'Harmattan, 2010 Harmattan.fr
-
Jean-Marie Thiébaud, Les Inscriptions du cimetière chrétien de Mogador (Essaouira, Maroc) – étude épigraphique et généalogique, L'Harmattan, 2010 Harmattan.fr
-
Doris Byer: Essaouira, endlich, Wien 2004,
-
Brigitte Tast, Hans-Juergen Tast: Still the wind cries Jimi. Hendrix in Marokko, Schellerten 2012,
-
Brigitte Tast, Hans-Jürgen Tast: Orson Welles – Othello – Mogador. Aufenthalte in Essaouira, Kulleraugen Vis.Komm. Nr. 42, Schellerten 2013,
External links
