Description: The sea front of the Medina and port area of Essaouira is surrounded by European built fortifications built by the Portuguese in the early 1500s. While it didn't do the Portuguese many favours (they lost the city after only a few short years), the fortifications and Ramparts are still here (although heavily updated in the late 1700s) and lend a surreal air to the city surrounded by sand. It was said that Jimi Hendrix's Castle Made of Sand was inspired by his stay in the city, but alas he wrote the lyrics some two years before visiting Essaouira.
The remains of the fort are very near the fishing port and costs 10 Dirham (approximately 70p ($1) to enter. To be fair of the fort there are only a few wide walls, a cannon or two and a tower to explore but you do get a great vantage point over the busy fishing port below you, and it is a good place to linger away from the crowds for an hour. There is a clean public toilet in the base of the tower which also rather adds to the attraction.
You can also get onto the ramparts from the main Essaouria Medina from Rue La Skala; where there is opportunity to wander along the very thick wall separating Medina from seafront. Again there are cannons to sit on and a wonderful view across the rocky coastline and the near offshore islands of Iles Purpuraire where in Roman times they used to collect the shells of a sea snail to produce the purple dye used in the cloth of the Roman Emperor. I liked sitting here and at the old Fort reflecting that the imperial purple came from this place 2,000 years ago.
Today the more popular places to visit are in rooms built into the wall beneath the Ramparts where some of the more upmarket stores of the Souk and Medina are located. It is worth wandering along the whole street at the shopping as many of the more independent and artsy painters, jewellers and craft makers in the city are based here.
I liked the effect of emerging above the Medina into the bright sunlight and open space over the sea front so can recommend visiting both pieces of original Rampart during your visit.
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