{"id":1434,"date":"2013-12-26T11:23:59","date_gmt":"2013-12-26T11:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/?p=1434"},"modified":"2024-04-19T19:24:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T19:24:13","slug":"essaouira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/?p=1434","title":{"rendered":"Essaouira"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s all about the ramparts. \u00a0The waves breaking on the rocks just beyond, the rows of sombre cannons facing the sea
\n\"P1010476\"<\/a>(even if the only thing left to aim at is a stray seagull).
\n\"P1010465\"<\/a>\u00a0\"P1010468\"<\/p>\n

The fabled isle of Mogador lies just offshore, amid the crashing waves, on the far side of the smaller Iles purpuraires (the purple islands): this one with the fort is Dzira Sghira; it was disarmed by the French when they bombarded the town in 1844.
\n\"P1010575\"<\/a>\u00a0\"P1010470\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Phoenicians established some trading posts on Mogador, or the iles purpuraires, back in 1100 BCE (Amazigh tribes had been fishing in the bay for a couple of thousand years before that). \u00a0In about 600 BCE, the Phoenicians established the settlement of Migdal, or watchtower, on the island now known as Mogador. \u00a0Then, in 500 BCE, Hanno the Carthaginian visited Mogador and established the trading post of Arambys.<\/p>\n

Starting in 25 BCE and lasting until about 300 CE\/AD, Juba II established a Tyrian purple factory, processing murex and purpurae shells found in the intertidal pools between Mogador and the mainland
\n\"200px-Haustellum_brandaris_000\"<\/a>
\ninto precious purple dyes used to color imperial Roman senatorial togas. \u00a0(Tyre is a city in Lebanon where these dyes were also produced.) \u00a0Tyrian purple was valued in part because the color was supposed to improve rather than fading with age.<\/p>\n

Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans: oh my!<\/p>\n

I want to go find a tidal pool, but this seems challenging. \u00a0In the meantime, James chooses a cannon, ready to repel an attack from the sea,
\n\"P1010590\"
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

and we encounter our Ifrani friends, the Dye family.
\n\"P1010540\"<\/a> \"P1010567\"
\n<\/a>
\nJeremy, Zoe, and I climb the tower to peer down on things from above. \u00a0Beware incoming seagull!\"P1010600\"
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

The town was known as Mogador until Mohamed III had it rebuilt by French and Genoese architects and builders and renamed it Essaouira (little fortress souira<\/em>, or well-drawn picture souera<\/em>). \u00a0The name Mogador may come from Migdal, or from the saint Sidi Mogdoul whose shrine is here (he was reputedly a Scot–MacDougal–shipwrecked on the coast, and endowed with baraka). \u00a0The French changed the name back to Mogador, but independence brought a return to Essaouira.<\/p>\n

Baraka Mohamed: maybe some of it will rub off on us.
\n\"P1010605\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jem and Zoe pose in the circle close to the entry to the ramparts.\"P1010606\"\u00a0<\/a>\"P1010608\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But it looks a little different from the other side, in the evening light.
\n\"P1010695\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That’s one of the interesting things about Essaouira: it’s both a tourist center and (still) a fishing village, even though the fishing industry has suffered in recent years.
\n\"P1010538\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As tourists, we enjoy the wandering musicians (whose music Zo\u00eb hopes to share),
\n\"P1010614\"<\/a>\u00a0\"P1010613\"<\/a>and we go horseback riding on the beach in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

I like talking with our guide, Brahim. \u00a0He sits on his horse so comfortably, kicking a leg over now and again: half the time, it looks \u00a0little like he’s lounging on a sofa.\"P1010621\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Were you a jockey?” I ask. \u00a0He’s got the physique and the professional comfort level. \u00a0Brahim nods.
\n“Did you get hurt?” \u00a0He nods again. \u00a0It’s a stupid question. \u00a0All jockeys get hurt.
\n“Break some bones?” Nod. \u00a0Enough already, Betsy. \u00a0It’s like picking at a scab–I can’t quite stop–but at least I can stop with the personal questions.\"Brahim\"
\nphoto Zouina cheval<\/p>\n

“Where is there racing in Morocco?”
\nMarrakesh, Rabat, Casablanca, Tangia: all the major cities. \u00a0The responsibility for organizing the year’s racing rotates among the cities, so each one takes a turn. \u00a0Ibrahim rode for an owner with a large stable–nine jockeys. \u00a0But then the owner married a French woman, moved to France, and sold all his horses. \u00a0Ibrahim was a little unsure what to do next. \u00a0He came to Essaouira to meet a friend at the Gnawa music festival–he’s also a musician, in his spare time–and he discovered Zouina Cheval was in need of a manager. \u00a0He and the boy leading Jeremy run the stable, just the two of them. \u00a0Ibrahim likes it better than being a jockey–likes talking with the tourists, meeting people from all over the world. \u00a0He has a wonderful face, with wise eyes.
\n\"brahim\"\u00a0photo Zouina cheval
\n<\/a>Brahim only worries when the riders are a mixed group, like us. \u00a0“Your son is doing well, but sometimes the children cry. \u00a0I worry they won’t be happy.”<\/p>\n

We too were worried that Jeremy would be unhappy–but now I only worry for the young man leading Jeremy. \u00a0Jeremy is as happy as can be–and demanding as well. \u00a0“Vite! Vite! \u00a0Ma m\u00e8re a dit wakha, c’est bon.” \u00a0Jeremy mingles French and Darija like a Moroccan. \u00a0“Fast, fast! \u00a0My mom said it’s ok, it’s good.” \u00a0The young trainer gets his boots splashed by a sudden wave, and runs up the sand. \u00a0Jeremy laughs and laughs: “Encore! Dans la mer! Encore!” \u00a0Again! In the sea! Again!
\n\"P1010636\"<\/a>\u00a0\"P1010657\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nancy and Jeff look very professional–Nancy says it’s her first time “running” a horse. \u00a0She did beautifully.
\n\"P1010669\"<\/a><\/p>\n

J and Zo\u00eb and I splash through the surf with Mogador in the background. \u00a0Visible on the island are the mosque and a women’s prison, now defunct, originally built by Moulay Abdelaziz in 1897 to lock up rebellious member of the Rhamnna tribe.
\n\"P1010671\"\"P1010667\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are two photos of the prison from\u00a0http:\/\/www.essaouira.nu\/mogador_island.htm (a great resource): first, “Berber prisoners” sent to this prison by Moulay Abdelaziz,\u00a0
\n\"mogador_prisoners_old_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

and then\u00a0a view of the four gates constituting the only way in or out of the prison. \u00a0\"island_prison_2_h300\"<\/a>
\nThe structure had no roof. \u00a0Prisoners evidently had to take the rain or sun as it came.<\/p>\n

By contrast, this sunny, breezy afternoon on the beach feels like such a luxury–as indeed it is. \u00a0It turns out that we’re in Essaouira during the non-windy time: the wind blows constantly from April through September. \u00a0Brahim tells tall tales, of the village down the coast where every house has two doors. \u00a0All summer, the wind blows from the north and villagers use the southern door. \u00a0All winter, the wind blows from the south, and villagers use their northern doors. \u00a0(The town now hosts a wind farm, so there’s definitely an abundance of \u00a0wind.)<\/p>\n

After our ride, we head back to Essaouira, which is gleaming in the evening light. \u00a0The juice sellers here decorate their stands with what strike me as orange “scalps” (sorry):
\n\"P1010685\"<\/a>
\nAnd the fishermen are hard at work, preparing their sun-bronzed boats for the next day or week or month:
\n\"P1010713\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"P1010715\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00c0 vendre: for sale. \u00a0Fishing boat, anyone? \u00a0Or shall we settle for supper in a bag on a bike?
\n\"P1010725\"
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

At evening, the seafront is full of hidden corners,\"P1010709\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And the sunset heightens the magic of the iles purpuraires:
\n\"P1010737\"<\/a> \"P1010738\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s all about the ramparts. \u00a0The waves breaking on the rocks just beyond, the rows of sombre cannons facing the sea (even if the only thing left to aim at is a stray seagull). \u00a0 The fabled isle of Mogador lies just offshore, amid the crashing waves, on the far side of the smaller Iles … Continue reading Essaouira<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6,3,9],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4JDdJ-n8","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1434"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2889,"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434\/revisions\/2889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maghrebi-voices.swarthmore.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}