Le Jardin aux Etoiles
Riad between Agadir and Taroudant, in southern Morocco
Holiday rental with a resident of Swiss nationality

Essaouira Jewish city under the wind
It is a city apart. Essaouira is the last Jewish city in Morocco. It is also a tourist city swept by the trade winds. Advantage: sea sports such as windsurfing are very popular there. Disadvantage: people whose health does not agree with these often very strong currents do not stay there long. Still, Essaouira has an immense charm. It is accessed by three hours and a half from the Jardin aux Etoiles.
During a first visit, one is both surprised and amazed by this ancient Portuguese city. Today listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was long named Mogador, name derived from the Phoenician word Migdol which means "little fortress".
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the medina of Essaouira is an exceptional fortified town dating from the mid-18th century, surrounded by a Vauban-style wall. Originally Portuguese, it was built under the Alawite sultan Mohamed Ben Abdallah (1757-1790), a distant ancestor of King Mohammed VI, according to the principles of European military architecture of the time, in perfect harmony with the precepts of Arab-Muslim architecture and town planning.
Known as the ‘Sqala of Essaouira’, the fort that remains and commands the entrance to the port was erected in 1769, on the site of the Castelo Real that the Portuguese occupiers managed to build in 1506, two years after their arrival in Agadir. Its architecture is reminiscent of the Belem tower on the banks of the Tagus.
Essaouira became one of the centres of Atlantic trade between Africa and Europe in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It played the role of a leading international trading port linking Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa to Europe and the rest of the world. Today, it has been largely supplanted by Agadir.
Touristy, but with a soul
And the city has a signature, all in blue and white. Touristic certainly, but with a soul. Orson Welles and Jimmy Hendrix (as well as the hippie movement in general) were seduced by Essaouira. We fall into the same "trap" with delight. Galleries of art, rugs and artisan objects abound.
Small picture rails fitted out in the west door present, for example, figurative and ethereal works. A gouache by the Moroccan artist named Amina and representing a city - and a country - under construction comes from this gallery. It is exposed facing the staircase that goes up from the kitchen to our Marrakech suite.
City of culture
The city is a multicultural center, illustrated by the coexistence of various ethnic groups: Amazigh (Berber), Arab, African and European. Muslims, Christians and Jews, who have their last significant community in Morocco, cohabit there peacefully. Every summer, Essaouira organizes the very famous Gnaoua and world music festival, as well as other musical events like Atlantic Andalusia of Essaouira and the Musical Spring of the Alizés, this under the aegis of the Association Essaouira Mogador.
The latter was founded by André Azoulay, a great Moroccan Jewish figure, adviser to the late King Hassan II and his son Mohammed VI, who powerfully acted for the enhancement of artistic creation and the heritage of Essaouira.
Magnificent riads
The medina still retains its integrity and original cachet today. Its state of preservation continues to improve. Magnificent riads have been furnished for the most part with care. They give pride of place to the use of local cut stone, called manjour.

With the Star of David in the centre, above the arch.

Essaouira stone gives them a special cachet. This is the Emotion guest house.

Artists and craftspeople.

A succession of stalls.

A large-scale, colourful event. The Gnaoua bear witness to the enslavement of blacks by the Arabs.

Very authentic.

Essaouira, a cultural city par excellence.

And the fishermen's boats.

A popular sport.

It happens sometimes, and it's poetic. Photo Gil Serpereau

This is where we found Amina's gouache, which can be found in our riad (photo Irene Bener).

Photo Irene Bener.