Essaouira: Bride of the Atlantic, Essaouira, Morocco

Essaouira is one of those small towns in Morocco you hear people say how much they loved, yet you don’t get to know much about it. That is until you get there. And once there, you see why people love it! Essaouira’s medina may be small, but that means it’s perfect for exploring without fear of getting lost! It’s a gem with its small shop-lined streets full of colourful blankets and rugs, wooden handicrafts, and delicious food shaded by the tall whitewashed buildings for which this town is known.

I was in Morocco to spend some time with my boyfriend. We had spent the previous four days in Morocco’s stunning Atlas Mountains but I certainly did not want to miss visiting the pretty city of Essaouira, even though it took us a good 4 hours in our rental car. Unfortunately, my boyfriend doesn’t really like long car trips and was in fact a bit grumpy when we finally made it to Essaouira!

Nonetheless, he quickly perked up when we arrived at our Airbnb apartment and were welcomed by our host Fouad with a delicious Moroccan tagine and great hospitality. Fouad also invited us to his restaurant located right in the heart of the medina. We took up his offer the following day and although we opted for spaghetti, rather than some more expensive Moroccan dish, Fouad still insisted that we were not to pay for the mint tea, coffee and after dinner sweets that were provided to us on the house! True Moroccan hospitality! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).