Essaouira (English pronunciation: /ˌɛsəˈwɪərə/; Arabic: الصويرة‎, Berber: M-ugadir) is a windy city in the western Moroccan economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, on the Atlantic coast.
It was formerly known, by the 16th century Portuguese as Mogador or Mogadore.
The Berber name means the wall, a reference to the fortress walls that originally enclosed the city.

The Medina of Essaouira is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Essaouira is an exceptional example of a late-18th-century fortified town, built according to the principles of contemporary European military architecture in a North African context.
Since its foundation, it has been a major international trading seaport, linking Morocco and its Saharan hinterland with Europe and the rest of the world.