Essaouira, situated on the southern Atlantic coast of Morocco, is considered one of the most enchanting places in the entire country. With the trade winds that prevail on that stretch of ocean, it has a pleasant and cool climate, is ideal for surfing, has a thriving fishing port, a logically laid-out medina and an artists’ colony. It has managed to escape the mass tourism found in other parts of Morocco and remains a delightful town popular with independent travelers.

The Phoenicians first established a base on this site in the 7th century B.C., and in the 1st century B.C. it became a center for the manufacture of purple dye, key to the rulers of the Roman Empire. The Portuguese founded a trading and military post here and renamed it Mogador in the 15th century. The town as it now is wasn’t built until 1760, by Sultan Mohammed III, designed by the French architect Theodore Cornut, who had worked for Louis XV.

Once again we were limited in what we could see and do because of Tim’s broken foot and lack of mobility, but Rostom, our incredible driver, borrowed a wheelchair from the hotel and pushed Tim around for half the day so at least he could get a sense of what the town was all about, unlike Marrakech, where he saw almost nothing. I don’t know what we would have done without Rostom; he singlehandedly made the last third of our two-week tour possible.

This was taken in Place Moulay Hassan. I thought Coca Cola advertising always had to be red and white, but obviously this was not. Our tour guide said something like it was the only place in the world where the Coke sign was blue; not sure if that’s true or not, but I’ve never seen it before.

A women’s cooperative for the processing of argan, posted earlier: