Fortress of Essaouira (Kasbah d'Essaouira) description and photos - Morocco: Essaouira (Topic)

Essaouira Fortress (Kasbah d'Essaouira) description and photos - Morocco: Essaouira. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Kasbah d'Essaouira.

Photo and description

Essaouira Fortress is one of the main attractions of the popular Moroccan resort city of Essaouira, located on the Atlantic coast. The unique charm of the city makes this settlement one of the most beautiful places in Morocco.

The first settlers who lived in this area were the Phoenicians (VII century BC). In the XV century. the Portuguese settled in the city, who built their citadel here, calling it Mogador. The building played an important military and commercial role, from here the Portuguese traded with all countries of the African continent. At the same time, the city was really rebuilt in the middle of the XVIII century. Sultan Mohammed II of the Alawite dynasty, who decided to make him a naval base. By his order, the French architect Theodore Cornu, before that, having created several fortresses in Languedoc, he developed a city plan, according to which the construction of the settlement was carried out.

Those fortress walls that can be seen today were built in 1756. At the same time, the structure was called by the name of the settlement - Es -Souweira. In 1912, the French renamed the fortress Mogador again, and in 1956, after gaining independence, it returned its former name Essaouira again.

The Essaouira fortress is surrounded by powerful walls with beveled battlements, the main task of which was protecting the local population from pirate raids from the sea. Externally, these walls are similar to the classic European fortifications, while the interior was made in the style of traditional Muslim architecture. Within the walls of the citadel there are several fortress gates. The main gate leads to the medina of Essaouira.

The fortification consists of two fortifications (bastions) - one of which is in the south, and the second in the north. The northern bastion looks especially interesting, where there is a 200-meter platform with ancient Spanish cannons, from which the sea coast was once shelled. From here you can see the waves breaking on the rocks and the famous Purple Islands. It was here that the famous director Orson Welles filmed Othello in 1949.

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Topic: Fortress of Essaouira (Kasbah d'Essaouira) description and photos - Morocco: Essaouira.