Phoenician Memories - A Visit to Morocco's Historic Essouira Harbor

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Essouira, a historic fortified city on Morocco’s Southwest coast. This place has been an important trading port for over 2,500 years, dating back to the times of the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians were sea-faring traders who established settlements all over the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast of Africa. To manage their vast trade networks, the Phoenicians invented one of the earliest known alphabets, which heavily influenced Greek and Latin. In ancient times, this place was famous for the production of purple dye from local murex shells, an extremely valuable commodity favored by royalty.

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In addition to the dye production, Essouira also has a naturally protected harbor, and was conveniently located for trade with local Berber tribes. This was a valuable safe harbor, which gave access to other exotic African goods like gold, ivory, and ostrich feathers. In later periods, Essouira’s harbor would be Morocco's most important port for Atlantic trade. In modern times, this port is still bustling, but primarily just focused on fishing, with all of the major trade activities taking place in more modern ports like the one in Casablanca.

The majority of the boats in the harbor share the same distinctive design, specifically perfected over the centuries to best maneuver the local coastline. They are intentionally built to be small, accommodating crews of 2 to 4, and so that oars can be used when the water is calm. A shallow draft and flat bottom of the boats make it easier to pull them up onto the beach and to navigate shallow areas. The pointed bow helps the boats cut through rough Atlantic swells. All of the boats are also painted a distinctive blue color, which protects against weathering and has been associated with luck since ancient times.

The harbor is busy with local fisherman unloading their boats, hauling nets, and distributing their catch to local sellers. The air is a mix of fresh fish, salty air, and charcoal. There are even a few makeshift stands where you can choose a fish to be cleaned and grilled up for immediate consumption.

I wasn’t in the mood to buy any while I was there, but I saw a variety of local seafood being sold, including shrimp, calamari, mackerel, and the local favorite, sardines. I even saw some Blue Sharks, which I didn’t know they ate, but I am told are often dried and sold in local markets located more inland.

The harbor is not very touristy, which is nice in a way because nobody was coming up and trying to sell me anything. It is cool to see the local people go about their work much the same as their ancestors did, and with the historic stone fort sitting in the background, you could almost forget you were witnessing a scene from the modern age.

I guess the downside to this authenticity is that the ground is broken in many places, with large puddles and mud everywhere. There also isn’t any place to sit or even stand without feeling like you are in someone's way. No one said anything about me being there, but you do get the sense that this is a place where people work, and not really a place to be loitering around.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my visit to Essouira’s historic harbor. Join me in my next post, where I explore more of this fascinating Moroccan city.

If you are interested in reading more about Essouira, please consider checking out some of my previous posts, including:
A wander through the medina and on top of the city wall, which can be found here.

A visit to Essouira’s outer wall for cool sea views and tidepools, which can be found here.

All photos were taken by me. I hope you have a wonderful day. :)