Essaouira
Essaouira (formerly called Mogador by the Portuguese, in Arabic: الصويرة aṣ-Ṣawîrah, in Tachelhit: ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵕⵜ Taṣṣuṛt) is a port city and a commune in Morocco, capital of the province of Essaouira, in the Marrakech region. Safi . It is located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and has 77,966 inhabitants in 2014.
Although the Essaouira region has been inhabited since Antiquity discontinuously by the Phoenicians, by the Getulians at the time of Juba II then by the Romans, it was only from the 16th century that the site was truly occupied by the Portuguese, who built a fortress in 1506, the Castelo Real, and ramparts that were quickly abandoned in the face of fierce resistance from the local population.
The foundation of the city of Essaouira itself was the work of Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, who launched its construction from 1760 and carried out an original experiment by entrusting it to several renowned architects, notably Théodore Cornut, who traced the plan of the city, and with the mission of building a city adapted to the needs of foreign merchants.
Once built, it continued to grow and experienced a golden age and exceptional development, becoming the country's most important commercial port but also its diplomatic capital between the end of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. It is also becoming a multicultural and artistic city.
The situation of the city deteriorated considerably between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century following the bombardment it suffered in 1844 and then with the installation of the French protectorate in 1912. It lost its importance and did not is more the international port and diplomatic capital of the country. After independence, the departure of the Jewish community also caused very significant economic damage to the city.
However, since the end of the 20th century, Essaouira has experienced a spectacular renaissance due mainly to tourism, but also to its cultural vocation. The medina of Essaouira has been listed as a UNESCO world heritage site since 2001.