Chapter 01
The wind decides everything here
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Destination · Morocco
Essaouira, Morocco
The wind has always been in charge
A walled Atlantic port where trade winds, three empires, and a stubborn blue-and-white palette have conspired to make something unlike anywhere else in Morocco.
10 chapters ahead
Climate
Cool and windy year-round — the alizé trade wind keeps summers from getting hot and winters from getting truly cold, but it never really stops blowing
Best season
April to May or October — the wind eases slightly, the Gnaoua crowds are gone or not yet arrived, and the light on the ramparts is at its most useful
Atmosphere
- coastal
- urban-midsize
- small-town
- old-world
- colonial-layered
- spiritual
- artsy
- literary
- walkable
- maritime
- arid
The chapters
10 ways to get lost here
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Chapter 02
Grilled sardines, standing, no menu
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Chapter 03
A medina you can actually breathe in
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Chapter 04
Blue, white, and nothing else
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Chapter 05
Three empires passed through and left
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Chapter 06
Four days in June, then silence
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Chapter 07
The hippies came and some never left
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Chapter 08
The wind keeps the crowds moving
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Chapter 09
Essaouira and Zanzibar: wind-built island twins
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Chapter 10
Asilah does this quieter, further north
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Keep wandering
You’ve finished Essaouira. Where next?
Pull a thread at random, fall into the world map, or step back to the front door for the latest dispatches.