Vessel: SH Diana (IMO: 9921740)
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| (C) HBO |
I thought I was a Game of Thrones expert, but I only found out today that the ramparts of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Essaouira here in Morocco were used as the slave port of Astapor. You know, that scene where Daenerys lines up the Unsullied to become her private army in Season 3? Yeah, well I stood right there in the 18th-century Skala de la Ville. [shivers]
And why wouldn't they? The location and ancient structures are perfect, with the signature honey-brown sandstone, rows of cannon, crashing waves and perfectly sculptured battlements. It's all here. But HBO didn't just discover Essaouira. It was already well known in the cinema and arts communities as far back as 1952 when Orson Welles filmed Othello here. Rock stars like Frank Zappa, Cat Stevens, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix all passed through, leaving behind a trail of myth and mystery in the decades before social media.
To this day, photogenic Essaouira still retains elements of its hippie heritage, with an annual music festival, the Gnawa World Music Festival, every June. There's a strong art and craft community, and it is generally more LGBTQ+ friendly by Moroccan and Muslim standards. The narrow passageways in the ancient Medina are chockers with tiny bolthole boutiques, cafes and artist workshops. I'm sure there was Chinese tat there somewhere, but most looked perfectly authentic to my eye.
As far as food goes, it's a seafood bonanza and it amazes me that our overstretched oceans can still provide a bounty such as we saw on display. I can only imagine what it must have been like hundreds of years ago before industrial fishing practices denuded our seas.
From SH Diana's berth at Safi, Essaouira is two hours by coach to the south on roads of varying quality through a stony landscape much like the arid regions of my home state of South Australia. Miles of dry stone walls, endless rows of eucalyptus and hundreds of donkeys and mules pulling ancient carts loaded with produce. Marrakesh, with which Essaouira is closely connected, is about the same distance inland to the east.
Travel writers are prone to dig out clichés like “undiscovered”, “windswept”, “laid back” and “bohemian”, all of which are true, but dig deeper, and the history, art and culture are what set this location apart from its over-touristed neighbours.
Our Moroccan adventure continues tomorrow in Agadir
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