Row of cannons
Aimed at the waves.
mwanasimba from La Réunion — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Antony Stanley from Gloucester, UK — CC BY-SA 2.0 · yeowatzup — CC BY 2.0 · Daniel*D — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Per Honor et Gloria at en.wikipedia — Public domain · Patrick Nouhailler's… — CC BY-SA 3.0
The sea bastion of Essaouira's old town, a long stone platform on its ramparts over the ocean, built in the eighteenth century to defend the town from the sea and lined with old bronze cannons, some of them European-made with their crests and inscriptions, aimed at the waves. You walk the platform among cannons and turrets as waves crash on the rocks below and gulls wheel around you, with the ocean and Mogador Island on one side and the white rooftops of the town on the other. Beneath the ramparts, stone vaults have become workshops for thuya woodworkers. The ramparts are famous on screen: Orson Welles filmed his Othello here in the early 1950s, and they were used in filming Game of Thrones. The finest time is sunset, when the sun sinks into the ocean behind the cannons. Walking the ramparts is free, open in daytime. Take care at the edge on stormy days and watch for spray on your camera.
Aimed at the waves.
In the rampart vaults.
Behind the ramparts.
Sea ramparts, north-west of the old medina, Essaouira
Medina of EssaouiraThe walled town of Essaouira, once Mogador, on a rocky peninsula in the Atlantic4 minutes walk
Port of Essaouira and Skala du PortEssaouira's traditional fishing port, one of the liveliest and loveliest places 7 minutes walk
Essaouira BeachA broad sandy beach sweeping in a long curve south of Essaouira's old town on th12 minutes walkYes, Orson Welles filmed Othello on these ramparts in the early 1950s, and they were also used in filming Game of Thrones.