Essaouira (formerly called Mogador) is a town of approximately 70,000 inhabitants located on Morocco’s Atlantic shore. Its main tourist sights are the fortress dating from the Portuguese occupation in the 16th century and the port where mainly sardines are caught. The medina (old town) of Essaouira was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2001. [...]
Archive for the ‘Africa’ Category
El Badi Palace, Marrakech, Morocco
April 7th, 2010
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El Badi palace was built by Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur between 1578 and 1603. In 1696, Alaouite sultan Moulay Ismail pillaged it to take the most precious pieces to his new capital Meknes. All that is left now of the palace and its 360 rooms are ruins planted with orange trees and inhabited by storks. [...]
Ben Youssef Madrasa, Marrakech, Morocco
February 5th, 2010
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The Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakech is a former Islamic school built around 1570 by the saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib. Its name stems from the amoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf who fortified the city of Marrakech. It is the biggest madrasa in all of Morocco. It could house up to 900 students and featured 130 [...]
