ESSAOUIRA

It is difficult to pinpoint the magical nature o Essaouira, nicknamed "the white". Is it the city's unusual European architecture or its unusually well-preserved ramparts?
Essaouira has all the trappings of a traditional picturesque village, inluding a bustling harbour, a colourful souk, old carpenters, men frantically pulling carts and those elusive figures in jellabas seen against the immensity of the beach.
But its charm is also founded on less concrete, more intangible aspects: the brute force of the trade winds, the play of light on the Atlantic Ocean, the strident cries of the seagulls, the quiet, peaceful atmosphere and the pervading scent of thuja wood. Thankfully, Essaouira had managed to develop its tourist industry while none of its charme