The Medina of Essaouira swallows people up when they’re exploring the twists and turns of its colorful side streets and dizzying labyrinth of alleyways and squares. The walled old town has walkable ramparts with ocean views and “imposing 18th- and 19th-century gates – babs in Arabic – including El Marsa, Sbâa, Marrakech, and Doukkala.”
Main squares include Moulay Hassan, named after the Sultan of Morocco, Hassan ben Mohammed, and arcaded Marché aux Grains (Grain Market). “The walkways are lined with inexpensive riad hotels (traditional houses built around inner courtyard gardens), hammams, al fresco cafes, indie art galleries, eateries, and shops selling rugs, spices, and ceramics. I’m sure to visit a hammam for a revitalizing sauna, soak, and scrub.
The Medina is mesmerizing! I’m still learning how to get around and constantly getting lost. There’s much to see and experience! I’ve met a few artists and merchants and found them friendly and open. It’s a vast change from Croatia, and will take me a few days of acclimation to adjust.
I stumbled on a small art gallery featuring the works of two Moroccan artists – Mostafa Assadeddine and Mohammed Bouafia. Brief info about them, and photos of their art are attached. Their art wasn’t captioned.
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“Essaouira is an exceptional example of a late-18th-century fortified town, built according to the principles of contemporary European military architecture in a North African context.” UNESCO
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Artist Mostafa Assadeddine
Mostafa Assadeddine’s primitive African art is special. He was born in Casablanca but lives and works in Essaouira. He’s had several collective exhibitions in Morocco and France, and has won prizes at the Essaouira Festival de l’Etrange.
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“The trance, rituals and ceremonies of the Gnaoua (Gnawa) brotherhoods are strongly represented in artist Mostafa Assadeddine’s work.” riadzany.blogspot
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“The trance, rites, and ceremonies of the Gnawa Brotherhoods are a unique cultural and spiritual tradition in Morocco. Originating from the descendants of enslaved West Africans, they’re strongly represented in the work of Mostapha Assadeddine. The characters are rarely solitary and most often appear in completely identical couples, showing astonishing duality of body and soul.” lesgrigrisdesophie.blogspot
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Assadeddine “covers the surface of his paintings with an infinity of points reminiscent of the pointillism, a neo-impressionist dot painting technique used in certain primitive cultures, such as the aborigines”. His art is “related to the work of artists from the black diaspora who were transported across the Atlantic to the Caribbean Islands and Haiti. There, voodoo and macumba painters were inspired by African traditions and the supernatural”.
Artist Mohammed Bouafia
Mohammed Bouafia’s beautiful paintings capture “scenes linked to the seaside city of Essaouira – aka City of the Trade Winds ”. He was born in the small town of El Kelâa Sraghna in central Morocco, but has lived and worked in Essaouira since 1999.
Bouafia has participated in exhibitions in Morocco and abroad. His beautiful work illustrates an “understandable fascination with Essaouira’s colors, shapes, and a variety of human elements.” Bouafia’s technique is “knife painting, with which he mainly represents landscapes reminding him of his childhood in Marrakech.”
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“Bouafia’s pictorial work is of undeniable visual beauty. It oscillates between shadow and light, relying on the complementarity of colors, lines, and lively touches treated with a spatula.” vosartistes.com
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Each day, I’m learning more about Essaouira and the people who live here – a fascinating place to unravel!
