Moroccan Odyssey Day 21

Morocco Day 21:  Essaouira

We started off this morning at the Ma alem Ali Jewelry Center. The Centre de la Bijouterie Artisanale Maalem Ali 1908 is a workshop and showroom in Essaouira focused on artisan silver jewelry made in traditional Moroccan / Amazigh styles. 

It is also notable for its ethical/social mission: training and employing artisans (including those with disabilities) in the craft. The goal is to perpetuate the old crafts.

The master artisan demonstrated how to tell real from fake silver jewelry using nitric acid (which we all carry around with us) and then showed us how enamel jewelry is made. The enamel art was brought by the Jews to Morocco, and it has flourished here.

Suzanne was inspired to bring one home with her. 

The Center teaches students the art of a variety of jewelry design including

inset stone (Inspired by Tuareg silversmithing from the southern Sahara and Amazigh motifs), engraved filagree (modern Moroccan influence),  enamel on silver (a hallmark of Jewish silversmiths from Essaouira in the 19th–20th centuries, and filagree (from Andalusian-Moroccan traditions, common in Fez, Tetouan, and Essaouira. Filigree jewelry was often made by Jewish silversmiths).

Next stop was the docks to pick out our lunch.

There were tons of stalls of fresh fish right off the boat.  How younes chose this one, we'll never know, but they did have some great looking fish and a 200 lb. tuna.  

None of us thought we could finish the tuna, so we chose red snapper, sea bass, flounder, and 

and a boatload of sardines, a specialty of the area.

Younes whisked our fish away to a local dive that cooked the fish for you. We will meet up with our fish a bit later.

In the mean time, we wandered the old Portuguese built battlements which a couple of centuries later would be made famous by Ned Stark in the Game of Thrones.

The Simon Attias Synagogue dates back to the late 19th century.

It’s named after Simon Attias, a prominent Jewish merchant and philanthropist who helped establish the synagogue.

It now forms the heart of Bayt Dakira, the “House of Memory,” which preserves Jewish-Moroccan heritage and promotes coexistence between Jews and Muslims.

Essaouira was founded in the 18th century by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, who invited Jewish families, especially merchant families, to settle there and help develop trade with Europe. The city’s Jewish community became one of Morocco’s most prosperous, with dozens of synagogues. The Simon Attias Synagogue was one of the last synagogues to remain active before most Jews emigrated in the mid-20th century.

The synagogue is a two-story structure, built around a central prayer hall filled with natural light. The ark where Torah scrolls were kept is a finely carved wooden niche framed by elegant plasterwork.

The whitewashed walls, arched windows, and blue accents are typical of Essaouira’s style. A women’s gallery occupies the upper level, overlooking the main hall.

One last stop before we get to visit our fish at lunch at a local woodworker's shop.  We had a demonstration of the art of inlaid woodworking.

The showroom ahd gorgeous pieces including a coffee table that Rich and Suzanne came this close to buying (but sanity prevailed).  

Younes walked us down a pretty shady-looking alley to a hole-in-the-wall place which he assured us was safe. Although we trusted him, we were still skeptical. 

But, the place was great!  The chef was a hoot and the fish delicious.  Even the sardines were great, though a bit messy and bonier than I'd prefer.

After lunch, Younes treated us to some Moroccan pastries that were delicious.  Reminiscent of my sister, Marla's, baklava.

This evening, we went to the beach for a light dinner, but more importantly, to watch the beautiful sunset.