Sunset in Essaouira, Morocco is not to be missed. Here on the country’s Atlantic coast, the orange glow lights up the ocean and the small island outcroppings standing between the city and the vastness of eternity. Pinks hit the clouds, and the very stone of the walls of the city seems to light up. A chilly wind whistles, adding its sound to that of the crashing waves. Somewhere behind me, a musician is playing. Children are laughing. Vendors are hawking their wares.

The sun finally sinks into the blue, and I turn around to head back to my hotel, reflecting on this city. In a country that can be overwhelming to the senses, Essaouira is a small breath of calm. And yet it is still unmistakably Moroccan, with its own take on the concept of what it means to be in this place. It is the Medina (old city) by the sea, a refuge for artists and hipsters, and a taste of ocean life that stands apart from so much else that Morocco has to offer.

Like so many other places in the Mediterranean world, what is now Essaouira was once a Roman settlement. (Something still makes it surprising to me to find Roman remnants in Africa. I realize that is a reflection on the Euro-centric approach to education taken by American schools, as well as my own Euro-centric travel experiences, but the amount in Africa is still astounding. Click here to read about Carthage and Roman Tunisia and click here to read about Volubilis here in Morocco for more in depth examples.)

But the region really only gained prominence in the early 16th century, when Portugal established a fortress on one of the small islands off shore, called Mogador. This was part of a series of similar Portuguese fortresses that would span the entire Atlantic coast of Morocco, from Tangier to Agadir. And though the Portuguese would be kicked out of Mogador after only four years (in 1510), the importance of this small prominence of land sheltered by the island was made clear, and a port city was constructed.

Essaouira reached its peak in the 1700s. The reason for this is simple: it is the closest port city to Marrakech, which was the landing point for trade routes across the Sahara. (Click here to read more about the Moroccan Sahara.) So after months of travel, caravans would ultimately end up here, where their wares (spices, gold, and slaves) would be loaded aboard ships to Europe. The village that had existed here needed to be expanded, and architects were brought in to create what has become the UNESCO World Heritage recognized Essaouira Medina.

This later construction and intentional design gives the Essaouira Medina something unique – at least as far as my own experience goes – in Morocco: it is a grid. Streets and alleys still look alike, and still have the feel of being in a bit of a maze, but they run straight, other than those just inside the city walls along the water, where the coastline isn’t 100% straight. And given that it is only a 5-10 minute walk from side to side, it means that while one might not always know which alley one is in, getting truly lost is pretty impossible, (Compare this to a city like Fes, which is said to have 3,000 dead ends in its Medina.)

This makes Essaouira’s Medina incredibly approachable, and an easy place to base, even if you choose to stay at one of the oceanfront resorts just outside of it rather than in a smaller riad (a more traditional Moroccan hotel) inside. And it also means that shopping the souks in Essaouira is a much easier process than doing so in Fes or Marrakech. (Prices are also about 25-30% less here than in Marrakech, so if you find the souvenirs you want, this is a good place to grab those.)

And what Essaouira lacks in must-visit sights – I don’t think there is really a single one – it makes up for in its hipster art galleries, cool cafes, and laid-back ocean lifestyle. Visitors can mix with locals at the beach, go kite surfing along the coast, or just leisure at a hamam for a Moroccan spa experience. (There are a lot of hamams here, especially when one considers the size of the city.)

With Essaouira’s importance to trade, it was built with some pretty strong defenses. The majority of the city wall is still in existence, as are a couple of large square towers guarding the harbor. While today that harbor is mainly for the city’s fishing fleet, it is easy to imagine it holding dozens of trading vessels bound for the capitals of Europe.

(If the smell of fish is something you don’t especially love, you’ll want to avoid the harbor itself. Just crossing through during the afternoon is overwhelming, and the cement plaza is covered with fish carcasses leftover from the seabirds eating their dinners.)

But having that fishing industry means Essaouira is a great place to get seafood. Many tourists clamor for a table at one of the chic rooftop restaurants overlooking the water, where the catch of the day (sea bass in my case) will run a reasonable for US budgets but exorbitant for Morocco price. So for my money, it is a small restaurant in the Medina and a pastilla de fruits de mer, or seafood pie.

Chicken pastilla (pastilla de poulet) is one of the Moroccan culinary staples, containing diced or shredded chicken seasoned with cumin and turmeric, nuts, and sweet spices like cinnamon or nutmeg in a flaky pastry and topped with cinnamon and sugar. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from a fish version, but since they seemed to be everywhere in Essaouira, I knew I wanted one. (I actually tried two to make sure what I got was authentic.) It is significantly milder, being seafood (shrimp, squid, and fish) in a similar cumin and turmeric blend that is done with more restraint, vermicelli noodles as filler in place of the nuts, and without the cinnamon and sugar.

I only have two brief nights in Essaouira, as part of the frenetic pace of my Morocco tour. And it isn’t enough. Staring at the sun setting into the ocean, can there really ever be enough? Essaouira is distinctly Moroccan, with its chaotic souks full of bartering, its welcoming hospitality, and its sounds and smells. But it is also something completely different, more relaxed, slower, approachable.

It is perfect.

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