One part of the mystique of Morocco is the country’s diverse geography. Its land includes a long coastline that stretches for almost 1500 miles along the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, a portion of the Sahara Desert, and the high mountains and beautiful valleys of the Atlas Mountains. Over the centuries, these features have encouraged trade and led to complex relationships with foreign empires and kingdoms. Morocco has been connected to the Phoenicians and the Romans in ancient times; various Arab caliphates, the Islamic kingdom of Al-Andalus, and the trading empire of Timbuktu during the Middle Ages; and many European colonial powers since the 1500s. These contacts and entanglements often centered on the cities and ports of Morocco’s Atlantic Coast which run from Tangier in the north to Agadir in the south. Today, historic landmarks and modern ones exist side by side creating a unique experience for visitors traveling along the coast. During our 2022 visit to Morocco, we spent a week in this region and stopped at many of these sites. 

Eight ways to experience the scenery, history and modernization of Morocco’s Atlantic Coast include the following. 

1. Imagine Yourself in a Movie on the Fortress Walls of Essaouira

The seacoast city of Essaouira has distinctive features including a colorful fishing fleet, excellent seafood restaurants, and a medina that create a relaxing atmosphere. Exploring this World Heritage Site, a pleasurable experience for visiting. Nevertheless, it took vision for Hollywood filmmakers and television producers from Orson Welles to Ridley Scott to travel to Morocco and film important scenes here for their movies and shows. Over the years, the fortress walls, alleyways, and people of Essaouira have been featured in films like Othello, Kingdom of Heaven, Game of Thrones, Alexander, John Wick 3, and Hanna.

The region around Essaouira has been coveted for thousands of years by seafaring nations and merchants seeking a suitable location to conduct trade with the country’s interior and protect their interests. In the 1500s, the Portuguese built a small fort and church in the area and called it Mogador. But it was the Alaouite sultan Mohammed ben Abdellah who built the town after 1760 and expanded the defenses. By incorporating the best ideas from Moors and European architects, he created a strong fortress with towers, triangular walls, rows of cannons, huge sea walls and defensive gates. These areas have been well preserved so they can be enjoyed by visitors. Equally important, the ramparts and towers provide beautiful views of the rocky shore to the north of the fort and the wide beaches to the south. However, with modern computer-generated imagery, the actors strolling these walls have been depicted looking out on the dessert or a mountain valley instead. There are no limits to one’s imagination when visiting Essaouira. 

For another vision of Essaouira, see this article in The Traveling America about the thousands of cats which inhabit the old city and the port in collaboration with the residents.

2. Explore Rabat’s Kasbah Oudaias

Rabat is one of the most pleasant cities to visit in Morocco. The city features a cliffside medina on the ocean that dates to the 12th century along with attractive gardens and public buildings. After serving as a fortress and religious center during the Middle Age, Rabat became a haven for Moors fleeing from Spain and emerged as an independent kingdom of privateers in the 1700s. Today, it is the second largest city in Morocco with almost two million people and serves as the political, financial, and educational capital of the nation.

The fortress area of Rabat is called the Kasbah Oudaias. Its ornate gates and thick walls protected the old city from rebel tribes and guarded its treasures. The interior streets and alleys are narrow and full of hidden passageways. Different things attract people inside the wall these days  such as the Andalusian Gardens, the Oudayas Café known for its teas and shady views of the river, and local shops and riads all painted in white or blue. Just outside the walls of the kasbah within the old medina is a souk filled with all kinds of stores and vendors selling merchandise and spices. The ramparts of the kasbah look out upon a surfing beach in one direction and the calm water of an estuary of the Bou Regreg River in the other. In the distance, one can see the construction site of the Mohammed VI Tower on the opposite side of the river in Sale. A skyscraper with solar panels that will rise 55 stories and include offices, a hotel and residences, the tower resembles a rocket ship and will be one of the tallest buildings in Africa. 

3. View Rabat’s Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V

One of the most popular sites for residents and tourists is the Hassan Tower and remnants of a grand mosque located on the east side of Rabat above the Bou Regreg estuary. King Yacoub al Mansour, a monarch of the Almohad dynasty, intended to build the largest mosque in the world there in the 12th century featuring a rectangular courtyard, a grand minaret that would tower over the land, and a cavernous prayer hall. He wanted the complex to exceed the scope and beauty of other mosques featuring Moorish architecture previously completed in Marrakech, Seville, and Cordoba. The king’s death and subsequent political upheavals in the region brought a stop to the construction before it could be completed and eventually the prayer hall collapsed. However, the half built, 144-foot-tall tower, its intricate stone carvings, and some columns from the prayer hall survived. These structures and the modern mausoleum of Moroccan King Mohammed V built next door in 1975 have served as a symbol of Moroccan independence.  A honor guard of horse soldiers stands outside the mausoleum.

4. Ponder Rabat’s Chellah Necropolis and Ruins

One place where the many parts of the Rabat’s past collide is the walled necropolis of Chellah located at the base of hillside in an isolated meadow near the city. This area has attracted archeologists’ attention for years because it was settled by the Phoenicians in ancient times and then became the center of a thriving Roman city called Sala Colonia. Centuries later, the Marinid dynasty which ruled Morocco from 1248 to 1465 AD, turned the area into a necropolis for their rulers and built a high protective wall around the whole settlement along with a mosque, religious retreat, gardens, and pools. Eventually, an estimated thirty tombs and mausoleums were built there, and the area thrived for two centuries until abandoned by the Maronids and succeeding Arabic dynasties. Nevertheless, the ruins at Chellah have always fascinated people and the government has responded with a major restoration of the grounds and excavation of the ruins. The interior section of Chellah has been closed to visitors in recent years and sometimes can only be viewed from the opposite hillside or explored by studying the artifacts at Rabat’s excellent Archeological Museum.

5. Stroll Around Casablanca’s Corniche and the Morocco Mall

Casablanca sometimes does not get the respect it deserves. This metropolis of four million people lacks the historic feel and exotic medinas found in some other Moroccan cities and has the reputation of being a gritty business and port city. One section that has projected a more upscale image for generations is the Corniche area. It has most of the city’s beach areas, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, and fashionable residences. The three-mile-long shoreline boulevard has lateral parks for exercising and access to a wide and sandy beach. At the western end of the Corniche is another modern facility that has enhanced the city’s reputation. The Morocco Mall, opened in 2011, is no small-time emporium. This 350-store mall is the largest in Africa and has three levels of shops with luxury goods, an IMAX theater, small ice rink, and cafes with local and international fare. There are many European retailers with stores in the mall which provide distinctive brands of merchandise for customers. While I walked along the beach and the Corniche with our personable guide, Haddou Baalili, my wife enjoyed browsing the mall and having a cappuccino there. 

6. Admire Casablanca’s Beautiful Hassan II Mosque

Another impressive addition to Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque. This modern structure built for an estimated $800 million dominates the landscape of the city and provides a source of pride for city residents. It has a 656-foot-high minaret and a retractable roof and prayer hall that can accommodate 25,000 worshippers. With high-quality artisanship that includes everything from cedar wood paneling, Italian marble, and glass chandeliers to intricate tile work and carved stonework, Casablanca has a spiritual center that rivals the great mosques of the Islamic world. Guided tours in different languages including English that explain the meaning of the design and the services which the mosque provide to the community are available daily for visitors. For more information about the Hassan II Mosque, see this article in The Traveling American.

7. Ride Africa’s Only High-Speed Train from Casablanca to Tangier

Morocco has made tremendous strides over the past two decades in developing the infrastructure of its major cities and improving its road system. However, the rural areas of the country and coastal areas beyond the north Atlantic Coast continue to struggle and will require considerable attention in future years to lift living standards. One effort to leap forward in development that stands out is the completion in late 2018 of a two-hundred-mile-long high-speed rail system from Casablanca to Tangier called Al Boraq. This rail service connects the two cities in two hours and ten minutes with stops along the way. Morocco already has an extensive rail system that moves up to forty million passengers annually, but visitors to Tangier can now add a day trip to Casablanca or Rabat to their itineraries.

Built by a French company, the TGV double decker trains travel at speeds ranging from 110 to 200 miles per hour depending on the electrification of certain segments of the track. While controversial in the country, the high-speed trains are running well so far, and the cities’ train stations are being upgraded to European standards for travelers. If the Al Boraq can be successful, future plans call for new segments to be built from Casablanca to Marrakech, Casablanca to Agadir and Rabat to Fes. That could open opportunities for the nation’s residents to speed up and broaden the country’s economic development. 

8. Seek the Assistance and Companionship of an Experienced Guide Like Haddou Baalili 

Each of the sites discussed in this article can be navigated on your own but Morocco’s Atlantic Coast encompasses a large area with several major cities. If you want to focus your time on the most spectacular and interesting locations, we recommend using a private guide service to help you select a realistic itinerary and handle the logistics of transportation, ticketing, and communications. One guide who knows the Atlantic Coast, the Imperial Cities of Morocco, and the Berber traditions of the Atlas Mountain regions is Haddou Baalili (baalilihaddou@gmail.com).  Haddou was born in the mountains and used his bachelor’s degree in the English language and his personal interest in history and anthropology to become a certified guide in Morocco. He has worked as a guide for 16 years and concentrates on serving individuals and small groups of English and French visitors. Haddou provided us with several enjoyable days of guide service on the Atlantic Coast to see the major sites. We spent time together exploring the history and culture of the region and having conversations about the modernization of Morocco’s economy and the challenges that has created for its people and cultural identity. Haddou also works with clients seeking stops in Marrakech and visits to the Atlas Mountains.