Myself In Essaouira!

Often spirituality is believed to rather be related to abstract things. I believe it may not always be the case. I have found my spiritual place: A place where I feel balanced; I acquire a kind of immunity from and acceptance of society, with its negativity, corruption, hypocrisy, schizophrenia... I regain my inner peace; and I feel myself. I have strange tastes and strange preferences, in accordance with the normally known society standards. In my spiritual place I am the one I have always wanted to be, I take off the masks that society forced me to wear, I unchain my true self, my life style, and my old-fashioned African-impacted hippy clothes.

Essaouira or Mogador, my spiritual place, is a place where no one judges you on your clothes, your choices, and your life style; a place of no prejudices, no stereotypical thinking. It is a place where people from different cities, even continents, famous people, ordinary people, just people, gather in peace, their main interests are music, love, peace, freedom -in all its forms, and Hashish—in the person of joints. Of course, I do not indulge in the last of this list, but I do strongly believe in the others.

Geographically speaking, Essaouira is a small maritime city located in the Southern Morocco, between Safi and Agadir, about 6 hours from Rabat, 3 hours from Marrakesh and 2 hours from . It is windy and a bit cold all year long. In terms of history, Essaouira, its port known by "Timbuktu", was meant to be the heart of the trade and commerce transactions between Africa and Europe.* 

I have heard my friends often talk about Essaouira, about the wind, Gnaoua music but they actually didn’t do it justice; it is beyond description. It is neither a metropolis where you find all amenities; nor a big city where you find tens of places of entertainment. It is a small city that modernism is, unfortunately, on its way to tarnishing; but let us forget about the modernized part of it, and stick to the old Medina: the Skala which is a tower that used to be a shield against pirates and has a breathtaking view over the sea, the Djzira- or the isle, that according to some locals, used to be a prison which needs to be reached by boat, for it is in the sea; the port colonized by pigeons, always crowded with fresh fish of all sorts; the open-air restaurant, frying fish along with French fries, tomato-onion salad, olives and tea. The people of Essaouira are another subject matter; natives with a Marrakechi-like accent, Jews and foreigners who fell for the charm of such a city, open-minded, hospitable and very welcoming. I like the freezing air even in summer time, the sun, the beach, the people, the old houses, the hippies, the musical instruments, the traditional jewelry shops, the wooden made furniture, all of it, including myself.

Another aspect of Essaouira’ fame is the Gnaoua music festival, held in June, adds some spices to the place. With the multi-colored clothes of the singers and their groups, the cocktail of music genres at the opening ceremony, the instruments made of wood, animal skin and iron; attending the festival in such a city symbolizes heaven for me, a duality of spirituality—Gnaoua music and Essaouira. It is not by chance that Essaouira is considered as the city of Gnaoua . It is the city where slaves settled down and started their lives; some stayed in, while others moved to other cities such as Meknes, Marrakesh, Rabat and others. All day long, Gnaoua music, as if it haunts its walls and houses, is heard in every corner of the city, in shops, coffee-shops, whether played traditionally or in a modern style using Djembes, Didgeridoos, and other instruments .

I had the opportunity, for the first time of my life, to attend a Gnaoua trance concert. I seized it, no music fusion, just the traditional Gnaoua music, as raw and strong as it was played by the ancestors.  My mother, my sister and I were invited by a man who turned out to be a Maalem (leader of the Gnaoua group ) of the city (each Moroccan city has its own Gnaoua music group: Gnaoua of Essaouira, Gnaoua of Rabat… etc). It was an unforgettable experience. I was able to sport some other Maalems in the party.  
I witnessed the effect of Gnaoua music, its spirituality and its magic on people, Moroccans and foreigners, entering into trance. I have never witnessed such a thing. The music runs through your system, making every hair stand. To my surprise, my mom entered into trance too, and I saw what the steps the female leader of the group do; putting a black scarf (colors have significant importance in Gnaoua trance) over my mom's head and making her smell the smoke of Aloeswood or some other herb, I can't tell.

I can't tell if the effect of Essaouira is the same for all the visitors; one has to visit it to really understand what it looks like and what feelings it engenders. To confess, my birthday coincides with my yearly visit to Essaouira; I am lying. Actually, I deliberately choose to celebrate my rebirth in my spiritual city. Could I ask for more?. I leave Essaouira in tears as a little girl denied her much loved security blanket.

*UNESCO, Essaouira listed as World Heritage in 2001.