A short lope on a camel named after one of the musical icons of the past will bring you to the heart of a hippyscape, otherwise known as the sands of Essaouira. Just west of Marrakech, these plains have been graced by many a guitar wielding soul in the hope of some divine, record breaking inspiration. The likes of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix visited Essaouira in the sixties leaving this well worn trail with songs such as, ‘Castles in the Sand’ whilst Orson Wells swapped chords for Shakespeare and staged his Othello here.

Sand castles. So much hope put into one small plastic bucket; they’re notoriously difficult, collapsing into many inconvenient places, they’re a mould of gritty impermanency. Sorry Jimi if I’m misunderstanding you here, yes, nothing is eternal but I think you may have overlooked something…Dar Beida and Dar Emma. If an uncomfortable ride on the two humped Mr. Tambourine Man is not enough to reunite you with the real Essaouira, then a break at one of these two boutique-style riads will possibly take you back to a time which many thought would be lost forever.

Choose to stay in the heart of Essaouira’s medina or just ten minutes from the beach and enter into a world of all things retro. A hybrid of shiny 60s decoration and traditional Morocco, the patterned tiles on the floor and the complimentary babouche, Moroccan-style slippers, welcome you upon arrival. Dar Beida, ‘the white house’ sleeps up to eight people and has a chill-out room on the first floor, next to the library. A few floors up is the terrace, complete with every professional relaxer’s weapon of choice, the hammock. Both villas offer meals throughout the day and come equipped with a Bose ipod dock. Where is my on-call strumming musician you say? Who needs one when you can have rich and full sound without the guitar burning. Maybe some things should definitely disappear with the waves.

Castles in the sand homepage.

Written by  Sybilla Harvey.

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