Essaouira Medina hosts Tales of the Medina on 30 September
Published on 10/04/2026 at 04:17 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Essaouira Medina (Médina d'Essaouira) hosted the Tales of the Medina guided walk in Essaouira, Morocco, on 30 September and 1 October 2026 as part of MOGA Festival's MOGA OFF programme. The route connected Bab Sbaa, Place Moulay Hassan, the port, the commercial lanes and the former Jewish quarter.
MOGA brings Tales of the Medina into Essaouira
The walk was one of the activities scheduled for MOGA OFF, the free city programme running on 30 September and 1 October 2026. The wider MOGA Festival continued with its ticketed MOGA IN programme from 2 to 4 October at Hotel Le Golf d'Essaouira and Spa in Diabat, outside the medina. The festival's dates and split between the two programmes are listed by its official festival partner.
Le360 reported that Tales of the Medina took place on both 30 September and 1 October, from 5pm to 6pm. Led by multidisciplinary artist Hary Moumen, the storytelling walk was presented as a way to explore notable places, myths and layers of local history rather than follow a conventional sightseeing script. Its route gave the event a direct relationship with the walls, squares, harbour and neighbourhoods that define the historic town. The report on the guided walk describes the programme and route.
Essaouira Medina links the festival to its fortified past
The medina is an eighteenth-century fortified seaport on Morocco's Atlantic coast. UNESCO describes it as an example of European military architecture adapted to a North African setting, with a trading history linking Morocco and its Saharan hinterland to Europe and the wider world.
That setting explains why a walk through Bab Sbaa, Place Moulay Hassan, the port and the former Jewish quarter was more than a route between festival venues. The programme placed contemporary storytelling inside a planned town whose ramparts, harbour and districts record successive cultural and commercial connections. The medina has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2001.
MOGA OFF made the old town a festival setting
MOGA OFF brought music, workshops, movement and other activities to several locations in Essaouira before the main programme moved to Diabat. The guided walk was a particularly place-specific part of that schedule because its subject was the medina itself, including the spaces encountered by residents, traders and visitors.
The event also showed the distinction between the two halves of MOGA Festival. The free city programme used existing streets and public-facing locations, while the later MOGA IN programme was concentrated at a separate resort venue. For travellers, the difference matters: a visit to the medina did not provide access to the ticketed festival site in Diabat.
Visiting Essaouira Medina: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Tales of the Medina took place on 30 September and 1 October 2026, from 5pm to 6pm, as part of MOGA OFF.
- The guided walk has ended, while MOGA Festival's separate MOGA IN programme continued at Hotel Le Golf d'Essaouira and Spa from 2 to 4 October 2026.
- The reported route began at Bab Sbaa and continued through Place Moulay Hassan, the port, the commercial lanes and the former Jewish quarter.
- The medina is a walled historic town with narrow lanes, a harbour and fortified coastal structures, so the route involved walking through an old urban fabric rather than travelling between a single venue and stage.
- Morocco's official languages are Arabic and Amazigh, and the national currency is the Moroccan dirham.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
Searching for Essaouira Medina on social platforms
These links open searches for Essaouira Medina on each platform.
Frequently asked questions about Essaouira Medina
When did Tales of the Medina take place at Essaouira Medina?
The guided walk took place on 30 September and 1 October 2026, from 5pm to 6pm, during MOGA OFF.
What is Essaouira Medina?
It is an eighteenth-century fortified seaport on Morocco's Atlantic coast and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001.
Where is Essaouira Medina and how do you get there?
It is in Essaouira, Morocco, with the reported walk beginning at Bab Sbaa and continuing through the historic centre towards the port and former Jewish quarter.
