Bab Sbaa — the "Gate of the Lion" — is one of the fortified entrances into Essaouira's UNESCO-listed medina on Morocco's Atlantic coast. Built in 1866 as part of the expansion of the new kasbah (Kasbah Jedida), this rounded, stone-and-earth rampart gate links the modern streets outside to the whitewashed lanes, artisan workshops and markets of the old city within. Its sober, functional military architecture makes it a quieter, more authentic threshold than the city's famous sea bastions, and a natural place to begin a walk through Essaouira. Once the gateway where caravans from the Marrakech and Souss regions brought goods into a permanent souk, Bab Sbaa today opens directly onto daily life in the medina. You pass through it freely, with no ticket and no hours, simply stepping from cobbled outer streets into a labyrinth of blue-shuttered houses, thuya-wood carvers, silversmiths and cafés — a small but evocative introduction to a city shaped by Arab, Amazigh, African and European currents.

Local history museum

Essaouira · MA

Bayt Dakira

Bayt Dakira — the House of Memory — is a museum and cultural centre in Essaouira's medina dedicated to the city's Jewish heritage and its centuries-long dialogue with Muslim life. Built around the restored Simon Attias Synagogue, it displays ritual objects, family archives, photographs and personal testimonies that chart the story of a community that once numbered 40 percent of Essaouira's population. Inaugurated by King Mohammed VI in January 2020, the site combines a museum, an active synagogue, a research centre on Jewish-Muslim relations, and a venue for concerts, lectures and exhibitions — making it one of Essaouira's most compelling stops for anyone interested in layered cultural histories.