The Best Argan Oil in Morocco

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Essaouira is an optional tour that John wasn't so sure he wanted to take. By telling John some of the history of Essaouira, Khalid convinced a reluctant John to go. Neither of us were looking forward to the 3 hour drive in each direction… but this may be our only chance to see where Hendrix slept!!!

We drove through a few small villages and came to an area where Argan trees grow naturally. Morocco is the ONLY place these trees are found in the wild. Attempts to grow this tree in other countries or even in other parts of Morocco have been unsuccessful. In Israel, the tree did grow but produced no fruit. The demand for Argan Oil is off the hook and it has brought a tremendous boost to the economy of this area. The bus went wild when we noticed the goats in the trees. I have a feeling Khalid had an idea the goats would be here at this point. Of course, the entire thing was staged for the tourists

! But nevertheless we all thought it was very fun! The baby goat was so cute and so sweet. I jumped at the chance to hold it! Of course, the "shepherds" wanted a coin for this opportunity! I handed them the change in my pocket and the reply was, “Do you have Moroccan money?” “What? This is Moroccan money! Let me see that!” Well somewhere along the line, we received change with a coin from Kenya! I didn’t notice. John forked over more coins and our shepherd was happy.

The goats do get up in the trees on their own to eat the Argan nuts. At this time of year, the nuts are not tempting or ready for consumption. July is when the nuts are ripe and fall off the tree. Goats are not allowed anywhere near the trees in July! As far as growing new trees, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship between the goats and the Argan trees. Khalid mentioned a study that determined trees only grow naturally if the nut is digested by the goat, ultimately passed through said goat and deposited said nut in a randomly favorable spot by said goat.

I was looking forward to seeing Cooperative Marjana, the Argan Oil Women’s Co-op near Essouria. First and foremost, it gives the women (at least to some degree) financial independence and it has certainly given a boost the overall economy of this area
Grinding the nuts into a paste
. Production of the oil is all done by hand and is very labor intensive. These women work very hard and seemed pleased to show off what they have accomplished. The nuts fall to the ground in July and are collected. The outer shell is broken off by hand, with a rock! The nut is cracked by hand (with a rock) and ground by hand into a paste. The paste is squeezed by hand to extract the oil. Left over paste is still nutrient rich and used as animal feed. This felt more genuine than “Who wants some moora?” -- 100%!B(MISSING)io Argan Oil from the women who produced it! I like supporting the women here and hopefully in some small way contributing to their empowerment.

We stopped at a view point just outside of Essaouira for a photo opportunity. From here you could see the entire seaside walled city and Iles Purpurairs in the distance. Essaouira was founded by the Phoenicians. Both the Phoenicians and the Romans prized the sea snails found on Iles Purpurairs, just offshore, used to make “Royal Purple” dye. The island has an abandoned prison ruins and is off limits as it is now a bird sanctuary. Mogador is the ancient name of this city and when the French Protectorate ended in 1956, the name was changed to Essaouira. The walls and medina, the whole thing is an UNESCO World Heritage site. Essaouira is still a major fishing port and known for shipbuilding as well as the “blue boats” used by the local fishermen. We entered the walled city or the Scala the Port at Bab al Mersa gate. Carvings on the stone gate represent the three major religions that all got along back in the day. First the scallop shell or Shell of St. James, representing Christianity, the Arabic inscription and the crescent moons, representing Islam and The Star of David carved within the rosette for the Jewish faith. The Jews began leaving Essaouira once Israel became an official state
Bab al Mersa gate
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Blue sky, blue water, historic city – pretty nice… Our local guide went on to explain Essaouira hippie reputation. Now you’re talkin’! What about that? Each June a World Music Festival is held here in the big square. A few years back, Bob Marley’s old band, The Wailers were the headliners. Their fans came and were heavily supporting the economy and herbal products from The Rif. He made a joke about the seagulls getting a good whiff of that. I’m not sure everyone caught on. The medina here is not so twisty and narrow. Mohammed III had the wall as well as the old medina area redesigned and rebuilt by a French engineer during the 18^th century. We ended up on the ramparts and the old cannon battery where scenes from Game of Thrones had been filmed. All the cannons built in Barcelona that line the battery had to be removed (and eventually put back into place!) Here our guide went on to tell us about Jimi Hendrix. “Yes, tell me all about Hendrix!” He said he lived in Essaouira for two years and wrote Castles in the Sand after seeing the ruins of the old prison on Iles Purpurairs. Cool. Then he went on to say Hendrix also wrote Purple Haze which was about Essaouira. “Say what? No. That’s not right!” “Oh yes! He wrote it here – about Essaouira.” Someone else said, “Yes, Khalid said they have the purple shells here!” I am 100%!s(MISSING)ure that Purple Haze is NOT about purple shells used as dye for Roman Royalty! (Jimi said it was really a love song… That girl put a spell on me…) After this statement, I had to do a little fact check on Jimi Hendrix in Morocco. Yes, he did spend some time in Essaouira in July 1969, two years after Castles in the Sand was released. Purple Haze was also released in 1967, well before his trip to Morocco
Ramparts with Cannons
. Hendrix loved Morocco and my guess is he loved the herbal products from The Rif. The girl who goes on and on about knowing your Rock and Roll History couldn’t let that one pass….

We moved on through the medina and over to the Jewish quarter where we said goodbye to our guide. John was interested in the Thuya wood boxes: specifically a cigar box. Thuya is a highly prized wood found only in this part of Morocco. Khalid knew just the place! We walked back through the Jewish Quarter and back into the medina to a small woodworking shop. It was mid-day prayers and the store was closed. We waited for a while but Khalid became impatient with the waiting and we walked over to the woodworker’s co-op. John picked a large box with a diamond pattern of inlaid ebony and mother-of-pearl. Of course every price is negotiable. John and the salesman went back and forth several times before they agreed. I was given a small Thuya wood jewelry box by our friendly salesman. Yippee! John loves his box.

Khalid took us back to a great seafood restaurant, Restaurant Bab Sbaa for lunch. Our waiter-in-training took us up to the counter to select the catch-of-the-day for lunch. “I want Sant Pierre or John Dory please!” (Two different names for the same fish.) We went back and forth a little about whether he had John Dory or Sant Pierre. Finally waiter said: “No Dory, we have Sant Pierre.” (LB “Language Barrier” problem) “Sant Pierre is perfect! Yumminess!

After lunch we went back to the wall to shoof and shop. John found a large hand knit cap, large enough to hide his dread locks in, that is if he had any dread locks
Hat Vendor
. We could have really helped the economy of Essaouira and bought all kinds of things but our suitcases are pretty full and heavy now. Time for some gelato (which was pretty good!) and shooffing on the square before we had to meet the bus. Essaouira is a very charming little seaside village and we all wished we could have spent more time here.

We made it back to Marrakesh after dark and walked over to a restaurant Khalid said was good for shooffing and eating. John and I sat outside on the crowded patio and were enjoying an evening of shooffing and burgers. It began to drizzle just as we were finishing – good reason to go back to the hotel. It has been 3 long days. Tomorrow we don’t leave until noon. Yea – a sleep in.

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