Another hidden Moroccan Gem

A lot of Morocco's cultural treasures--Marakesh, Essaouira, Fez... have been overdocumented and touristified--so it's really cool to "discover" one of the gems that has yet been swamped with tourists--and Azemmour is definitely one of them.

Didn't really plan on coming here today--figured all the cheap hotels would be sold out for the summer.  But the bus to Rommani, my intended destination, wasn't leaving for another 5 hours... so Azemmour it was...

Approaching the city, the bus crossed a beautiful river/ocean inlet with a castle rising on the other side... This looks like a city begging to be explored. 

Got off the bus at the edge of town--but within minutes I was in the bustling market sector.  The streets were lined with grilled sardine joints and--something rather unusual.

.. shop after shop where women can sit down and get henna tattoos.  No resorts here--and only a smattering of foreigners.  Clearly the bulk of the visitors are budget conscious Moroccans.

As I expected, the cheap hotel was sold out.   But when I sat down for a tagine next door, a few minutes later the clerk came over telling me that a room had been unnoccupied--and 60 Dh is very reasonable for a beach town in the summer...

After getting settled in, headed down the long, narrow market street towards the coast... neet to find that castle I saw!  And then suddenly, there it was: a beautiful walled medina with these cool gates and towers and amazing mix of architectural styles--sometimes very Arab, sometimes a little old European--sometimes even Roman.

.. I scurried through the alleyways, eager to explore every inch of the city.  Usually I hate running into dead ends in these medinas--this time I don't care... I want to discover every single alleyway. 

I came across this dark entrance.  Instinct told me that this wasn't someone's door--but rather a tunnel that lead somewhere--sure enough!  The tunnel curved a couple of times and then--the beautiful, crystal blue river!  You could then follow along the outside of these walls and look up at the houses clinging to some seriously eroded cliffs...

...Once back inside the medina I came across the ruins of an old castle, as I headed inside, an older fellow hollered  "Bon jour, Monsieur!"

"Do I have to pay to go in here?" I asked him in Arabic.

"Oh, I'm sorry--I thought you were a foreigner... no, you don't have to pay anything... but if you like it, and you want to give me something for a coffee, that's up to you..."

"OK, thanks"

"By the way, where are you from?" he asked.

"Agadir" I answered.

That was too easy... Did I really pull that one off?

I explored the castle a bit--then climbed up and followed the wall around the medina to a different exit.

...I did go back, however, and give that guy "something for a coffee"...