Walk Essaouira's walled medina

Essaouira is a walled port on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, with ramparts over the sea, a fishing harbour full of blue boats and a long beach. FOG keeps the map dark until you walk it, and the compact medina is a neat grid to fill.

The medina

The medina of Essaouira was laid out in the eighteenth century in a regular plan, unusual for Morocco, and it is a World Heritage site. Its main streets are straight and its lanes are white and blue.

The Skala de la Ville, the ramparts on the sea side, are lined with old cannons and look out over the rocks and the waves.

The port and the beach

The fishing port, at the south end of the medina, is busy with blue wooden boats, fish sellers and gulls. The Skala du Port, a fortified tower, overlooks it.

The beach runs south from the town for kilometres, a wide sweep of sand popular with kitesurfers because of the strong wind.

Coverage

Essaouira is mild all year, with wind from the ocean. The medina is small, and a day covers it with the port.

The beach adds a long line south along the coast.

The character who walks with you

FOG puts a small explorer called Wander on your position. Pick one of five paths (two are free, three come with FOG Unlimited) and every two levels on a path hands you a new piece of gear, earned only by the ground you cover. Twenty five pieces in all, and none of them can be bought.

Under the character it is a plain, permanent record: every street you walk in Essaouira is cleared and stays clear, the app works in the background, and the map is stored only on your phone with no account and no cloud. You can export it as GPX at any time.

Questions people actually ask

Start with a dark map.

FOG is free to explore. No account, no subscription, and your map never leaves your phone.

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