HERITAGE RECORD · 753

Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador)

索维拉城（原摩加多尔）

The official record, selection criteria and sourced cultural context.

World Heritage record

Essaouira is an exceptional example of a late-18th-century fortified town, built according to the principles of contemporary European military architecture in a North African context. Since its foundation, it has been a major international trading seaport, linking Morocco and its Saharan hinterland with Europe and the rest of the world.

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Selection criteria

This property was inscribed under the following World Heritage Convention criteria.

(ii)An important interchange of human values in architecture, technology, arts, town planning or landscape design.

(iv)An outstanding example of a building, ensemble or landscape illustrating a significant stage in human history.

Cultural archive

Record lead

UNESCO record lead

Brief synthesis The Medina of Essaouira, formerly named Mogador (name originating from the Phoenician word Migdol meaning a « small fortress »), is an outstanding example of a fortified town of the mid-eighteenth century, surrounded by a wall influenced by the Vauban model.

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