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Dar Souiri (Association Essaouira-Mogador) - Ahmed Harouz, Essaouira, Morocco
Dar Souiri (Association Essaouira-Mogador), Essaouira (אסואירה ,الصويرة, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Mogador), Morocco (מרוקו, المغرب).
A beautiful building, Dar Souiri serves as the headquarters of the Association Essaouira-Mogador and frequently hosts exhibitions for researchers and the public alike.
Description
Background on the Mellah of Essaouira
Essaouira was established by Alaouite Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah in 1764 on the site of a former Portuguese fortress. [1, 2] It quickly became a major domestic and international trading post, attracting many Jewish merchants, traders, and workers. [3, 4] In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Essaouira was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the country. At one point, Jews made up about 40 percent of Essaouira’s population, growing so much that an addition to the mellah had to be built to accommodate them. [5, 6]
Mellahs, separate Jewish quarters, were established in multiple cities by an 1807 Sultan-issued dahir (decree). [7] Before then, Jews and Muslims lived together in the neighborhoods of Essaouira. [8] The name, mellah, comes from the salt marsh area in Fez where the first mellah was created. [9] Following the decree, poorer Jews populated the mellah while elite Jewish families resided in the casbah quarter outside the mellah walls. [10] The separation of casbah and mellah generated tensions between elite and lower-class Jews. [11] In Essaouira, “division was really a division of class and not of religion,” with intermarriage being widely acepted and places of worship were even shared amongst Muslims and Jews. [12]
Today, only a handful of Jews remain in Essaouira. [13] One of the reasons for this is the impact of French Protectorate (1912-1956), during which the French developed Casablanca and Agadir as seaports, limiting economic opportunities in Essaouira and incentivizing migration to larger hubs [14, 15]. Another, larger, exodus took place following the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, after which only about 2 percent of the Jewish population remained. [ 16, 17]
The Jewish quarter of Essaouira stands as a testament to the significant role of Jewry in the development of one of Morocco’s major port cities. Many sites of historical significance, including synagogues and old Jewish businesses, have been demolished or otherwise dilapidated over time. [18] Current Essaouira residents and others work to preserve remaining sites and redevelopment efforts are underway. [19, 20, 21]
Dar Souiri, or “House of Essaouira”
The Headquarters: Dar Souiri, described as “an exquisite riad near the entrance to the Medina,” is utilized as the headquarters of the Association Essaouira-Mogador. [22] Ahmed Harouz is the coordinator of the Association Essaouira-Mogador, which was founded in 1992 by Andre Azoulay with people from Essaouira, professionals and associations in order to promote the sustainable development of the province in general and of the Medina in particular in social, economic, cultural and environmental contexts. The association works with other local associations in order to gain knowledge of Essaouira's history while also exchanging expertise in collaboration with the local government. One of their most visible projects is the restoration of the Simon Attia Synagogue and creation of the Bayt Dakira Museum. [23, 24, 25] Dar Souiri as a space often serves artistic and cultural activities, such as functioning as a paid venue during the Gnaoua Music Festival that takes place in Essaouira during the third week of June. [26]
Community in the Mellah: During a walk through the Medina, Ahmed pointed out the locations of several former synagogues, now hard to find. Having grown up in the Mellah himself, he reaffirms that speaking of the Mellah as an exclusively Jewish quarter is a misconception that does not do justice to the sense of community that existed back then. Indeed, there are accounts of Muslim builders living alongside Jewish sea captains in the Mellah. [27] He is now involved in the efforts to make this history more visible, so it is not forgotten.
An Exhibit at Dar Souiri: On a late-fall day, artist Abdallah Oulamine carefully examined his work. Together with the Association Essaouira-Mogador, he put together an exhibition of about thirty pieces of his artwork, using a varied-media approach, for other visual artists and the art-loving public to take in. [28] For this exhibition, which was displayed until December 2021, Oulamine chose to utilize a damaged manuscript as one of his canvases to send his message of the good that can come out of constructing something. [29] Oulamine took the book and gave it a new purpose as art, a new existence, according to art critic Mbarek Housni. [30] Using one source for multiple creations, Oulamine’s art challenges the viewer to think about the many different forms one source can take [31].
Sources
Notes
1 Daniel Schroeter, “Essaouira (Mogador)”, in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Consulted online on 13 July 2022.
2 “Jewish Quarter of Essaouira,” World Monuments Fund, last modified March 2021, accessed July 30, 2021, https://www.wmf.org/project/jewish-quarter-essaouira.
3 Ibid.
4 Daniel Schroeter.
5 “Jewish Quarter of Essaouira.”
6 Daniel Schroeter.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Emily Gottreich, “Mallāḥ,” in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, ed. Norman A. Stillman, (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill), Accessed 20 July 2021.
10 Daniel Schroeter.
11 Ibid.
12 “A Pluralistic Community,” World Monuments Fund, 2019, https://www.wmf.org/slideshow/what-it-was-pluralistic-community
13 Daniel Schroeter.
14 “Jewish Quarter of Essaouira.”
15 Carmen Ascanio-Sanchez, Miguel Suárez Bosa, and Juan Carlos Almeida Pérez, “Tradition and Modernity: The Water Sector in Morocco During the French Protectorate (1912-1956),” African Historical Review 51 (1): 67–86, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1080/17532523.2019.1628491.
16 David Schroeter.
17 Shlomo Deshen, “Israel, State of,” in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman, accessed July 30, 2022.
18 “Jewish Quarter of Essaouira.”
19 Ibid.
20 “Wandering Through the Mellah,” World Monuments Fund, 2018, https://www.wmf.org/blog/wandering-through-mellah#:~:text=The%20Mellah%20is%20the%20old,its%20story%20before%20it%20disappears
21 Aomar Boum. Memories of Absence: How Muslims Remember Jews in Morocco,
Stanford University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucsc/detail.action?docID=1358595.
22 Ruth F. Davis and Brian Oberlander, eds, Music and Encounter at the Mediterranean Crossroads: A Sea of Voices, Routledge, 2021, xiv
23 Aomar Boum,. "Branding Convivencia: Jewish Museums and the Reinvention of a Moroccan Andalus in Essaouira.”," Exhibiting Minority Narratives: Cultural Representation in Museums in the Middle East and North Africa (2020): 205-23. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/65249243/BOUM_BrandingConvivencia-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?
24 “Simon Attias Synagogue- Bayt Dakira Museum,” Marrakech Tricks, May 8, 2022, https://marrakechtricks.com/blog/simon-attias-synagogue
25 “Who Left: Ongoing Significance to the Jewish Community,” World Monuments Fund, 2018, https://www.wmf.org/slideshow/who-left-ongoing-significance-jewish-community
26 Maisie Sum, "Music of the Gnawa of Morocco: evolving spaces and times," PhD diss., University of British Columbia, 2012. 206-207
27 “Who Remains: Enduring Legacy of the Jewish Community,” World Monuments Fund, 2019, https://www.wmf.org/slideshow/who-remains-enduring-legacy-jewish-community
28 "Dar Souiri accueille l'exposition," Al Bayane [Al Dar Al Bayda', Morocco], December 9, 2021, NA. Gale In Context: Global Issues, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686040701/GIC?u=mlin_m_wellcol&sid=ebsco&xid=02111b6b
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
Works Cited
Ascanio-Sanchez, Carmen, Miguel Suárez Bosa, and Juan Carlos Almeida Pérez. “Tradition and Modernity: The Water Sector in Morocco During the French Protectorate (1912-1956).” African Historical Review 51 (1): 67–86. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/17532523.2019.1628491.
Boum, Aomar. "Branding Convivencia: Jewish Museums and the Reinvention of a Moroccan Andalus in Essaouira.”." Exhibiting Minority Narratives: Cultural Representation in Museums in the Middle East and North Africa (2020): 205-23. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/65249243/BOUM_BrandingConvivencia-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?
Boum, Aomar. Memories of Absence: How Muslims Remember Jews in Morocco,
Stanford University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucsc/detail.action?docID=1358595.
"Dar Souiri accueille l'exposition." Al Bayane [Al Dar Al Bayda', Morocco]. December 9, 2021. NA. Gale In Context: Global Issues. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686040701/GIC?u=mlin_m_wellcol&sid=ebsco&xid=02111b6b.
Davis, Ruth F., and Brian Oberlander, eds. Music and Encounter at the Mediterranean Crossroads: A Sea of Voices. Routledge. 2021. xiv.
Deshen, Shlomo. “Israel, State of.” In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Accessed July 30, 2022.
Gottreich, Emily. “Mallāḥ. ” in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, ed. Norman A. Stillman, (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill), Accessed 20 July 2021.
“Jewish Quarter of Essaouira.” World Monuments Fund. Last modified March 2021. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://www.wmf.org/project/jewish-quarter-essaouira.
Schroeter, Daniel. “Essaouira (Mogador).” In: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic
World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Consulted online on 13 July 2022.
“Simon Attias Synagogue- Bayt Dakira Museum.” Marrakech Tricks. May 8, 2022. https://marrakechtricks.com/blog/simon-attias-synagogue
Sum, Maisie. "Music of the Gnawa of Morocco: evolving spaces and times." PhD diss., University of British Columbia, 2012.
“Wandering Through the Mellah,” World Monuments Fund, 2018, https://www.wmf.org/blog/wandering-through-mellah#:~:text=The%20Mellah%20is%20the%20old,its%20story%20before%20it%20disappears
“Who Left: Ongoing Significance to the Jewish Community.” World Monuments Fund. 2018. https://www.wmf.org/slideshow/who-left-ongoing-significance-jewish-community
“Who Remains: Enduring Legacy of the Jewish Community.” World Monuments Fund, 2019. https://www.wmf.org/slideshow/who-remains-enduring-legacy-jewish-community
Photographs courtesy of World Monuments Fund, Stories of the Mellah Cultural Mapping project. All photography by Amine Bennour, Laura Brandt, and Yousef El Miadi.
