Essaouira (Berber: ⵎⵓⴳⴰⴹⵓⵔ Taṣṣurt, Arabic: الصويرة, as-Ṣawīra) is a city in the western Moroccan economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, on the Atlantic coast. Since the 16th century, the city has also been known by itsPortuguese name of Mogador or Mogadore. The Berber name means the wall, a reference to the fortress walls that originally enclosed the city.