Bronze cannons made in Spain of coppar from Mexico and Peru. Scala the Port and the Mogador island can bee seen in the background. There are 19 bronze canons of 3 different nationalities in the Scala of the Kasbah.Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch.

This canon has an indentation at the mouth of fire
from the bombardement of the town in 1844 by Prince Joinville. This canon caused the death of the renegade
artificer Omar Al Alj and it is said that his head was found outside Bab al Jihade.

"Because the sultan received information that all the iron cannons at hisfavorite place, the hideous Mogador,were raised by the salty the sea air, he had decided, that Mogador should be armed only with metal cannons..."
http://runeberg.org/barbaresk/0122.html

Bayt Al Latif

Scala the Kasbah was built for defense against attacks from the sea.
The fortification is constructed in two levels. Ground floor with storage rooms for miltary material.
The founder of the new town Essaouira, Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah ordered the constructing of the Scala of the port and the Scala of the Kasbah. (3 years to finish)

There are 3 entrys of the Scala.

The main gate at Rue Laalouj

The south entrance to the Scala Kasbah

1910

Bab Al Jihad (Door of the "holy war")
leads to the quartres Bani Antar.

Bab al Jihade - porte restaurée Etterbeak (Belgium)

 

 

A comman misunderstanding is that the Portuguese built the Scalas. But the Portuguese occupied Mogador in the 1600th century and let build the Castello Real in 1506 and left 1510 after strong resistance from the local tribes. Of this casle there are no traces left - The Scala of the port was built on its place.