Counter-Mapping the Mellah of Essaouira, Morocco

• In Event: Sephardic & Mizrahi Vernacular Religion and Scholarship

Abstract

The Jewish Quarter or "Mellah" of Essaouira, Morocco, was once a bustling port town known as Mogador, then the heart of a large Sephardic community. While it remains a pilgrimage site for many descendants of Moroccan Jews, its built heritage is under threat of demolition due to both neglect and the increasing demands of its tourism industry. Following its inclusion on the 2018 World Monuments Watch and the conclusion of this heritage documentation work in early 2020, this presentation seeks to describe and reflect upon this interpretive experience at World Monuments Fund, with emphasis on how to navigate the process of uncovering key themes through the oral histories recorded during site visits. Translation of these oral histories of an underrepresented part of the Jewish diaspora into a comprehensive yet digestible story was a team effort, and the final results of the research, including web slideshows and an interactive web map, allow for the wider dissemination of these significant personal histories. Today these sites within the Mellah remain as a testament to the history and possibility of peaceful coexistence between religions in Morocco.

Author

• Adam Lubitz, UCLA