
20/08/2021
Sunrise in Essaouira
This morning, Hassan Mesfar is late for work. In the blue light before dawn, he emerges at the wheel of his car through a cloud of dust and bounces off the pot-holed road leading into Essaouira's Place des Grands Taxis. After nonchalantly avoiding a collision with an orange vendor's cart and a skinny stray dog, he speeds through the square's gate before finding a space to park at the back of the high-walled yard. Mesfar is a well-known and much-loved character in the picturesque and ancient Moroccan seaport, instantly recognisable by the car he drives: a 1974 Mercedes Stroke 8. In the UK, such a vehicle would belong in a classic car collection but in Africa it's just another rolling ruin. Nevertheless, it has the dubious honour of being the oldest taxi in Essaouira – but not by much, as there are plenty of other battered and bruised diesel vehicles long past their sell-by date. Indeed, in this city