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Ninety seconds on Skala de la Ville
Free to walk and open on the sea side, this rampart puts you beside a row of bronze cannons with Dutch and Spanish inscriptions, facing straight into the Atlantic wind.
Built in 1765, the Kasbah sqala stands at the north-west tip of the medina, and the guns along its top still point out to sea. It is one of two citadels on the town's sea walls; the other is the Skala du Port at the harbour, and the ramparts between them are cut with monumental gates.
The cannons are bronze, and many carry Dutch and Spanish inscriptions you can read up close. They face the open Atlantic, and the wind comes straight off the water onto the platform.
The fortification has two levels. The top one carries the line of cannons and looks out over the sea, the harbour and the Île de Mogador, and its seaward edge has no fence or bars.
Rue Skala is the way in, and the entrance is easy to miss. Walk to the top of the street, past its artisan shops, and go through the stone arch.
Climb to the top level and walk the line of cannons, looking out to the harbour and the island. Keep to the inner side, away from the open edge, even when you step back for a photograph.
Stay for the wind and the waves rolling in. The cannon platform is quiet in the morning and very busy in the evening, and guards whistle the wall clear at sunset.
Come in the morning, when the sun throws long shadows across the cannons, and avoid midday on weekdays, when the wall is at its busiest.
If you plan to wait here for sunset, bring a book and claim a spot on the wall early. Do the ticketed Skala du Port at the harbour first, because it closes in the late afternoon and this wall is free.
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