The small port city of Essaouira and its islands boast a rich, millennia-old past. They have welcomed the Phoenicians, the Mauritanians, and the Romans. But its influence is most evident in its more recent history, with the creation of the port and its medina in the mid-18th century by the Alaouite Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah. Among the city's must-see attractions are the port and its sqala, a square tower with watchtowers, and its basin below where the typical fishing boats float lasciviously in their distinctive blue tones; its ramparts; or even its emblematic sqala of the Kasbah and its cannons.