Arabian nights and days

Fishing boats are lined along the seaside of Essaouira, against the ancient fortress.

Mehdi parked the SUV and led us through a rabbit warren of stone paths that crisscrossed an organic labyrinth of houses. The occasional square allowed shafts of sunlight to penetrate down past the thick four-story walls, which keeps the houses deliciously cool inside.

Children played soccer while mothers watched from open doorways. We jostled with donkeys pulling carts for right of passage. If it weren't for the electrical wires and satellite dishes above our heads, we could have been in a medieval town.

In the past two decades, many of the city's riads have been converted into chic guesthouses and restaurants, with designs running the gamut from contemporary to theatrical. AnaYela was once a former home. We entered its white stucco courtyard with central swimming pool and were shown the centuries-old manuscript by a young girl named Yela.

The German owners Bernd and Andrea Kolb discovered it during the property's renovation. They learned that Yela used to live in the house and fell in love with a boy who became her husband. Yela's romance inspired many aspects of the riad, including a corner of the roof dubbed the flying carpet where guests indulge in candlelit dinners.

Our room was the honeymoon suite, and we had the benefit of a roaring fire to take the chill off the winter evenings. An enormous onyx bathtub easily could have fit half a dozen people, and I loved the arabesque doorways that gave the riad a sense of place.