The Mogador Islands, or Îles Purpuraires, are a small archipelago lying about 1.5 km off Essaouira on Morocco's Atlantic coast. Their name recalls the ancient Tyrian-purple dye once made here from murex shellfish under the Mauretanian king Juba II. Today the islets form a protected nature reserve that shelters the only non-Mediterranean breeding colony of Eleonora's falcon, alongside the ruins of a 19th-century fortress, prison and a mosque. Landing is restricted to protect the birds, but the islands are a striking sight from Essaouira's ramparts and beach.
