Bourj El Baroud is a ruined watchtower

Watchtower

A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...

 located somewhat south of the mouth of Oued Ksob

Oued Ksob

Oued Ksob is a river in western Morocco that discharges to the Atlantic Ocean on a broad beach slightly south of the city of Essaouira and slightly north of the village of Diabat. The mouth of the river along with the nearby Iles Purpuraires is known for sighting of the rare species Eleonora's...

 near Essaouira

Essaouira

Mogador redirects here, for the hamlet in Surrey see Mogador, Surrey.Essaouira is a city in the western Moroccan economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, on the Atlantic coast. Since the 16th century, the city has also been known by its Portuguese name of Mogador or Mogadore...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. This structure is located on a broad sandy beach directly across from Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

n ruins at the southeast tip of the main islet of Iles Purpuraires

Iles Purpuraires

Iles Purpuraires are a set of small islands off the western coast of Morocco at the bay located at Essaouira. These islands were settled in antiquity by the Phoenicians, chiefly to exploit certain marine resources and as a promontory fort...

. (Hogan, 2007) This beach is likely the one referred to in Herodotus

Herodotus

Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...

' account of the Phoenicians' trading with the indigenous peoples of this part of western Morocco. About one kilometre inland is the village of Diabat

Diabat

Diabat is a village in western Morocco near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean about two kilometres south of the city of Essaouira. The Bordj El Berod is a ruined watchtower located somewhat south of the mouth of Oued Ksob near about one kilometre west of Diabat.-References:* Mark Ellingham The...

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In popular culture

The locals tell that the ruin inspired the Jimi Hendrix song "Castles Made of Sand

Castles Made of Sand (song)

"Castles Made of Sand" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their second studio album, Axis: Bold as Love, in 1967 in the UK and 1968 in the U.S. It was available in two different stereo mixes and a mono mix....

" on The Jimi Hendrix Experience album Axis: Bold As Love

Axis: Bold as Love

Axis: Bold as Love is the second studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Under pressure from their record company to follow-up the successful debut of their May 1967 album Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love was released on Track Records in the UK in December 1967...

. In fact, Hendrix only visited Essaouria once, in 1969, two years after that album was made, so the story is false.

The castle was built by Mohammed ben Abdallah in the 18th century, but is mistakenly referred to as "The Portuguese Castle" by local guides. This is a confusion with the Portuguese castle built in 1506 in the Essaouira city harbour by the Portuguese, the Castelo Real

Castelo Real

Castelo Real was a Portuguese castle established in Mogador, modern Essaouira, by the Portuguese in 1506.-Construction :The Portuguese king Dom Manuel ordered Diogo de Azambuja, the founder of Castello da Mina, to build a castle on a small island, now called "La Petite Ile", in the Moroccan...

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