CHEFCHAOUEN MOROCCO'S BLUE CITY

Chefchaouen, the blue pearl of the Rif 

Chefchaouen

       Its Berber name is ‘’ accawen ‘’, the horns, in reference to the shapes of the Kelaa and Meggou mountains at the foot of which stands Chefchaouen at an altitude of 600 meters.

Getting to Chefchaouen is absolutely magical. The city is discovered once crossed the last bends of the tortuous road of the Rif which leads there. Then appear the white and blue houses of its medina hanging on the sides of the mountain.

Formerly secret and authentic mountain village, with its alleys and houses presenting vast shades of blue (against mosquitoes), Chefchaouen has become an essential tourist destination in northern Morocco, so that the number of tourists is sometimes almost equal to that of the local population.

Behind the mosque near the Ras El-Ma source, a path climbs towards the Talassemtane Natural Park located a few kilometers away.

If in the Rif the cultivation of cannabis is traditional and it is common among many Moroccans to smoke kif, consumption, and trade are nevertheless prohibited and strongly repressed. So be careful...

         VISIT CHEFCHAOUEN:

The Medina:

Made of narrow streets going up and down continuously, the medina of Chaouen, less lively than most of the old Moroccan cities, is not very large either. Between the blue of the houses, no corporatist souk or stalls overloaded with spices or traditional pastries, nor large market.

Lined with cafes and restaurants, Uta el Hamam square is the nerve center. Until the 1970s, it housed the city's souk, Berber mountaineers, and traders who settled their pigeons feasted on the remains of their food. They were so numerous to be attracted there that the birds gave their name instead.

Near the lane which climbs towards the kasbah, a double carved wooden door shelters a foundouk, a caravanserai, always used by Rif mountain people on souk days.

In the eastern part of the medina is the small market of Makhzen. A place is renowned for its ceramic exhibitions.

The Kasbah:

Located in Uta el Hamam square next to the great El-Aadam mosque, the Kasbah was built, like the rest of the small Rif city, in the second half of the 15th century to protect it from Christian incursions at a time when Ibn Rachid had called for holy war against them.

The kasbah includes, in addition to the mosque, various dwellings protected by an imposing crenelated tower and high walls. Inside we discover the garden of the old prison.

Inside the kasbah the Chefchaouen Ethnographic Museum. Interesting despite the few exhibits. However, weaving looms, pottery, photos of traditional costumes, weapons, and powder pears, and even furniture trace regional history and customs. Upstairs there are many photographs from the time of the Spanish protectorate.

El-Masjid El-Aadam, the great mosque:

Contiguous to the kasbah and dating from the same period, the Great Mosque, El-Masjid El-Aadam, with its octagonal minaret, one of the few in Morocco with this shape,

Housing around sixty students from all over the kingdom, it was responsible, in addition to being a place of prayer, for teaching the humanities and Islamic sciences.

It is also within its walls that the ulama swore allegiance to the Alawite rulers and that the dahirs of the sultans were read.

Market place:

Located avenue Chari el-Khattabi going down behind the Post office, the place du souk, becomes Monday and Thursday morning the meeting place for Chaouni artisans and Berber mountain dwellers.

We discover a large selection of spices, rolls of fabric like the Fouta, striped piece of fabric that Rif women wear on their skirts, djellabas with pointed hoods, and of course many manufactured items.

Place Mohammed V: 

The circular square located between the medina and the market square houses a garden dotted with ceramic and wrought iron benches. In the center is a fountain in which bronze frogs spit water. Many ATMs are scattered around.

          A LITTLE HISTORY OF CHEFCHAOUEN:

The Chefchaouen city was founded in 1471 by Mulay Ali Ben Rachid. Located in a difficult place to access, it dominated the trading route between Tetouan and Fez and served as a base to curb the entry of the Portuguese influence from Ceuta

From the 15th to the 17th century, the city prospered and grew considerably with the arrival of the Moors and Séfardis expelled from Spain. Even today, the Andalusian district is one of the most populated in the medina

The Kasbah was built by Mulay Alí Ben Rachid and then restored by Mulay Ismail at the end of the 17th century to defend the city first from the Portuguese, then from the Berber rebel tribes and finally from the Spanish.

The city was closed to all foreigners, and in particular to Christians, almost until the beginning of the Spanish occupation around 1920.

However, at the beginning of the 19th century the first travelers arrived: the French explorer Charles Foucauld, disguised as a rabbi, and the English journalist Walter Harris, disguised as a resident of the Rif, as well as William Summers, an American missionary who died there stocked.

Between 1924 and 1926, during the Rif War, Abd-el Krim succeeded in driving out the Spanish, but they occupied Chaouen again in September 1926, this time to stay there until independence. Moroccan in 1956.