The blue city of Morocco
A little history of Chefchaouen
Mulay Ali Ben Rachid The city founded Chefchaouen in 1471. Located in an enclave of difficult access, it dominated the trade route between Tetuan and Fez and served as a base to curb the entry and influence of the Portuguese from Ceuta.
During the 15th and 17th centuries, the city prospered and grew considerably with the arrival of the Moors and Sephardim expelled from Spain. To this day, the Andalusian quarter is one of the most populated in the medina.
Mulay Ali Ben Rachid built the kasbah and then Mulay Ismail restored it at the end of the 17th century to defend the city first from the Portuguese, then from the rebellious Berber tribes, and then from the Spanish.
The city was closed to all foreigners, especially Christians, until practically the beginning of the Spanish occupation in 1920.
However, at the end of the 19th century, the first travelers arrived: the French explorer Charles Foucauld, disguised as a rabbi, the English journalist Walter Harris as a Rifian, and William Summers, an American missionary, who died there by poisoning.
Between 1924 and 1926, during the Rif War, Abd-el Krim managed to expel the Spaniards, but they soon occupied Chaouen again in September 1926, this time to stay until Moroccan independence in 1956.
In addition to the luminous blue color everywhere, Chefchaouen is full of a vast history unfolding over hundreds of years.
The city may be small and old, but it is a very pleasant place for travelers, especially artists. It is a historic city that represents northern Morocco’s traditions, leaving every visitor in awe. With its excellent accommodations and beautiful views and delicious restaurants, Chefchaouen should be your next visit!
Chefchaoun is in the Rif Mountains of Morocco, with absolutely amazing nature, people and landscapes. It is one of the cleanest and coolest cities in the world.
Chefchaoun was founded in 1471 by the Moroccan Sultan Idris I, from the leading family in Morocco, Adarissa. The city received a large number of Syrian refugees who fled Europe for Andalusia, under Moroccan control at the time. Chefchaouen was and still is a place where Muslims and Jews have lived together for hundreds of years.
Apart from Marrakech, Casablanca, Agadir, and Tangier. Chefchaouen is also a very touristic city, so much so that even during some periods of the year, the number of tourists exceeds the number of inhabitants.
Recently, Chefchaouen has appeared in a ranking as the 6th most beautiful city in the world. Paris came 7th so that you can imagine!
In this city, everything is easy and conveniently provided, such as transportation, tourist offices, free guided tours, clean and elegant hotels, entertainment venues, and traditional restaurants. Moreover, all this is about 70% cheaper than accommodation and services in Europe, moreover, from Europe. You can only travel to Morocco with Ryanair and to all cities. So this is what makes Morocco your next destination!
The truth is that there is a little atmosphere, we suppose because it is already too late. Apparently, in summer this area is very crowded because there are many people who come here to swim and spend the day.
We spent just 1 hour in the area and as it was not long before it started to get dark we decided to return to our accommodation in Tetouan. The day has been very complete. But we still have much more to see in Morocco, so now it’s time to rest.
We are content to do only a small section of the route. The entire route can take us at least 2 hours of walking and we do not have that much time.
If there is a place in our trip to northern Morocco that we are especially excited to visit, that is Chefchauen or Chaouen. It is a mountain village, located about 65 kilometers from Tetouan and 115 km from Tangier. You can call it Chaouen or the blue pearl of Morocco.
Before the tourists were not allowed to enter Chefchaouen. Today it is one of the most touristic cities in Morocco. You can notice that its streets were very lively with tourists. Even though we are in the month of November, the low season. But despite this, we also found lonely and quiet corners in which to enjoy this wonderful town.
In addition to waterfalls, we also pass through areas with tables and chairs where you can sit down to have tea, eat or just rest a little.
Akchour waterfalls
As there is still time until nightfall, we go to the Akchour waterfalls, about 30 kilometers from Chefchaouen. Here we will enjoy hiking trails, waterfalls and why not, some tea with stunning views.
Outa el Hamman Square
The liveliest and most important square of Chaouen. Here we find a great bustle of locals and tourists on the terraces of the various bars, tea shops, and restaurants.
In this square, there are two of the most important buildings in the city. The Great Mosque, which does not allow entry to tourists, and the Alcazaba (Kasbah).
Is it because perhaps there were no Jews in Chauen. or because they might have been an irrelevant minority, or because there were no relations between European citizens and Moroccans similar to the magnificent relations that existed in Tangier, Tetouan, Larache, Arcila, and Alcazarquivir, for example?
The most probable thing is that the writers, for their age, would not have coincided with their Jewish fellow citizens. They had very little relation or knowledge of them, except in exceptional cases.
We are going to give a small historical review of the city of “Los Cuernos”. The denomination comes according to the legend of the verb shuf “look”.
The Rifian voice Arabized Chauen’s “horns”, to verify the existence of an important Jewish population. Until the decade of the forties in which it began its emigration to Tetuan, Ceuta, Venezuela, and Israel. Places of destination where they have preserved with their descendants the customs and memories of their beloved and unforgettable Chasen.
Chauen was as most of us “Protectorate ancients” remember, in 1471 by the sheriff of the nearby brotherhood of the sacred mountain of Yebel Alam (in Beni Arous), Mulay Ali ben Rachid who built a fortress to attack and defend against the Portuguese who occupied Ceuta and Ksar Seguer (Alcazarseguer) on the coast of the Strait. Legend has it that he built a city in Andalusian style so that his beloved would not miss his homeland. Around the fortress over the old Berber village, a small population of Rifian origin settled.
It happened a decade before the mayor of the Granada city of Piñar (countryman of the journalist Tico Medina). Sidi Al Mandari rebuilt and repopulated the city of Tetouan with Muslims and Jews from Granada; who received help from their fellow countrymen from Chauen.
From this city was Saida al-Hurra, a young Andalusian beauty whom Al Mandari married. And who ruled Tetouan upon the death of her elderly husband. But both cities did not begin to grow and develop until two decades. Later, when they were populated by the Sephardic Spanish Jews, expelled in 1492 by the Catholic kings and by the Spanish Muslim refugees from the Kingdom of Granada. During the XVI and XVII centuries, the Muslim population increased in the two cities with the arrival of the Moorish Spaniards from Andalusia. Mainly after the massive expulsion ordered by Felipe III in 1609.
