Even as we saw Chefchaouen from afar, we loved it. Beautifully perched beneath the raw peaks of the Rif, it is one of the prettiest towns in Morocco. The buildings are either dazzling white or brilliant blue, with red-tiled roofs.
The brilliantly blue walls are said to have been introduced to the town by Jewish refugees in 1930, who considered blue to symbolize the sky and heaven. The color caught on, and now many also believe that the blue walls serve to repel mosquitoes as well (mosquitoes dislike clear and moving water).
The name Chefchaouen, or Chaouen, as it is often called by Moroccans, refers to the shapes of the mountaintops that tower over the town, that look like the two horns (chaoua) of a goat. “Chef Chaouen” literally means, “look at the horns”.
It is a popular tourist destination because of its proximity to Tangier and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. There are approximately 200 hotels catering to the summer influx. It is also popular because of its reputation for being a prolific source of kief (marijuana) and hashish. The Chefchaouen region is one of the main producers of cannabis in Morocco. Touts are common in the streets, offering either for sale. Ed had to decline a few.
However, Chefchaouen must be the safest place in Morocco. It is safe to walk around in the streets even in the middle of the night. The food is good, there are no hassles to speak of and we found it to be a great place to relax and explore.
Founded in 1471, Chefchaouen served as a Moorish fortress for Jewish refugees fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. Over the centuries, the city grew and welcomed Jews and Christian converts alike. It dominated the mercantile route between Tetuan and Fez and served as a base to restrain the entrance and influences of the Portuguese of Ceuta. In 1920, the Spanish seized Chefchaouen to form part of Spanish Morocco. Spain returned the city after the independence of Morocco in 1956. Nowadays Chefchaouen is a rich cultural tapestry of Berber tribespeople, Muslims and Jews. There is still an old mosque on a hill - built by the Spanish.
We arrived at Dar Echaouen, a very nice, but pricey hotel arranged for by Amina in Fez. It was very cold and rainy when we arrived and we were happy to see a fire burning in a fireplace just off from the lobby, in the dining area. There was a large tour group that completely hogged every available inch of space in that warm room. We took our bags up to our room and hoped that they too had just arrived and were cold but would soon move along, either to their rooms or on a tour. They did not relinquish the space until the next morning – when the fire was out.
An old man was waiting to serve as our guide for the medina. When we saw him, we silently groaned thinking it will take us all night to see anything. Boy were we wrong! He was 74 years old and we had a hell of a time keeping up to him.
We walked down our street toward the medina where he pointed out the waterfall(Ras el Maa), just outside the medina walls. It is a meeting point for local residents who come to cool off, chat and do their laundry. There is a lovely park adjacent to the falls.
A short walk from the falls was the gate to the old medina. Chefchaouen is split into an eastern half (the medina), and a western half (the ciudad nueva, or new city). The narrow winding lanes were similar to Marrakech and Fez, but more hilly due to being a mountain village. There was one huge difference, everything was spotlessly blue! It was almost hospital antiseptic looking.
It is one thing to see the blue buildings from afar, but in amongst them, it felt like we were walking inside an iceberg or in a funky black-light alter-reality. The walls were blue, the doors and windows were blue, and in places the street was blue.
The streets were very clean, almost polished and making them very slick and slippery with the light rain that was falling. Where the street was not blue, it was a combination of paving stones and finer cobblestones, giving the illusion of flowing water. Maybe their theory of repelling mosquitoes was correct.
The blue varied in hue, tint, and tone. Some blues were very pale, in other places almost cobalt in color. Sometimes areas in the shade were lighter and brighter than those in full light.
At times a building would sport bright contrasting accent colors. The entire medina was a weird color experience and felt like its a world of its own.
They repaint every spring, with the local government supplying the paint and brushes. As a result, in places the paint is very thick, up to 2 centimeters. In places, a big blue chunk came away from the wall, looking like a piece of unchewed bubble gum.
Past the old medina gates the narrow lanes converge onto the busy and modern Plaza Uta el-Hammam and its restored kasbah. The 15th century kasbah is a heavily restored walled fortress that now contains a lovely garden and a museum. It also served as a prison in the 1920's. We were there too late in the day, and it was closed.
Although many buildings and structures maintained the blue, the dominance of blue was greatly diminished in the modern areas. The newer areas still maintained a care to detail , as was seen in some street stonework.
We came to Chefchaouen because we wanted to see the blue village. If we had researched it a bit better, we would have stayed longer. It was very laid back and breathtakingly beautiful.
