The nickname “Chefchaouen” is “Tarifit” or “Tamazigh” in origin, formed from the words “Isakon” or “Echaouen”, which allude to “the horns”, and “Chef” which means “look at.” Chefchaouen, therefore, means “look at the horns,” referring to the two mountain peaks that dominate the region. Chefchaouen has earned the moniker “Morocco’s Blue Pearl” in recent years. It is one of the most well-known Moroccan cities in the world, famed for its classic blue and white buildings that give its lanes a tranquil and attractive atmosphere.
The Past | Chefchaouen Morocco
The city was created in 1471 by Moulay Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami, a distant descendant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, with a population mostly composed of evicted Andalusians and Moors. The original village was only a tiny stronghold, today known as Chefchaouen’s Kasbah, and with the development of the medina, some structures rose outside of the citadel gradually. During the Middle Ages, the region was occupied by native tribes, Moors from Spain, and Jews, and in 1920, the Spanish captured the town, ruling it until 1956 when Morocco won independence.
Why It is Blue
There are several beliefs, such as “keeping mosquitos away,” “keeping cool the dwellings,” or “symbolising the importance of the city’s Ras el-Maa supply of water,” however the majority of the residents believe it is blue to respect Jewish custom and culture. Blue, according to Jewish beliefs, signifies the sky, which is associated with heaven and God. It is reported that the first Jews in Chefchaouen began painting their walls blue in 1492terracotta-colouredsunset, and that between 1930 and 1940, a surge of Jewish immigrants fleeing Nazi persecution contributed further blue colours to the city.
Landmarks of the City | Chefchaouen Morocco
The Grand Mosque
It has an octagonal minaret, which is distinctive in comparison to the many square minarets that soar above the country’s numerous mosques. The form was influenced by Andalusian styles, which Muslims from Spain introduced to the nation. Built of stone, the colours of brown and beige contrast with the neighbouring blue and white.
Bab el Ain
Bab el Ain is one of the primary entrances of Chefchaouen’s famous 15th-century medina. It is situated on the medina’s southern outskirts, near to a big cemetery. The towering terracotta-colored stone façade features a modest archway through which people can walk, as well as small windows in the top half.
Kasbah
The goal was to protect the fledgling community against invasions by the Portuguese and the Spaniards. The Kasbah Museum, also known as the Ethnographic Museum, is housed within the walls. The stronghold includes 11 towers, some of which may be climbed for panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. The architecture is Andalusian-Maghrebian in style with arches, domes, pillars, passages, and parapets. Take a look inside the historic jail, replete with wall-mounted shackles. The Kasbah is only a few steps away from the Grand Mosque.
Zaouia of Moulay Abdeslam Ben Mchich Alami
It is a shrine located in the Rif Mountains, around an hour’s drive from Chefchaouen. The white-washed stone shrine was constructed in the 13th century to contain the relics of its namesake, a notable Sufi saint. The shrine has a green entrance built into the white walls, and non-Muslim visitors are not permitted, as is the case with many religious sites in Morocco.
Spanish Mosque
The Spanish constructed the mosque in the 1920s, but it was never utilised. It has since fallen into disrepair and is now closed, but the gardens in front are a great site to take in the blue city and watch the sun set behind the green hills while sipping freshly squeezed orange juice.
Houses
Chefchaouen’s traditional homes were built of stone, brick, tile, wood, soil, and lime. In the middle of each home is an open yard surrounded by passageways and bedrooms. Fruit trees such as oranges, lemons, berries, and grapes, as well as fragrant shrubs such as night-blooming jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) and Jasmine (Jasminum officinale), are frequently used to embellish the yards.
From a physiognomic standpoint, the city is influenced by Andalusian architecture, such as the shape of curved brick forming the arches that strengthen the houses and decorate the blue narrow alleyways, the traditional pipe network that provides water to the houses, and the gardening know-how visible inside houses and mosques. Many notable Chefchaouen families have passed on the skill of Andalusian music to their descendants. Indeed, the Andalusian families that immigrated and lived in Chefchaouen have preserved Andalusian music as an important intangible cultural legacy, which has become the fundamental ritual of Chefchaouen religious festivals and social celebrations.
The City | Chefchaouen Morocco
Chefchaouen has maintained significant commercial links with the “Jbala” region’s population, including the “Akhmas,” “Ghomara,” “Ghazaoua,” and “Sanhaja” tribes. Due to their continuous conflicts to seize ownership of wealth sources like water supplies, grazing grounds, and rich fields, the federations of these major tribes were sometimes a source of strength and sometimes a source of weakness.
The rural landscape passed down over the ages was distinguished by a tribal allocation of space based on intra- and inter-tribal interactions. Houses are erected around a mosque or a marabou and occupy the heart of the concentric spatial structure of traditional agro-sylvo-pastoral systems at the level of each dshar (i.e., sparse density of settlements defining the countryside). This regional distribution of dshars is closely related to arable land and water resource availability. Shifting agriculture extends all around, with a dispersed strip of matorrals and meadows marking the transition to woodlands on the outskirts. This ancient agro-sylvo-pastoral system, however, has been profoundly influenced by a number of current socio-cultural and economic developments.
References:
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Chefchaouen. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chefchaouen
Williams, S. (2017). An Architectural Tour of Chefchaouen, Morocco’s Majestic Blue City. [online] Culture Trip. Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/africa/morocco/articles/an-architectural-tour-of-chefchaouen-moroccos-majestic-blue-city/
Travel With Brothers. [online] Available at: https://www.travelwithbrothers.com/morocco-the-blue-pearl-chefchaouen-and-its-architecture/
