Why Chefchaouen is a Unique Gem Within Morocco

We recommend watching the video version of this episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here:
 
"Why Chefchaouen is a Unique Gem Within Morocco"

Azdean sits down on-location with local guide Hamid to learn about the history of Chefchaouen, the famous blue city of northern Morocco.

This small town roughly 4 hours north of Fes, or 2 hours south of Tangier, has been attracting tourists for decades and, in the age of Instagram, gets more popular every year.

As Hamid and Azdean emphasize, Chefchaouen is not just about the stunning colours, but the beautiful architecture, historic Medina and kasbah, and its natural setting in the Rif mountains. 

Gentle creeks of water wind their way through the town, artisans and craftsmakers line the paths and lane ways, and fresh orange juice vendors squeeze delicious nectar to help you on the climb up to the Spanish mosque, where you get stunning views of the mountains, valleys and the rolling hills of blue. 

Hamid explains the historic founding of Chefchaouen as a refuge for both Muslim and Jewish refugees during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. The town is a perfect snapshot of Morocco's welcoming and tolerant nature.

And we finally get a definitive answer as to why the city is blue. Although you may expect that this is something dating back centuries, the reality may surprise you!

Chefchaouen is a calm and quiet jewel of Morocco, with many wonderful features to attract travellers looking for the exotic and colorful, as well as peaceful retreats, fresh mountain air, tremendous hiking and a laid-back spirit and hospitality. 

We previously posted this recording as audio-only, but now have a beautiful video version to share with you. 

We know that it won't take much to convince you to add it to your Morocco itinerary!

Do you dream of exploring the enchanting land of Morocco?

Destination Morocco is your ultimate travel experience for those seeking luxury and adventure. We specialize in crafting bespoke itineraries tailored to your unique tastes and desires.

If you're a discerning traveler who values an immersive, curated adventure, visit www.destinationsmorocco.com, and let us bring your dream Moroccan vacation to life.

Learn more about Azdean and Destination Morocco.

Explore our Private Tours and Small Group Tours!

Transcript

HAMID: [00:00:00] Over here we are in Chefchaouen, Chefchaouen is one of the best destinations nowadays in Morocco.

AZDEAN: Welcome back to Destination Morocco podcast. In today's episode, we're here from Chefchaouen, and we have a local guide, an expert. He is actually a national guide, Mr. Hamid. And he's gonna take us through a journey. Everything you need to know and visit and see in Chefchaouen. Mr. Hamid, [00:01:00] welcome 

HAMID: to our podcast.

Thank you so much, and thank you for being here. So, welcome to Chefchaouen, to enjoy this beautiful area. I'm Hamid Tudum, a local guide based in Chefchaouen. I do all of Morocco's circuits. So here we are in Chefchaouen. Chefchaouen is one of the best destinations nowadays in 

AZDEAN: Morocco.

I completely agree.

Now, Mr. Hamid, can you tell the audience a little about you, a little bit about your story, and then we'll move to Chefchaouen, the story of Chefchaouen and how it got its name, and so forth. And the colors, the blue color and the white. So would you please tell us your story? 

HAMID: I used to be a national guide in the last years from 2012-18, but I used to do this job for a long time.

Now I'm licensed guide from the Department of Tourism. Of [00:02:00] course, after a long process, exams, I'm so happy to be as a Moroccan guide, and I'm so, so enjoying my life, my job. So I would like to explain a little bit, as a small introduction, explaining the meaning of the town, which is Chefchaouen.

Before we do that, 

AZDEAN: I have couple of questions for you. You know, Chefchaouen, the north side of Morocco, the northern part of Morocco, they speak a few languages, quite a bit actually. Just for the audience, what are the languages you speak please, Mr. Hamid? Just to give them an idea.

HAMID: I do speak French and English. Of course, I arise with French from the beginning, and I studied for a long time the British and American accent and language, [00:03:00] at the University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah in Fes. I love these languages, so it was my dream from when I used to be a teen, I try to learn this English. I read a lot of books.

That's amazing.

So I do feel so comfortable with my English. Your English is excellent. Thank you so much. And during working in hotels and restaurants, I learned also Spanish. Spanish, yes. A little bit Portuguese and Hebrew. Hebrew. 

AZDEAN: Yeah. Nice. Yeah, thank you.

So as you can see, he speaks quite, you know, a variety of languages. So, a lot of people can book you and hire you as their local guide, or even national guide. That's incredible. So, go ahead and tell us a little bit of history about Chefchaouen, and also how the city got its name and what does it mean.

HAMID: Chefchaouen, it's considered like one of the most antique old areas in Morocco, especially here in the north. [00:04:00] So this town used to be founded dating back to 1471. 1471. Yeah. Of course, being founded by the Moorish refugees of south of Spain. That we call it Andalusia.

AZDEAN: Okay. 

HAMID: The Moorish 

AZDEAN: refugees from southern Spain. 

HAMID: Yeah. So, you know, during the Spanish Inquisition, both of the community, the Muslim one and the Jewish one in Andalusia in south of Spain, they used to be like a victim of the Inquisition. So they came here as refugees. 

AZDEAN: I see. 

HAMID: And they choose this area hidden between the mountains, the Rif Mountains.

Yeah. So they start building the Medina. The first constructions in the Andalous neighborhood. So they surrounded Medina with a big wall, it looked like a, military settlement. And Chefchaouen being founded by Molay Ali in Russia. He is a Muslim Moorish man. So the first arrivals to [00:05:00] Chefchaouen used to be Muslim community.

Then the most movements used to be the Jewish community of Spain, of Andalusia. So they lived both of them in the Medina and, the first constructions used to be in the Andalous neighborhood. I see. Including the fortress, the casbah. The casbah. So the casbah, it looks like a military settlement that's been founded to fight the Portuguese invasion to the north of Morocco.

Yeah, [00:06:00] the Medina is so busy all the time. Investing here, to invest in tourism, is a successful idea. So I'm welcoming you to come to Chefchaouen, maybe enjoying the area, maybe doing a kind of investment also here. Oh, for 

AZDEAN: sure. A hundred percent. You know, Chefchaouen is really a unique city in many different ways, but it makes you feel like once you come to Chefchaouen, you have to come back.

It's kind of weird, but that's how I felt last time when I was here. So it took me four years to come back and I'm glad I'm here. So I know it's not the last time, this is definitely a better experience than last one for sure, because of you. Because I got lost and I just, all I see is stairs and cats and stairs and cats.

HAMID: Yes. 

AZDEAN: It was fun, still it was fun. I really enjoyed it. Then I went up, the Spanish mosque was incredible. And we did a small restaurant [00:07:00] eating and tasting, the food is incredible. Can you tell us a little bit how different the food in Chefchaouen than probably the rest of Morocco?

I know tajine is made differently anywhere you go, but Chefchaouen's food is just, it's very special. 

HAMID: Yeah, the best proof I will tell you is that basically using the organic products. Organic everything. So either for vegetables, for fridge, a lot of things are so amazing and the local food, the gastronomy here is based on spices and plants that give nice flavors for our food.

And also using the slow cooking. Basically on the wood. Yes. So almost all of the public here, they use the ovens. Yes. Some of them, they use the gas, for example, in their kitchen. But, our first specialty, for example, of Chefchaouen is the tajine. I will tell you about the pottery. [00:08:00] The pottery of Chefchaouen, for example, is one of the most beautiful quality of the pottery here. Oh wow. And it is coming from the Mediterranean, from Oued Laou. This is Oued Laou, it is so famous with this kind of pottery for dishes, for anything that we use in the kitchen. It is made from the ground. Also the tagra tajine. It's a simple happy one.

It is composed from tomatoes, from potatoes, also anchovies. Anchovies. It's so simple. It's so simple. But is so tasty. But the best important idea for the tagra is that we cook it in the public ovens. Oh, I see. Not some gas. Okay. Yeah. We passed by one earlier. A lot of food you can enjoy it,

like the Moroccan, all of the food that you know in Morocco, we have similar one, and also the local couscous. Local couscous. [00:09:00] It's called by "tfaya." Tfaya. No vegetables just onions, caramelized sweet ones. The goat, the meat. The goat meat. Okay. Is so tasty. It's nice also for the people, the diabetic people so they can consume this kind of meat. Okay. The goat meat. 

AZDEAN: Okay. Yeah. Sounds delicious. 

HAMID: Yeah, so delicious. 

AZDEAN: So, as we are getting to the end of this episode, Mr. Hamid, is there any questions that I should have asked you but I didn't or forgot?

HAMID: I think, everything was good. Right? But maybe I forgot to mention many informations like the Festival of Music here. The local festival. It's an international festival of music. International. Yeah, that we call it in Spanish by Allegria. Happiness, 

AZDEAN: Allegria. 

HAMID: So [00:10:00] by the two first weeks of August, we celebrate a big international famous festival of music, the Allegria, where you can access a lot of sense of music.

From different continents, from Europe, from America, from Asia, from Africa. During the two first weeks of August, the medina of Chefchaouen became more and more active. We don't sleep by, even by night. The people, they keep awake, you know, enjoying this kind of music here in Chefchaouen. 

AZDEAN: It's funny, I mention Chefchaouen in the podcast all the time, and I say "they're not morning people." Thank you so 

much for this. And they're, actually, they're not morning people. If you wake up in the morning, the city will be empty, so, 

HAMID: yeah. Yeah, I know. They're laid back and you know, very cool. It's so quiet. Yeah. It's so quiet, amazing, and thank you so much for being here.

Oh, 

AZDEAN: absolutely. We are 

HAMID: so [00:11:00] proud. Happy. Especially after the Covid, you know, during the Covid you suffered. Yes. Because we used to live with the others. We share our daily life with others. It's not like big areas. You know, we have a small town. But we don't have also big capacity to host the people.

Yes. I will tell you that the local families here, when it's high season, we don't host the people. 

Yes. 

HAMID: If you have an extra apartment, you give it to the people, to the families. In Chefchaouen you feel one of the locals from your first day. Oh, wow. Yeah. Even the neighbors, they are taking care of the others, the tourists, when they cannot find their accommodation, maybe you can knock at the door asking for food.

It's so common here in our town because, this is the reason. 

AZDEAN: Yeah. 

HAMID: Our reason, our objective is to satisfy the people, is to meet them again and again. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. 

AZDEAN: Actually, [00:12:00] walking down, or up, the neighborhood, the streets, you know, earlier I actually- we've seen this with the families.

Everybody helps everybody. We saw the kids, you know, they're just cleaning the little streets. Taking care of the, taking care of the neighborhood. Yeah. Just making it, keeping it clean, just for free. People come, they make a donation or don't make a donation, but the kids are just- maybe just a smile.

Yeah, exactly. They feel so happy. Also, I wanted to ask you on this question, I know you answered it earlier, but so many people ask me for it and sometimes I don't know what to tell them because of many stories that we have heard. So, what's the reasoning, or the story behind the blue color? Was Chefchaouen always blue? Was it just a regular city at some point that changed? What's the story, and who paints those houses blue? And how many [00:13:00] times a year are they being painted? 

HAMID: So honestly, Chefchaouen never been blue as before. Before the local people, they do paint their houses just by the whitewash limestone. Okay. Okay. For the doors, the windows, maybe balconies, they use the green colors. This is the so common before, in all of Morocco. Chefchaouen also, it used to be painted only with the white. This is how it used to be before. Just the exception of the blue, the indigo was a part of the Jewish community culture. Yes. Just different, they never painted the whole building in their neighborhood. Some of those Jewish families, they used to surround their windows and balconies using the blue. Yes, of course. When the Moorish people, they moved right here, Muslim and Jewish, they brought with them a lot of culture, a lot of things.

[00:14:00] Traditions. Yes. So the blue was a part of the Jewish community culture. Just the different, they never painted the whole building, the whole neighborhood. I see. Yeah. They used to, in some cases, they surrounded their windows using the blue. Just parts. Yeah, just parts of the windows. And it's about an organic pigment painting that we call it Nila.

Nila, yeah. Nila. So we mix it with the limestone. And who do this job are the locals, from their own money. I see. No need for support for others or governments or whatever, but just the people, they feel so happy when doing the cleaning every day. And they can paint their houses when they feel when it's damaged with the rain, maybe dirty, they can repaint it again.

It's so easy for the use and that's why Chefchaouen looks all the time gorgeous, attractive. 

AZDEAN: Okay. Yeah. So the other question that I have, just as a follow up, [00:15:00] how many times a year? Do we do the painting? 

HAMID: Yes. I think, as example of my house, we do it just once a year. Once a year. Once a year. Okay.

In some, there is an exception, in some cases. Some of the locals in the neighborhood, they can repaint it twice, maybe three times. When it's damaged. Okay. Maybe dirty. They can do with the painting. I see. If it's keep so clean, you can keep 

AZDEAN: it like this. Okay. Okay. Because some say they do it twice a year, some say different opinions, but you know, you are a local.

Yeah. You live here, you know the culture. You live the tradition. 

HAMID: And there is no obligation. Exactly. There is no obligation to paint your home with the blue. Just the local people here, they, we used to share a lot of things together. 

AZDEAN: Yes. 

HAMID: Celebrations, wedding, parties, maybe funerals, cleaning and the painting.

Also, we do share it, we feel happy when sharing this kind of things, of jobs. Yeah. 

AZDEAN: So the [00:16:00] next question that I have, Mr. Hamid, as a follow up, when did the painting start? 

HAMID: The first painting for the whole area started on 1950. In 19 50. So, new for the town. Okay, When the first local lady, she painted all over her house with the blue, she became so attractive for the others. So they start to do the same thing. It's so funny to tell you, as I told you before. Yes. But it's all true. This is how the indigo invades all of the medina of Chefchaouen. Oh wow.

And there are many other towns in Morocco where we're known with the blue, like Asilah, like Essaouira, like Larache also. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. 

AZDEAN: That's incredible. 

HAMID: So thank you so much again for being here, and hopefully, you enjoyed this medina. It's a national park that will be worth being visited, and of course, the people who got already here

they came again to this town and they, you can compare the difference [00:17:00] between the biggest area and the smallest one, like Chefchaouen. You feel so safe. You feel so, you feel enjoying your time in this town here in Chefchaouen. And the life still traditional. Yes. Still traditional, no stress in life in Chefchaouen.

You can enjoy, you can do a lot of things in one day. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. 

AZDEAN: You're very welcome, Mister Hamid. We're very grateful for you. We're very grateful for your time and, you know, spending just half a day with you in Chefchaouen just gives me a completely different perspective.

I've seen some things, some traditional things that we used to have in Marrakech and other cities, but they're gone because of the changes. And Chefchaouen is very safe. There's no crime here. Thank you so much. I love it. I love it. We're spending two days, so I can't wait for the rest of the day.

HAMID: And the things that gives Morocco kind of [00:18:00] a cultural richness is it's diversity. Yes. Each part of Morocco has its own things, like the dialect, the food, the gastronomy, maybe music tradition. Yes. And this is why Morocco looks stable. Yes. Look nice. Amazing with its diversity. The Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Eastern and the High Atlas, also the amazing deserts also. So everyone coming to Chefchaouen, to Morocco, I will tell him thank you and welcome to enjoy Morocco, one of the most virgin areas in north of Africa. Yes. A hundred percent. This concludes the episode of Chefchaouen Thank you for being with us. Thank you for being loyal to us and we're very grateful. We're doing this because of you, and we're doing this with you in mind as well. So thank you for listening. Have a wonderful day. And 

welcome back home. Chefchaouen is waiting [00:19:00] for you! 

AZDEAN: Do you dream of exploring the enchanted land of Morocco? Discover the magic with Destination Morocco, the ultimate travel experience for those seeking luxury and adventure. We specialize in crafting bespoke itineraries tailored to your unique tastes and desires. If you are a discerning traveler who values an immersive curated adventure, then visit

destinationsmorocco.com.

That's destinations (with an s) morocco.com, and let us bring your dream Moroccan vacation to life.