Chefchaouen is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the "Blue City". It is situated in a mountainous region in northern Morocco, between Tétouan and Ouazzane.
It was founded in 1471 by the Mulay Ali ibn Rashid, a distant descendant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The original settlement consisted of just a small fortress, now referred to as Chefchaouen's Kasbah. The fortress was erected to help defend the area from potential attacks by Portuguese invaders; at the time, Portugal was launching attacks against northern cities and towns in Morocco.
Etymology The name "Chefchaouen" is of Arabic and Berber origin coming from "Chef” (), a derivation of the Arabic word “to look”, and the Berber term “Echaouen", meaning “antlers” or “horns” and is a term used to indicate the peak of mountains. Chefchaouen thus means 'look at the horns', referring to the two mountain peaks overlooking the area. Nowadays, Chefchaouen is known as "the Blue Pearl" of Morocco, known for its traditional houses painted in blue and white. It is also colloquially known as Chaouen (; ).
History
The city was founded in 1471 (876 AH) as a small Kasbah by Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami, a descendant of Abd al-Salam ibn Mashish al-Alami and Idris I. Al-Alami built the Kasbah to defend against Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco.Fiche technique de la Grande Mosquée de Chefchaouen , شفشاون Along with the Ghomaras of the region, many Andalusi Muslims, Moriscos and Spanish and Portuguese Jews settled here during and after the Reconquista, when Spanish Christians conquered what remained of al-Andalus, the Muslim-controlled parts of the Iberian Peninsula.
Ali Ben Rashid was born in Gherzoim, a nearby village, (844 AH). He went to Emirate of Granada in 1460 and distinguished himself in battle against Christian forces. He settled in Chefchaouen and, due to his experience as a warrior, was chosen as successor to his cousin ibn Abi Jum'ah and leader of the mujahideen in the northwest of Morocco. He fought alongside the emir of Tétouan, Ali al-Mandri, who married his daughter, the Mujahida Aisha al-Hurra. The latter, known by her title, Sayyida al-Hurra, ruled Chefchaouen through a rapid period of growth and development.بوشمال فاطمة، شفشاون حاضرة شريفة بملامح أندلوسية وقسمات جبلية، مجلة المناهل، العدد 98، ص 121-148، مطبعة دار المناهل، الرباط، 2020.
Pressures of the Reconquista and the fall of Granada in 1492 led many of its people to immigrate to Morocco over several centuries. The last Moriscos (descendants of Muslims) were expelled from Spain by Philip III in 1609. Some of these refugees chose to settle in the large cities of Fes, Marrakesh, Tlemcen, Tunis, and Kairouan, while others settled in the jihadist fortress of Chefchaouen, which was in a fierce war against Portuguese armies. They established their quarters on the rugged slopes of the mountains and built their own residential quarters in the Andalusi architectural style, very similar to the traditional quarters of Granada. In a few decades, the fortress of Chefchaouen turned into a prosperous new city, in which the Andalusi-Granadan culture merged with the culture of the Ghomaras. The urban expansion included military fortifications such as walls with about ten gates and the construction of several mosques including the Great Mosque. The Andalusi community that settled in the city also included several well-known poets and philosophers.
In October 1920, General Dámaso Berenguer occupied the city for the Spanish protectorate in Morocco. Following the Spanish retreat from the city, Chefchaouen was part of the Republic of the Rif led by Abd el-Krim from 1924 to 1926. In September 1925, in the middle of the Rif War, a rogue squadron of American volunteer pilots, the Lafayette Escadrille, bombarded civilians in the city. Colonel Charles Sweeny had proposed the idea to French Prime Minister Paul Painlevé, who "warmly welcomed the Colonel's request." After el-Krim was defeated with the help of the French, he was deported to Réunion. The Spanish Army retook the city in 1926.
Morocco gained its independence from colonial rule in 1956. Chefchaouen and most of the northern parts of the country were ceded by Spain that year.
Geography
The city of Chefchaouen is located at about above sea level in the foothills of the Kaʻala mountain in the western part of the Rif mountain range, in northwestern Morocco. The city consists of a Medina, the historical walled town, and a new town that has grown outside the former city walls.
Climate Due to its location in the Rif Mountains at an elevation of approximately 600 m (2,000 ft), Chefchaouen experiences a Mediterranean climate. According to precipitation records from the Chefchaouen meteorological station, annual precipitation ranged from approximately 500 mm to nearly 1,900 mm during the period 2000–2020.Ayoub, S.; et al. (2024). "Assessing soil erosion vulnerability through geospatial morphometric analysis in the Oued Amter Basin (Northwest Morocco)." Figure 3, Annual precipitation at Chefchaouen station (2000–2020).
Demographics According to the last census of the Moroccan population (2024), the municipality of Chefchaouen had a population of 46,168. According to the 2024 Moroccan census, 99.2% of the population of Chefchaouen spoke Arabic as their native language, while 0.6% spoke Berber languages natively. The original population of Chefchaouen were Andalusian Arabs and Spanish Jews and it was later populated by nearby Berbers.
Culture
Chefchaouen is located in a territory traditionally inhabited by Jebala, subsequently joined by Muslim and Jewish refugees from al-Andalus and Spain. The city has maintained strong relations with the inhabitants of the Jbala Region such as Akhmas, Ghomara, Ghazaoua, and Sanhaja tribes, particularly in terms of trade. The federations of these tribes were sometimes a source of strength, and sometimes a weakness due to their frequent struggles to take possession of assets such as water sources, grazing areas, and fertile land.Taïqui, L., & Martín Cantarino, C. (1997). Eléments historiques d’analyse écologique des paysages montagneux du Rif Occidental (Maroc) (Historical Elements of Ecological Analysis of the Mountain Landscapes of the Western Rif (Morocco)). Mediterránea. Serie de Estudios Biológicos, 23–35.
The traditional houses of Chefchaouen were made of stone, brick, tile, wood, soil, and lime. Each house had an open yard in the center surrounded by corridors and bedrooms. The yards are often decorated with fruit trees such as oranges, lemons, berries, and grapes, as well as some perfumed shrubs including night-blooming jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) and jasmine (Jasminum officinale). From a physiognomy perspective, the city is influenced by Andalusian architecture, such as the curved brick archways that strengthen the houses and decorate the narrow blue alleyways, the traditional water network, and the landscaping and care of plants inside houses and mosques. From a cultural perspective, many Chefchaouen families have conserved the art of Andalusian music, which has become the main ritual of Chefchaouen religious festivals and social ceremonies.
The rural landscape was characterized by a distribution of space according to intra- and intertribal relations. At the level of each dshar (low-density rural settlements), the houses are built around a mosque or a marabou and occupy the center of the concentric spatial structure of traditional agro-sylvo-pastoral systems. This spatial distribution of dshars is tightly associated with arable land and availability of water resources, with shifting cultivation limited to a diffuse strip of matorral shrubland and pasture that mark the transition to forests. However, this traditional agro-salvo-pastoral system has been deeply affected by multiple processes of modern socio-cultural and economic transformation.Taïqui, L. (2005). Evolution récente de la structure du paysage du Bassin de Chefchaouen (1958-1986). (Recent Evolution of the Landscape Structure of the Chefchaouen Basin (1958-1986)) In G.R.G.Rif Ed. Mutations des milieux ruraux dans les montagnes rifaines (Maroc), Série Etudes Spatiales (2), 1–19.
Traditions Chefchaouen's residents commit to religious and social rituals. The devout perform prayer together in the mosque or the zawiya (a Sufi shrine or religious complex). They also like to visit their families and friends on religious and social occasions. Some of the major religious and social occasions include: Sha’banah takes place on the 15th of Shaa’ban (i.e. the 8th month of Hijri calendar). It is commonly known as the Day of Nusskhah, in which the tomb of Moulay Abd Salam Ben Mshish is visited, of particular observance by the students of msids (Quranic schools). The night of Al-Qad is observed on the 26th of Ramadan, when the people encourage 7–10-year-old girls to fast. Families usually celebrate at home, but often parade following the afternoon prayer with the girls wearing wedding clothes. Ashura is celebrated on the 10th of Muharram (observed by Jewish residents as Yom Kippur). Preparations begin after Eid Al-Adha when part of the Eid meat is dried as qaddid, and on Ashura is eaten with couscous by families, along with dried fruit (almonds, walnuts, raisins, and pistachios), dates and various traditional sweets. Children receive great attention and are often gifted traditional and modern items, including toys. Mawlid Nabawi (Muhammad's birthday) is celebrated on the 12th of Rabii’ Al-Awwal. It is designated as Eid and involves the reading of the Quran and Muhammad's biography in mosques or at people’s homes. This night is also celebrated in the mausoleum of Ali Ben Rashid and the 13 zawiyas throughout the city. Couscous is served to the poor and prisoners. During this celebration, mass circumcision of children is carried out following the afternoon prayer, and gifts are distributed to their families. Hakouzah Day is celebrated on 1 January of the agricultural solar calendar. It is observed by preparing and eating various traditional foods, in appreciation of the past harvest's bounty and the hope that the New Year will be better.
Despite the diversity of these ceremonies, observances of similar characters are present in almost all of Morocco.
In her annotated study on Storytelling in Chefchaouen Northern Morocco literary scholar Aicha Rahmouni published orally transmitted tales in Chefchaouen's form of colloquial Moroccan Arabic told by two storytellers, accompanied with transliterations and translations.
Economy
In 2020, Chefchaouen was included as a learning city in the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC). This network encourages policy discussion and mutual learning between its members, to forge collaborations and develop abilities and designs tools to support and identify progress.
Agricultural sector
Agriculture is an important sector of the economy in the Chefchaouen area, which is known for its large agro-pastoral component. A traditional subsistence agriculture is practiced there on the hillsides and in the valleys – olives being the main crop. Other traditional crops such as grape vines, almonds and figs are still cultivated, although cannabis monoculture has become more profitable than these with an increased influx of tourists in recent decades.
Industry and commerce