Morocco Day 3: Chefchaouen- the Blue City
We left early this morning for Chefchaouen. The travel time was quite a bit longer than billed, about 8 hours all told. The trip took us from the coast, north and then about 200 miles inland on back roads through the Riff Mountain Range.
We had a stop mid-day in a tiny village, Souk Labar, for lunch. Lunch was hanging outside the restaurant.
We were quite content to eat vegetable tagine, and skewered chicken.
Our Chef
After lunch, we took a walk around the village to a liquor store for the groups wine drinkers to stock up.
Local transport
Finally, we arrived at the "Blue City", Chefchaouen.
Our hotel, El Chaoue, is a beautiful riyadh.A riyadh is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard, often featuring a fountain, trees, and intricate tilework. Most like this one, have been converted into boutique hotels.
We checked out our rooms and then headed out for a brief walking tour of the souk, or marketplace. The city is truly blue. Nearly every building has at least some blue coloring. In 1492, when the Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain, many Jews settled in this area. In Judaism, blue (especially the color tekhelet) symbolizes divinity, heaven, and a reminder of God’s presence — it reflects the sky and the sea. The common belief is that the local people adopted this and it is now part of the fabric of Chefchaouen.
We stopped at a local communal oven (from 1540) where a baker was selling cookeis an patries which, of course, we sampled.
Stray cats are everywhere in the city
Grinding machine for making amlou, a traditional paste of honey and almonds
The kasbah, fortress that seved as protection for the town
After our introduction to the town, we went back to the riyadh for dinner and bed. A very long day of schlepping.
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