{"id":76392,"date":"2023-12-08T09:20:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T08:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/visitanddo_1790.test\/?p=76392"},"modified":"2026-10-01T00:39:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:39:51","slug":"blue-cities-of-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitanddo.com\/en\/blue-cities-of-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"The blue cities of Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When we talk about the blue city of Morocco<\/strong> we mean Chefchaouen<\/strong>, nestled in the Rif and painted indigo from top to bottom. But there are four others where blue also makes an appearance.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to see in each one and, above all, The truth about why Chefchaouen is blue<\/strong>, which is not what is usually said.<\/p>\n\n

Chefchaouen, the Blue Pearl<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The medina of Chefchaouen, the only city that is blue from start to finish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His official nickname is \u00abThe Blue Pearl\u00bb<\/strong>. It is at 564 metres above sea level<\/strong>, has about 46,000 inhabitants<\/strong> and lies nestled between two mountains in the Rif, the Megg\u00fa<\/strong> and the Tisouka<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the name comes from:<\/strong> Chefchaouen means \u00abthe horns\u00bb<\/strong>, because of the outline of those two peaks as seen from the valley.<\/p>\n

It was founded in 1471<\/strong> \u2014mind you, the erroneous date of 1741 is widely circulated\u2014 as a stronghold to halt the Portuguese advance, and it became a refuge for Muslims and Jews expelled from al-Andalus, who brought with them Nasrid architecture and craftsmanship.<\/p>\n\n

It was a forbidden city for centuries<\/h3>\n

This is the fact that hardly anyone mentions.<\/strong> Chefchaouen was considered sacred city<\/strong> and he had Foreigners barred from entering<\/strong>. Anyone who tried it was risking their life.<\/p>\n

The first person to achieve this was the explorer Charles de Foucauld, in 1882, dressed as a rabbi<\/strong>. The city didn\u2019t really open up until Spanish Protectorate, in 1920<\/strong>, and remained under Spanish administration until 1956<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This isolation explains why its medina retains a medieval atmosphere that others have lost.<\/p>\n\n

And now, why is it blue?<\/h3>\n

The honest answer is that we don\u2019t know for certain<\/strong>, and one should be wary of anyone who asserts this categorically.<\/p>\n

What the older neighbours do say<\/strong> It is revealing: The medina was white<\/strong>. The blue was concentrated in the Mellah<\/strong>, the Jewish quarter, and it spread to the rest of the city relatively recently<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

There are several explanations for the origin of the colour blue in the Mellah, none of which have been proven:<\/p>\n