Tuesday 3rd March 2020

Fez: Day Trip to Chefchaouen

Another early morning alarm, 6am today.  Leaving the still and darkened riad at 6.45am, we cut across the rough ground of the deserted market place.

 

Turning around to admire part of the city’s ramparts and one of its gates, I couldn’t resist taking a photograph. These defensive walls surround the oldest living medina in the world.

 

As advised we arrived at the CTM bus station at 7am, it seemed a little early to us but that is what the guy told us to do when we purchased the tickets.  We hung around outside the bus office with other tourists until 7.25am when the office clerk led us outside and pointed to the approaching bus.

There were only about ten of us but then the bus headed to the main station in the town.  The bus filled up there and by 8am we were on our way to Chefchaouen.

Two hours into the 212 kilometres journey, we stopped for a short break.  There were a couple of cafes and small stalls selling food and drinks.  Dave spotted a lady cooking pancakes and ordered one. Once cooked, she spread a cheese triangle onto it, rolled it up, wrapped it in greaseproof paper and handed it to him. The pancake had a bread texture to it.

The lady made another and handed it to her small daughter who ran across the car park and handed it to a waiting man.

The journey was enjoyable, although a little long!   We passed scenes of donkeys carrying their burdens, shepherds tending their flocks and we saw one rather smartly dressed man tending to a couple of cows.  Most of these glimpses of rural life had a backdrop of rolling hills.

As we headed towards the Rif Mountains, Morocco’s most northern mountain range, the weather constantly changed.  It rained a little, we travelled through some fog and of course we had sunshine!  The road took us past thousands of olive trees and coniferous trees as the mountains became a little more rugged.

Situated amidst the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen has a medina that is painted blue. As soon as I read about it, I wanted to visit it! The last 5km or so of the journey was through winding roads with picturesque views.

Five or so hours after leaving ‘home’, we finally reached the small town.  Jumping in a waiting blue (well, they would be, wouldn’t they) taxi, we headed directly to the medina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, Chefchaouen’s medina is truly beautiful.  And so photogenic!

The narrow streets are painted different shades of blue –royal, cornflower, sky blue, cerulean, the list is endless.

 

 

 

 

 

There are a few different theories as to why the medina is painted blue. The one that appears to be the most popular, is that blue reminds the inhabitants of the sky. This turns their thoughts to heaven and therefore they feel closer to God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The majority of people who live here speak Spanish. The names of the streets are in Arabic and Spanish whereas in Marrakech and Fez, the Arabic and French languages are used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On plaques offering information, the English language has also been added.

Locals go about their business wearing pointed hooded woollen djellabas; from a distance, they resemble characters from a ‘Tolkien’ movie.

Apart from the striking blueness of the medina, the town is also famous for its many weavers.  Their varieties of products are displayed outside the many small shops in the maze-like medina.

Succumbing to purchasing a bedspread, we chose one woven in shades of blue and purple.  Laughingly, we reminded ourselves that we had agreed not to buy anything, we only have hand luggage!  Clearly, it will have to go in Dave’s case!

 

As expected, a  little bartering had to be done with the man selling the bedspread.  No one however, has approached us with offers of guide services etc. There are no touts in this small town, which is quite refreshing!

In the myriad of streets, I peeked in the odd open doorway. Behind one door, I spotted a long narrow passageway which was also painted blue.  Behind another, a man working away on his loom.

Some of the mosques and other buildings in the blue medina were constructed as early as the 15th century.  A plaque above one beautifully decorated fountain stated that it was built in the 1940’s.

Our main meal of the day was eaten on a terrace with a view to a Kasbah, that was built in the 15th century. Above us were the green foothills and a craggy mountain top; we marvelled at what a wonderful place Chefchaouen is.

It goes without saying that we took the later bus back to Fez.

It was 11pm when we arrived back at the riad, a little over 16 hours since we set off.  What an amazing day, we have had!

                  

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