MOROCCO – CHEFCHAOUEN – An Old Lady with a Backpack

March 1 – 4, 2023

I caught a bus to Chefchaouen, the Blue City.

The popular theory as to why the town is painted blue is to represent the sky and connect the city to God, a Jewish belief. Old timers say the city used to be painted white. It was only after the Jews were escaping from the Nazis did the walls become blue. Whatever the reason, you feel like you are walking in a giant ice cube or during the evening, even though it was noon. Even though it was hot, the blue made my mind think it was cooler.

The city was founded in 1471 shortly before the Spanish conquest of Granada, by Muslim and Jewish refugees fleeing from that area. The kasbah (fortress) was built to defend against the Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco. The old walls are still in pretty good shape, but to walk up and around them I found I that I was not is such good shape.

There were lots of steps.

My guesthouse, Casa Rahma was a cute little apartment with the kitchen downstairs with the bedroom and sitting area upstairs. The walls were field stones individually painted blue.

The walk to the old city was not far, but to take the shortcut was up many, many steps. It saved me several minutes even though it was tougher. There really is not a lot to do in Chefchaouen other than to wander the various shades of blue streets, admire the colourful flowers and shop in the little tourist shops.

Don’t get me wrong, even just walking about is super interesting; but you have to pay attention. There are patterns on the sidewalks,

wall murals,

there are beautiful buildings and doorways on side streets,

there are guard rails made of old bed springs.

Pay attention to the everyday life of the people, the little things they do that we normally just walk past. For example, I took a walk out of town to a lookout point that someone told me was worth going to. It was across the valley from the city and was, indeed, nice.

I came across a lady pulling water out of a centuries old well with a bucket. I stopped to talk with her, then helped pull up a couple of buckets so she could have a break. Experiencing the local way of life give more appreciation to my own way of life.

On my walk to the look out point, I went past this beautiful house under construction.

I took the liberty of snooping around inside.

I walked past Lalla Messouda Restaurant. It was beautiful inside.

Even the chairs were works of art.

Someone who worked there told me the building was hundreds of years old. Wow! I made the decision to eat there that night. The meal did not match up to the beauty of the building. It was awful. Lesson learned, you cannot judge a restaurant by its looks.

I came across some old men. One wanted his picture taken with me.

I walked across the little bridge that takes you from the old city into the new. There was a fellow with some peacocks on the bridge. For a small fee, they dressed me in traditional Berber garments and I got my picture taken with the birds. I fell into the typical tourist trap. Oh well, it was not expensive and I look like a fool. It’s all good.

I went into the majestic Kasbah of Chefchaouen. built in 1471 to protect the city. It is a reddish walled complex located on the Outa El Hamman square in the middle of the city. The medina developed around the fortress. The main tower of the Kasbah is a huge 3 story structure. I went up and had a nice view of the city.