Chefchaouen

Kim Bybjerg LRPS

The tradition with colouring the houses Indigo blue began with the Jewish refugees who came to the city in the 1930s, as the colour is supposed to shield the house against evil; other houses are painted in turquoise and blue green.

It was founded in 1471 by Muslims who fled from Spain. Many Muslims and Jews settled in the city after the Reconquista in 1492 when Spanish Christians conquered what remained ofAl-Andalus (the Muslim controlled part of Iberia). The city was founded as a small Kasbah (fortress) to defend against Portuguese invasions.

normal visits to the carpet stores etc. A “no” is fully respected, which I highly appreciate.

Walking around the Medina you get to see the small shops and workshops and of course the blue houses and the beautiful alleys.

We visited one of the three city bakers still baking bread in a traditional oven. As you can see in the photo, the baker is standing in a “hole” and is using a very long spade to place the bread into the oven and to move the bread around the various heating zones. The oven is traditionally wooden fire heated.

We alsovisited a traditionalAndalusian style house that the familyhas now opened for visitors. The house was built in the 1930s and has been in the same family for four generations. But since none of them are living in Chefchaouen now, they have decided to open the house forvisitors so one can experience a traditional house. For the many years we had been travelling regularly to Andalusia in Spain, we always thought that the inspiration for the building style had Arabic and Moroccan origins. Therefore, it surprised me to learn that it is the other way around: the houses in Morrocco are inspired by Andalusian architecture.

The guide mentioned that the city became famous with the growth of Instagram as one of the most photographed places which has led to even more houses now being painted in Indigo blue. The people living in the city have realised the positive effect of visitors; so more than in the past, they paint more houses blue. This was not noticeable by us as this was our first visit, but the guide mentioned that the increased number of tourists has had a significant positive impact of the economy in the city, allowing it to build a university.

I highly recommend this place as it is by no means overcrowded or has lost its soul despite more tourists now visiting. I would, however, visit in spring or autumn to avoid the busiest tourist season. Personally, I want to come back in winter when there will be snow in the mountains surrounding the city, I expect the photos will be so much better during the winter season.

All photographs are copyright of Kim Bybjerg LRPS.