Chefchaouen (, ; ), also known as Chaouen, is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the "Blue City". Chefchaouen is situated just inland from Tangier and Tétouan.
It was founded as a military outpost shortly before the Spanish Reconquista of Granada, and its population grew quickly with Muslim and Jewish refugees fleeing from Spain. The economy is based on a traditional agro-pastoral system with olive and fig plantations; numerous water mills for grinding grain and olives; a handicrafts sector focusing on leather, iron, textiles, and carpentry; and summer-dominated tourism.
Etymology
The name "Chefchaouen" is of Tarifit or Tamazigh origin, derived from the word isakon or echaouen, which means 'the horns', and the word chef which means 'look at'. Chefchaouen thus means 'look at the horns', reflecting the two mountain peaks overlooking the area. Nowadays, Chefchaouen is known as "the Blue Pearl" of Morocco, known for its traditional houses painted in blue and white.
The city is also called "Chaouen" by the inhabitants of the northern region.
History
The city was founded in 1471 as a small kasbah by Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami, a descendant of Abd al-Salam ibn Mashish al-Alami and Idris I. Al-Alami built the kasbah to defend against Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco. Along with the Ghomaras of the region, many Moriscos and Spanish and Portuguese Jews settled here during and after the Reconquista of Spain.
Ali Ben Rashid was born in Gherzoim, a nearby village, (844 AH). He went to Emirate of Granada in 1460 and achieved outstanding services in battle against the Crusaders. He settled in Chefchaouen and, due to his experience as a warrior, was chosen as successor to his cousin ibn Abi Jum'ah and leader of the Mujahideen in the northwest of Morocco. He fought alongside the Amir of Tétouan, Ali al-Mandri, who married his daughter, the Mujahida Aisha al-Hurra. The latter, known by her title, Sayyida al-Hurra, reigned Chefchaouen through a rapid period of growth and development.
Chefchaouen was home to Andalusian families between 1492 and 1609, when the last Moriscos were expelled from Andalusia by King Felipe III. These Andalusian families built their own residential quarters surrounded by walls, in the Andalusian architectural style, very similar to the Arab quarters of Granada.
Pressures of the Reconquista and the fall of Granada led many of its people to immigrate to Morocco, which continued for more than three centuries. Some of them chose the large cities of Fes, Marrakesh, Tlemcen, Tunis, and Kairouan, while others settled in the jihadist fortress of Chefchaouen, which was in a fierce war against Portuguese armies. They established their quarters on the rugged slopes of the Chefchaouen Mountains. In a few decades, the fortress of Chefchaouen turned into a prosperous new city, in which the Andalusi-Granadan culture merged with the culture of Ghomara. The urban expansion included military fortifications such as walls and about ten gates and the construction of several mosques including the Grand Mosque. The Andalusian community that settled in the city also included several well-known poets and philosophers.
In October 1920, General Dámaso Berenguer occupied the city for the Spanish protectorate in Morocco. Following the Spanish , Chaouen was part of the Republic of the Rif led by Abd el-Krim from 1924 to 1926. In September 1925, in the middle of the Rif War, a rogue squadron of American volunteer pilots, the Lafayette Escadrille, bombarded civilians in Chaouen. Colonel Charles Sweeny had proposed the idea to French Prime Minister Paul Painlevé, who "warmly welcomed the Colonel's request."
After el-Krim was defeated with the help of the French, he was deported to Réunion. The Spanish Army retook the city in 1926.
Geography
Location
The city of Chefchaouen is located at about above sea level in the foothills of the Kaʻala mountain in the western part of the Rif mountain range, in northwestern Morocco. The province of Chefchaouen is among the largest in Morocco, with an area of . It is bordered by five provinces – Tétouan Province to the northwest, Larache Province to the west, Al Hoceïma Province to the east, Taounate Province to the south, Ouezzane Province to the southwest – and the Mediterranean Sea to the northeast. The Province of Chefchaouen belongs to the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region and consists of one urban commune (the municipality of Chefchaouen) and 27 rural communes, giving the province a rural character.