Chefchaouen or Chaouen as Moroccans often call it; is situated in the Rif Mountains in northwest Morocco just inland from Tangier and Tetouan. It is the chief town of the province of the same name, and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue.
The city was founded in 1471, as a small fortress, which still exists to this day, by Moulay Ali Ben Moussa Ben Rached El Alami (a descendant of Ibn Machich and Idris I, and through them, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) to fight the Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco.
Along with the Ghomara tribes of the region, many Moriscos and Jews settled here after the Spanish Reconquista in medieval times. In 1920, the... Show more