Clancy Tucker's Blog: 2 June 2021 - THE BLUE CITY OF CHEFCHAOUEN, MOROCCO

THE BLUE CITY OF

CHEFCHAOUEN, MOROCCO

G'day folks,

Chefchaouen is probably the bluest place in the entire world, and that doesn’t mean that Muddy Waters and B.B. King set up home here! Rather, virtually everything that can be has been painted blue by the locals.

The blueness that sets this city apart from all others has a very curious history. During the 15th century, many Jews were expelled from or fled Spain. Some came to Chefchaouen in Morocco, where they established themselves and began the tradition of painting their homes blue.

For those medieval Jews, blue signified their heavenly Father. It’s amazing to think that even after so many centuries this marvelous tradition has been maintained by the locals.

With the historic founding of Israel shortly after World War II, almost all of the city’s Jewish population took the chance to wave goodbye to Chefchaouen and start a new life back in their true fatherland. However, the city has kept up the Jewish tradition anyway.

It’s the blueness that has made Chefchaeouen one of Morocco’s most famous places, despite being a small city of 43,000 inhabitants. Naturally, the local council make sure the locals have enough paintbrushes to keep the place looking so blue. Yet there is more than just color to see here…

The town center is where you’ll find the city’s old fortress. This was built around the time of the town’s foundation (1471) to protect it from the Portuguese.

Because Chefchaouen is built on a hill, walking around here can really take it out of you, especially during the sunniest and hottest months of the year. However, this is one day well spent, as you can see from these wonderful photographs.