Chefchaouen: the blue pearl of Morocco

Chefchaouen, also known as Chaouen, is a city located on the Rif mountains in Northern Morocco. The city is very visited thanks to its charm and its blue houses, which give Chefchaouen the name of blue city or blue pearl of Morocco. The town was founded in 1471 by Ali Ibn Rashid as a small Kasbah. Initially inhabited mainly by Andalusian exiles, for many centuries Chefchaouen was considered a sacred city. Only recently have foreigners been allowed in. Today Chefchaouen is an important tourist center of Morocco, with an economy that is based mainly on Berber crafts and tourism. Craftsmanship is closely linked to the tourism sector and includes a multitude of artisans who largely work with leather, textiles, iron and traditional carpentry, but also as artist with many paints around the city. The city consists of the medina, the Kasbah, the walls and the new city. Tourism is both Moroccan and foreign, and is mostly seasonal. The houses of the medina are painted white and blue. There are several theories as to why the walls of Chefchaouen’s houses are painted blue. A popular theory is that blue keeps mosquitoes away. Blue symbolizes heaven and paradise and serves as a reminder to lead a spiritual life. However, according to some locals, the walls were painted blue in the 1970s to attract tourists. Chefchaouen is today a very popular tourist destination in Morocco, a country that has many economic revenue and jobs deriving from tourism, and many visitors who visit it come from all over the world and are fascinated by the blue and white houses and landscapes that surround it.