Chaouen has not always been blue. The lime blue became a signature only in the 20th century. Before that, the town was an Andalusian military enclave lost in the Rif.

Gallery

scroll →

Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 by Moulay Ali Ben Rachid, a sharif descended from Idriss II, fleeing Portuguese pressure on the coast. He installed a garrison there and welcomed the successive waves of Moriscos expelled from Spain (1492, 1568, 1609). Until the 20th century the town became one of the most closed in Morocco: forbidden to Christians until the arrival of the Spanish troops in 1920. This isolation explains the exceptional preservation of the medina (intact since the 16th century), of the language (a Jbala Arabic with a strong Hispanic component, keeping archaic Castilian words), and of the Morisco textile traditions.

I. Why Chaouen is blue

The blue of Chaouen is a recent and debated construction. Three hypotheses compete. First: the blue would be the contribution of the Sephardic Jews who arrived in the 15th century, for whom tekhelet (the ritual blue from the murex) symbolises the sky and the divine. Second: an anti-mosquito practice — lime mixed with methylene blue repels insects (a technique also used in Jodhpur, India). Third: an anti-heat practice — pale blue reflects sunlight better than pure white lime, cooling the streets.

None of the three hypotheses settles the question. What is certain: the massive and systematic bluing is recent (the 1930s-1970s), the consequence of a community consensus rather than an immemorial tradition. It has, on the other hand, made Chaouen a global brand — the third most-shared image of Morocco on Instagram after Jemaa el-Fna and the Hassan II Mosque. The town today derives the essential of its tourist economy from it.

II. The mendil, identity fabric

The mendil (mendel) is the identity fabric of the Jbala women of Chaouen and the western Rif. Woven in narrow bands on traditional pedal looms, it systematically combines red and white linen stripes (warp) on a wool weft — wool of the Sardi sheep raised on the Rif slopes. The piece, 1.80 m to 2.40 m long, serves at once as a fouta (wrap skirt), a cape, a portable blanket, and a shawl.

The making of the mendil remains almost entirely artisanal and female. The Jbala women, grouped in cooperatives (Beni Ahmed, Akhmas, Beni Salah, more than 30 cooperatives in the province in all), work at home on wooden looms passed from mother to daughter. One piece takes between 60 and 80 hours of weaving depending on the fineness. The mendil is traditionally worn with a straw hat with coloured-wool pompoms — the characteristic silhouette of the Rif markets.

III. Intact Andalusian-Muslim heritage

Because Chaouen remained closed to non-Muslims for 450 years, its medina is one of the most intact in Morocco. The Andalusian houses with a central patio, with their external staircase, their floor with an open wooden gallery, their overhanging roof tiles, their Hispano-Moorish plumbing vestiges, are preserved without modification since the 16th century. Outa el-Hammam square, in the heart of the medina, keeps its original alignment with the Kasbah mosque and the palace of Ali Ben Rachid (today the Ethnographic Museum of Chaouen).

This integrity explains why Chefchaouen has been a candidate for UNESCO inscription since 2007 — a file still under way. The Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the commune and the APDN, launched in 2018 a rehabilitation programme that favours the conservation of original materials (earth, lime, tiles, cedar) and forbids the industrial bluing of newly rehabilitated façades — to preserve the authenticity of the colour.

IV. A tourist economy under pressure

Chefchaouen has seen its visitor numbers explode: from 80,000 in 2010 to more than 500,000 in 2024 (Ministry of Tourism estimate). This pressure has contradictory effects: increased income for the commune and the merchants, but also real-estate speculation, the transformation of Jbala houses into Airbnb-riads, and the progressive invisibilisation of the traditional textile economy in favour of souvenir-isation.

Several weavers' cooperatives have reacted by creating "Authentic Mendil of Chefchaouen" labels and by developing short circuits towards Tangier, Tétouan, Rabat. The House of Crafts of Chefchaouen, opened in 2014 in a restored former kasbah, offers a museum trail on Jbala weaving, direct-sale spaces, and residencies for international textile designers.

V. To see, to learn

Essential places to understand the crafts of Chefchaouen.

• Outa el-Hammam Square Medina heart — Kasbah Mosque, palace of Ali Ben Rachid.
• Kasbah Ali Ben Rachid Main square — 1471 fortress, Ethnographic Museum.
• Ras el-Maa Eastern exit of the medina — Spring that feeds the town, communal washing places.
• House of Crafts Medina — Jbala cooperatives, direct sales, weaving workshops.
• Spanish Mosque Western hill — Belvedere, view over the blue medina.
• Akchour 30 km east — Talassemtane National Park, waterfalls, Jbala hiking.

VI. Sources

1. House of Crafts of Chefchaouen — Opened 2014, restored Kasbah — Jbala cooperatives..
2. APDN — Agency for the Promotion and Development of the North — Chaouen Programme..
3. Ministry of Tourism — Attendance statistics 2010-2024..
4. Maison de l'Artisan — Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma / Jbala weaving branch. — link.