cHEFCHAOUEN…THE BLUE PEARL OF MOROCCO

Travel by Rehnumah InsanSeptember 21, 2020September 21, 2020

Last year I accomplished one of my biggest travel dreams: visiting Morocco. It has been the number one place on my bucket list for a few years now…and it was more amazing and magical than I could ever have imagined. As a Muslim traveller, naturally it was a dream for me to visit an Islamic country and to experience the country’s culture and vibes. I visited 3 cities in Morocco – Chefchaouen, Marrakech and Casablanca. This blog is dedicated to the magical world of Chefchaouen.

So why is chefchaouen blue?

Also known as the Blue Pearl of Morocco, Chefchaouen is a famous town hidden high in the mountains and famous for its unique blue streets and buildings. This city is proof that fairytales do exist! When I got there my first thoughts were that the place looked very much like Santorini and Cappadocia mixed together! The closest airport to Chefchaouen is Tétouan Airport. When I say close, it’s still a 3 hour drive to the actual town which is located in the mountain regions. I would highly recommend booking a private car with your hotel because the journey itself can be tiring.

So why is Chefchaouen blue? I read a few theories online one popular theory being that the colour blue gets rid of mosquitos. The general consensus, however, is that the colour blue represents the spiritual life. Blue is a color that resembles the sky and sea and is a reminder of God for the Jewish population who came to the town to seek refuge. Today Chefchaouen’s maze like blue alleyways are lined with boutiques of silver jewellery, wool garments, clothing, antiques, blankets, colourful rugs and hand painted crafts.

my favourite places to photograph?

Everywhere in Chefchaouen is pretty but it’s always nice to have some specific points to help cover the city, so here are a few:

calle sidi buchuka

I loved this place mainly because of the colourful doors and flower pots which really stood out amongst the blue! This little street ends on the main road so it can be quite busy. Be respectful of other people waiting to take photos.

the paid set

This place is an Instagram hotspot! It’s located towards the east side and on the main street. It will cost you 5 Dirhams to enter, as it’s a privately owned patio and the owner was very clever enough to turn this into a business opportunity. He’s also added some extra decorations to make the already beautiful place look like a movie set!

callejon el asri

This is probably the most famous photography location in Chefchaouen – the staircase lined with colorful flower pots. When I started taking photos here there wasn’t a queue of other tourists which there usually would be. I’m very particular about not taking up too much time if others are around. In the space of about 1 minute though, a huge crowd had gathered at the bottom of the stairs – so I started to leave.

And all of a sudden they all started clapping and cheering me on. I blushed so hard I was as red as my scarf. Usually tourists get annoyed seeing others taking time with photos but this experience really changed my mind. Next time I see someone making an effort to take nice photos, I’m definitely going to cheer them on!

the blue street

Ok I know all the streets in Chefchaouen are blue but this one was just a tiny bit bluer than the rest! If you don’t pay attention you might actually miss it so keep an eye out. I loved taking photos in front of this blue door which was located right at the end of the street.

the arch (there are several!)

Walk past the Paid Set and as you go back to the main square you will see a street covered with these blue arches. The streets here were much quieter and very quaint in a magical way. You will definitely come across several arches like this but this street was my favourite!

this little outdoor market

This place doesn’t have a name (atleast as far as I know) but I can tell you how to find it. From Callejon Al Asri go right and keep walking straight towards the Paid Set. This little shop will fall on your right hand side. If you ask the shopkeeper nicely he’ll be happy to let you take photos there (you don’t need to pay!). I’ve always said this, some of the prettiest places I’ve discovered are ones that I did not find on any list while researching. Exploring the city is key.

Being a pretty Instagram famous place a lot of people go here to take atleast one “Instagram worthy” photo. So I thought I’d share a very important tip for those photography enthusiasts to help them find these locations – this helped me out a lot.

The whole city itself is worth seeing so do wear comfortable shoes as there will be a lot of walking! I made a list of photography spots from beforehand but don’t rely on Google Maps as the street names won’t come up on it and people might not understand English there. What I did was I took screenshots/ downloaded photos of each of the places from Google and showed the shop owners the photos – they immediately knew where each and every one of the places were and were more than happy to show you the way.