My Time in Morocco

Northern Morocco

This past weekend was a long weekend so a few friends and I decided to explore the Northern cities of Morocco. We traveled to Tangier, Chefchaouen, Tetouan, and Martil. It was incredible and so beautiful! Each city was different and had its own vibe. Tetouan is surrounded by mountains and has a huge Spanish influence though it is not the closest city to Spain and a lot of the buildings were green and white. Martil is only a 25-minute drive from Tetouan and it is a rapidly developing city. It’s very much a vacation spot with its beautiful beach an waterfront. It’s the kind of pace where Moroccans like to spend their vacation and so many of the apartment buildings are actually vacation villas which people rent. When we were driving into Martil we kept seeing men standing on the side of the road jingling keys in their hands. We found out later that they were the ones renting out villas to anyone who wanted one. Chefchaouen was my absolute favourite city so far located on the side of a large mountain. The city was created in 1471 and was built as a fortress in order to fight the Portuguese invasion of Northern Morocco. The city has become a tourist destination because all the buildings in the Medina are different shades of blue. The story is that Jews introduced the blue into the city and during WW2 their neighbors of all religions also painted their house blue as a sign of solidarity and so that the Jewish homes could not be easily identified. The blue houses surrounded by mountains make is a picturesque place. On our first night, we climbed part of the mountain to a loan mosque that overlooked the city from there we watched as the sunset behind the mountains. Chefchaouan also has a few waterfalls and one famous cafe has tables which are actually in the brook that flows from the waterfall. On Saturday, we got to enjoy a refreshing orange juice sitting at a table with our feet knee deep in cold water and the sun shining above us. I took so many incredible photos and saw so many historic buildings. It was absolutely incredible and I got to see a whole new side of the Morocco I have come to know.