Tetouan and Chaouen
Today we left the ship in Tangier and drove through the Rif Mountains to visit the towns of Tetouan and Chaouen. The countryside was hilly browns and greens, freshly washed by a much- needed rain last night.
Tetouan used to be the capital of Spanish Morocco in the northern part of the country, while the French controlled the rest. All of Morocco was united when it gained independence in 1956, but there are still traces of this division: in the north schoolchildren learn Spanish as their second language after Arabic, while in most of Morocco they learn French.
In Tetouan we saw many women dressed in large straw hats resembling sombreros and wearing red and white striped fabric wrapped as skirts. They are Jbala women, from one of the two ethnic groups in the area.
The Jbala are Arabs, and descended from Andalusians from Spain. Further east, toward Chaouen and all along the Mediterranean coast, one encounters the Berber people of the Rif Mountains, or Rifis.
We walked through the old city or medina of Tetouan, seeing places where ordinary people shop, like those in the photo. We saw men wearing the traditional jellaba or long robe, and others in western dress. Many shops had tailors working on women’s jellabas with fancy embroidery or braided trim. Muscat grapes, pears and quince were for sale, and we got to taste some of the first crop of clementines, or mandarin oranges.
Chaouen is a lovely small town that is mainly blue and white and climbs up the side of a mountain. While it looks quite traditional from a distance, the streets are full of students who can easily direct you to one of the three internet cafes in town, where you can be on line for $1 an hour.
We had lunch at a hotel high above the town with a view of Chaouen and the surrounding mountains. It was our first experience with Moroccan generosity with food, and few of us could finish our lunch of a large salad, omelet, shish kebab with rice and fruit dessert. Yet we all managed to enjoy the barbecue dinner on deck; we are eating very well.
Today we left the ship in Tangier and drove through the Rif Mountains to visit the towns of Tetouan and Chaouen. The countryside was hilly browns and greens, freshly washed by a much- needed rain last night.
Tetouan used to be the capital of Spanish Morocco in the northern part of the country, while the French controlled the rest. All of Morocco was united when it gained independence in 1956, but there are still traces of this division: in the north schoolchildren learn Spanish as their second language after Arabic, while in most of Morocco they learn French.
In Tetouan we saw many women dressed in large straw hats resembling sombreros and wearing red and white striped fabric wrapped as skirts. They are Jbala women, from one of the two ethnic groups in the area.
The Jbala are Arabs, and descended from Andalusians from Spain. Further east, toward Chaouen and all along the Mediterranean coast, one encounters the Berber people of the Rif Mountains, or Rifis.
We walked through the old city or medina of Tetouan, seeing places where ordinary people shop, like those in the photo. We saw men wearing the traditional jellaba or long robe, and others in western dress. Many shops had tailors working on women’s jellabas with fancy embroidery or braided trim. Muscat grapes, pears and quince were for sale, and we got to taste some of the first crop of clementines, or mandarin oranges.
Chaouen is a lovely small town that is mainly blue and white and climbs up the side of a mountain. While it looks quite traditional from a distance, the streets are full of students who can easily direct you to one of the three internet cafes in town, where you can be on line for $1 an hour.
We had lunch at a hotel high above the town with a view of Chaouen and the surrounding mountains. It was our first experience with Moroccan generosity with food, and few of us could finish our lunch of a large salad, omelet, shish kebab with rice and fruit dessert. Yet we all managed to enjoy the barbecue dinner on deck; we are eating very well.
