It's Very Blue Indeed
We had a great few last days in Fes; the culmination fo which was the homestay party where the students shared their appreciation for their time in Fes and the families that cared for them so well! It is always hard to leave our home-base of Fes, but everyone is enjoying the cool mountain air here in Chefchaouen.
A small city nestled in the Rif mountains (the northern most range of Morocco), Chefchaouen's medina is known for its beautiful pastel blue walls. Originally the walls were green (a charasterisitic Muslim color), but we repainted this soft calming blue by Jews in the 1930s. Chefchaouen has a long history of Jewish and Muslim influence (as both populations moved into the community during the Spanish Inquisition). Chefchaouen also has a distinctive Spanish/Andalusian feel (as compared with most cities in Morocco) since the city was once under Spanish occupation.
Literally the town's name (shoof-chaouen) can be translated as "look at the horns" (or peaks of the moutains that tower over the city). Tomorrow that is exactly what we plan on doing by taking a day hike into the surrounding rural areas to gain a better understand of how the Amazigh (Berber) population here differs from that in the Middle Atlas and the High Atlas/Souss Valley.
On Friday, we will head to Tangier before moving on to Spain. Time is passing quite quickly these days.