Tales of Chefchaoen: Blue-Walled City

When I was in Morocco I went to the blue-walled city of Chefchaoen. The beauty of this place is unfathomable. It is nestled in the Rif mountains amongst harsh arid desert and sparse trees. Everywhere people are sweating and struggling to wrangle goats and donkeys and not in the kindest way.

Chefchaoen rises out of the dust of the unforgiving desert like a radiant, lush oasis of blue calm. The calm itself comes from the azure and cerulean blue shades of the buildings and mosques. In the Souk marketplace, there are big heavy flowers and fruits framing doorways and draped leathergoods on railings, big velveteen carpets of many colours, piles of practical leather sandals, ornate glass lanterns and hand-painted bowls and cups. There are people going about their business, carrying food and water and touting for goods. Wandering through the shaded labyrinthine alleyways, there’s a sense that nothing changes there about life itself, just the flesh and blood people who walk around. The urge to buy everything was palpable but I resisted as I had nowhere to put anything and needed my money.

There was a lot of cats, dogs and donkeys looking tired, thirsty and hungry and so I bought bottled water and gave some for the cats. Bought a felafel and gave some for a donkey. Some had bung eyes and looked like they had had a tough life. I wanted to rescue all of them. I realise that going to places, it’s like you are a passive observer and cannot change the unfairness of life for other beings in a meaningful way, at least not when put on the spot in the moment, which depressed me at the time.

The sheer beauty of the different shades of blue from pale to deep lapis lazuli everywhere stays within my heart. I’ve been a big fan of blue and gold ever since. In my clothes, my home decor choices and in how I do graphic design for clients. Blue is the king of all colours!