“I love it when a place is so unexpected,” I tell Saad. “This city is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” The second part of my statement to Saad Jaidi, a young law student from Chefchaouen, Morocco who gives tours of his city on weekends to help make some money, is true. Chefchaouen is, indeed, unlike any place I’ve ever been. But it is far from unexpected, since I picked this particular guided tour of Morocco specifically because it came here, to the country’s famous Blue City. I’d seen photos, videos, and more from tourists all eager to capture that perfect shot of what seemed to be a stunningly beautiful place.

I don’t say this to Saad to lie. I say it because he lights up when I do. And because most people who aren’t me and don’t read at least a half dozen articles about every place they go actually will find Chefchaouen unexpected. And they, like me, will find this city to be one of the most uniquely beautiful they have ever seen.

There isn’t a ton to say about Chefchaouen – called simply Chaouen by the locals – in terms of history. The city was founded in 1471 as a fortress used to house soldiers who were fighting against Portuguese occupation of the north of Morocco, including Tangier. (Click here to read more about Tangier.) The fortress was built between two mountain peaks that looked a bit like horns of a goat, and from that Chefchaouen got its name: chef meaning to see, and chaouen being goats horns.

The fortress’s main thing going for it was actually not being seen, so it was never attacked. Within a few decades it went from a military town to a residential one, but the old fortress remains as the Kasbah. City walls were built to house the new town. And Portuguese prisoners were brought to help with the construction, hence the names of several things (a tower, a prison, and a bridge, at least that I saw) being called the Portuguese Tower, Prison, and Bridge.

After the Reconquista of Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella united the Iberian Peninsula under Catholicism in 1492, non-Catholics were forced to either convert or leave. Many of those who left made the easy journey from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco, and some ultimately settled here in Chefchaouen. So as the city converted from fortress to town, it did so with a bi-religious population of Muslims and Jews from the Iberian Peninsula.

The Jewish community remained, although it was small, for centuries. In the 1920s and 1930s, more Jewish families came to Chefchaouen from Europe, seeking to escape the rise of fascism and the anti-Semitism that came with it. Possibly related (more on this in a moment), someone decided in the 1930s to paint a street in the city, and the buildings along it, blue.

Over the coming years, more streets and buildings were painted blue, the color from indigo powder applied to paint in various amounts depending on shade desired. And while the Jewish community left Chefchaouen entirely after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the blue did not. Rather, it grew, and today, the majority of buildings in the city’s Medina (old city) are blue, at least to a certain degree.

I mentioned that the Jewish community might be related to this trend. Well, it is one of three theories as to why the blue began, with the leading story being that these new Jewish immigrants to Chefchaouen brought the blue of their prayer shawls (the talit) with them. Other theories are the blue repelling mosquitos and it keeping the buildings cooler in the heat of summer.

At the end of the day, it probably doesn’t matter what the reason was for Chefchaouen being painted blue, although as a Jew I definitely like that connection. All that matters is that today it is, and that the blue makes it one of the most popular tourist destinations in a country full of such places. In a world of would-be Instagram influencing stars, photos in the Blue City are a must!

My tour with Saad lasts about two hours, and while I am completely turned around in the narrow alleys and stairways of Chefchaouen, it certainly feels like we cover the majority. We visit the old Jewish quarter, the markets, and the squares. And around each turn, and beyond each set of stairs, is another incredibly beautiful spot beckoning to be added to my photos.

Late afternoon brings a new look at Chefchaouen, this one from above. It takes about a half hour or so to hike from the city up a paved pathway to what is called the Spanish Mosque. I arrive at about 630pm, well ahead of the 8pm sunset, and am grateful I do. Every moment brings more people to share in what is probably the best view of the Blue City, and it becomes so crowded that I don’t stay for sunset.

Back in town, it’s time for food. As a mountain town, Chefchaouen has a long history of cultivating goats. One can find goat couscous or goat tagine on many menus. Or, for something a bit lighter, seek out goat cheese, fromage de chèvre. I get mine from Twins restaurant on the Kasbah square, but it is all over.

My tour with Saad ends with a hug, a promise to keep in touch, and one more round of praise for this, his home. “Your home is incredible,” I tell him. “No matter where you go in this life, you will never find a place like this one.” This is entirely true.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my life to have seen so many beautiful places. But this one, Chefchaouen, is unlike the others. And Morocco’s Blue City offers promises of not only wonderful photos for “the ‘gram.” It also brings peace, joy of discovery, and, if you’re as lucky as I am, new friendship. (If you are interested in touring Chefchaouen with Saad, here is the Google Maps information for his partner and him.)

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