Tetouane

We had a few days in Tangier before we decided to try a new form of transport, namely a bus. We walked to the main bus station ( Gare Routier ) to enquire about tickets. We had a vaque idea of visiting Tetouan which has a World heritage Medina and then move on to Chefchouen in the Rif mountains which is known as the blue town. I had found an Auberge which was out on the outskirts  of Chefchouan and which importantly had a swimming pool. We booked accomadation and then bought bus tickets as far as Tetouan. Another transport option was to get a grand taxi and as we sat at the bus station we decided to retain that as an option, there is a kind of particular chaos at a Gare Routier. It consists of people, lots of them. Noise, lots of it. Smells, various. Shouting, a great deal of it, beggars, pickpockets, taxi touts, its really quite intimidating at first.

We had done a bit of research and discovered the best bus company was CTM. It had air conditioned buses, qualified and courteous drivers and was reliable. All of which is true.

Even so the cost of a ticket from Tangeir to Tetouan, an hour and a half journey was 20 dirhams ( about £1.60 ) it didnt seem worth the financial savings to risk a cheaper bus, some did look rather the worse for wear.

A couple of days later we turned up 15 minutes early to book in our luggage (5 dirhams) and we were soon in our allocated seats..

I didnt take any pictures at the bus station, sometimes its best to maintain a low profile. When almost everyone else has luggage its easy to blend in.

On the way out of Tangier on the bus we discovered the bullring. Now defunct, but a potent reminder of the closeness of Spain.

Our seats were numbers 1-2 so we were just behind the driver. Slowly the country unfolded as we left the suburbs of Tangier. Surprisingly green fields and roadside sellers of prickly pear gave way to more mountainous scenery reminicent of the foothills of the Alps and the roadside stalls were filled with onions, tagines and garlic. The ever present donkeys were either loaded to the gunwhales with produce or standing alone in a field of stubble. There is a fairly constant clash of old and new to assimilate.

The roads themselves were very good. The N2 is a major thouroughfare.

Pretty much on time we arrived at the bus station in Tetouane. This was not a Gare Routier but a dedicated CTM garage so was fairly quiet. Google maps took us on a bit of a roundabout hike but as our accomadation was in the old Medina it would have been tricky to get a taxi as no cars can use the narrow streets, also the tall buildings and tight passages were shadowing my phones gps so google maps was a bit confused and struggled for an accurate fix. We soon sorted it and knocked on the door of our Riad.

It was the traditional wooden door with iron furniture and as usual gave very little hint as to what lay within. We were quickly shown to our rooms.

A mint tea was very welcome. It seemed we had a small sitting room.

The decor was " Arabian nights".

Our bedroom was directly over one of the narrow streets in the medina. There was a constant noise of traders and bustle from below.

Lynne could spend hours just looking out of the window as the world passed by.

Its not immediately obvious but there are two dresss shops a barbers a jewellers and a seller of knick knacks along with an occasional food seller in this picture, the view from the window above.

The layout of most Riads in towns follows a pattern with rooms being off a central open area usually ( but not in this case) open to the sky.

This Riad had open skylight windows and birds would fly in and perch on a grill above.

Tetouan has a distinct Spanish influence. This dates from 1912-56 when it was Capital of the Spanish protectorate which encompassed much of northern Morocco. The Spanish influence extends to the language, you are much more likely to be understood speaking Spanish rather than French.

Outwith the Medina the architecture is distinctly Spanish colonial in the area known as the Ensanche. At one end there is the Royal Palace, (one of many) in Place Hassan II.

This huge square is largely cordonned off for " security" concerns. There are four minaret looking pillars at each corner, art nouveau light towers designed by Enrique Nieto a student of Gaudi.

The decorations on the walls opposite are abstract " Hands of Fatima" apparently they ward off the evil eye. They look pretty when lit up.

Tetouan is known as the white city. The reason is fairly obvious if you take a look around Hammadi square.

White is everywhere, except the Catholic church which is yellow. The iglesia de Bacturia built in 1926. We again never found the church open although it does apparently have regular services and is one of the only churches in Morocco to be allowed to ring the bell for services.

We spent an afternoon looking around the souks of the medina and again I am not too keen to photograph as it sometimes causes offence and it will mark you as a tourist and that can attract hassle, we are getting more used to the hustle and bustle but theres no getting away from the usual mad assault on the senses. Piles of goats heads in one doorway while outside an old man strips all the useful wiring from a computer case.  You need to leave logic outside and just surrender to the sights and sounds, western sensabilities also will need supressing at certain points.

Its certainly a contrast to the clean white architecture of the Ensanche ( literally extension ).

One place I did take a few photos was the tanning pits. They are hidden deep within the Medina and unusually not located on the edge of town. They are smaller than the famous ones in Fes but just as aromatic!

The leather and hides are tanned in large open air brick and mudstone vats.

Colour is added to suit and after tanning tbe hides are left to dry in the sun. The smell is pretty pungent as you can imagine.

Our "helper" who was showing us around offered to take a selfie.

.

Tetouan is nestled between the Rif mountains on one side and the mediteranean about 15 miles away on the other. 

We found a hotel with a rooftop terrace where we had a coffee and admired the view. It was quite stunning. The Rif mountains are bigger and steeper than I ever imagined.

You can just see the sea at Martil to the left of Lynne in the photo above. Its about 5 miles away.

We spent two days in Tetouane and enjoyed it but there are an increasing number of unofficial guides that make life uncomfortable if not a real hassle. We just want to be left alone and we dont like being rude. Came close a couple of times though I will admit.

The rather grand building looking rather like a castle below, is the old railway station. Trains now no longer visit and it has been converted into a lovely gallery of modern, and local art.

Tetouan is one of only two places in Morocco to have an art school, the other is Casablanca. There are many examples of M Bertouchi, one of the founders of the schools works in the groundfloor gallery.

This one above is a bedouin scene, a bench is thoughtfully provided while you study this large work

There is a good selection of sculpture and paintings in a fabulous setting. I am normally not " over fussed" with modern art but I enjoyed this collection of the Tatouan Fine Arts Preparatory School. There was a distinct lack of pointless art, the pieces all displayed skill and were grounded in real experience. They  also all seemed to have something to say about their subject and even I got it!

In short a fantastic, and free, exibition and exibition space.

Having enjoyed the Archeological Museum in Rabat we thought to look at the one in Tetouan. We were the only visitors and the staff, well one in particular, decided we needed to be escorted around the museum. Although he came in handy for switching lights on and off, it was otherwise quite intimidating. Luckily some of the more interesting exhibits are outside.

Where photography is allowed, thats your man checking I am not nicking anything.....

Outside is where a lot of the Roman mosaics are to be found.we were left largely in peace to view them, while being observed from a distance and amusingly hidden in bushes!

Some nice pieces but a shame that they seemed to be for the benefit of five security staff.

I must admit that in my ignorance before visiting Morocco I had not realised the extent and reach of the Roman empire in North Africa, let alone the cross fertilisation between Muslim and Andalucian culture that occurred later. Not forgetting of course the jews who had a large part to play in the history of Tetouan and Spain. The star of David was on a couple of the tombstones at the museum, and there is a remnant of the jewish quarter in the medina.

Soon it was time to leave and on our last day we sat in the charmingly named Lovers park opposite the CTM garage while we waited for the time of our bus to Chefchaouen.

We booked in our luggage ( taken off us airport style this time) and found our seats on the bus
Lynne suspected we were the oldest people on the bus as it was heading for the tourist hotspots of Chefchaouen and Fes. She was probably right! There was one irritation on the bus who was obviously a tour guide or minder for a group of young people. He was constantly up and down asking after their wellfare and studiously ignoring us!

However I didnt mind too much I was watching the Rif mountains pass us. Splendid.

Soon we would approach Chefchouen.