MUSEUMNOTABLE BUILDINGHistory
From the 8th century onwards, the city served as the main point of contact between Morocco
and Andalucia. In the 14th century the Merenids established the town as a base from which to
control rebellious Rif tribes, and to attack Ceuta, but it was destroyed by Henry III of Castille in
- After the Reconquista (the reconquest of Spain, completed in 1492), the town was rebuilt
by Andalucian refugees. It prospered due in part to their skills, and to thriving pirate activity.
Moulay Ismail built Tetouan’s defensive walls in the 17th century, and the town’s trade links
with Spain developed. In 1860, the Spanish took the town under Leopoldo O’Donnell, who
extensively Europeanised it, but upon recapture two years later the Moors removed all the
signs of European influence.
At the turn of the 20th century, Spanish forces occupied Tetouan for three years, claiming it
was protecting Ceuta from Rif tribes. In 1913 the Spanish made Tetouan the capital of their
protectorate, which was abandoned in 1956 when Morocco regained independence. Lately the
Andalucian government has provided a great cultural boost to the city by financing various
restoration projects.
Sights
MEDINA
The whitewashed medina of Tetouan is an authentic time machine, and very traveller-friendly,
with moped-free lanes, few street hustlers, amiable residents and a general lack of congestion,
particularly in the large residential areas. In the commercial spaces, the sights and sounds of
traditional life are everywhere: craftsmen pound brass, silk merchants offer thousands of
spools of multicoloured thread and bakers tend the public ovens. There are some 35 mosques
as well, of which the Grande Mosquée and Saïda Mosque both northeast of Place Hassan II,
are the most impressive, although non-Muslims are not allowed to enter. If you get lost, a few
dirhams in local hands will get you to any doorstep.
The medina is bordered to the south by the pretty Lovers Park Offline map Google map , apleasant escape. At the time of research the old train station just south of here had been
transformed into the Contemporary Art Museum but was not quite ready to open.
Ethnographic Museum
Offline map Google map (admission Dh10; 9am-4pm Mon-Sat) Just inside the picture-perfect
eastern gate, Bab el-Okla, is the Ethnographic Museum which is worth a visit for the terrace
views of the Rif (ask the caretaker to open it for you, if necessary), its pleasant garden with old
cannons and the display of silk wedding gowns.
Artisanal School
Offline map Google map (admission Dh10; 8.30am-2.30pm Sat-Thu, 8.30-11.30am Fri) Justoutside Bab el-Okla is the best artisan centre in northern Morocco. This is a fascinating
opportunity to see masters teaching apprentices traditional arts, including ornamental
woodwork, silk costumes, carved plaster, intricate mosaics and decorative rifles. A fantastic
central treasury holds the best of the best – don’t miss the ceiling. Staff will open it upon
request. The building itself is of interest, set around a large courtyard, with fine doors upstairs.