The White Dove
White houses, green doors.
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The old walled town of Tetouan, nicknamed the White Dove, on the slope of Jbel Dersa above the Martil valley, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. After the Castilians destroyed the earlier town in the early fifteenth century, it was rebuilt late in that century by Andalusian Muslims who had fled Granada under Ali al-Mandari, giving it a strongly Andalusian character. It is one of Morocco's smallest medinas and among the most completely preserved, with white houses with green doors and shutters, narrow and sometimes covered lanes, zellij fountains, mosques and zawiyas, and walls with seven gates once closed at night. The souks are grouped by craft: the Guersa Kebira for textiles and djellabas, the fish market, craftsmen in brass, wood and zellij, and the old tannery near Bab Mkabar. The kasbah tower looks down from the top of the town, and many families keep up the traditions of Andalusian music and Tetouani cooking. Wandering is free, and the medina is relatively calm and less touristy than the cities of the south. You usually enter from Place Hassan II by the Royal Palace, and a licensed guide helps you discover its Andalusian houses.
White houses, green doors.
Textiles, brass, zellij.
The legacy of Granada.
Old medina, Tetouan, on the slope of Jbel Dersa
Bab El Okla Museum (Ethnographic Museum)An ethnographic museum in an old defensive bastion at Bab El Okla, one of the hi1 minute walk
Place Hassan II and the Royal PalaceTetouan's main square, linking the medina with the modern town built during the 4 minutes walk
Archaeological Museum of TetouanAn archaeological museum in a building completed in 1939 near Place Hassan II, o7 minutes walkIts clear Andalusian character, since refugees from Granada rebuilt it, its complete preservation and its calm compared with the southern cities.