Everyone recognises the deep, absolute blue of Chefchaouen. Far fewer people, however, have seen the rainbow-coloured façades of Aghroud, the walls repainted every summer in Asilah, or the purple rocks of Tafraoute. From the Rif Mountains to Meknès, five villages are well worth a colourful detour.
Morocco is best explored in colour — though never quite the same colours from one end of the kingdom to the other. The blue of the Rif bears little resemblance to the multicoloured shades of the Atlantic coast, which in turn have nothing in common with the violet-painted rocks of the Anti-Atlas. Five villages have made their palette a reason to stop by, for motives ranging from mystical symbolism to artistic whim.
- Moulay Idriss Zerhoun
- Aghroud
- Asilah
- Tafraoute
- Chefchaouen
Aghroud, the fishermen’s rainbow
Thirty kilometres north of Agadir, on the road to Essaouira, a tiny fishing village almost dares to rival Burano. It all began when Abdelkebir Moutli, a local community activist, painted his house in a vivid shade to break with the surrounding monotony, drawing inspiration from both Berber aesthetics and folk art.
The neighbours soon followed suit, adding murals, patterns and bold blocks of colour from one façade to the next. Aghroud is now dressed in pink, mint-green and orange walls that the Atlantic sun renders slightly unreal.
Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, a colourful puzzle
Seen from afar, Moulay Idriss Zerhoun resembles a giant multicoloured game of Tetris spread across two hills thirty kilometres from Meknès, overlooking the Roman ruins of Volubilis. The holy town was founded in the 8th century around the tomb of Idriss I, founder of the kingdom’s first dynasty.
Red, yellow, blue and pink façades climb all the way to the summit, among them the cylindrical minaret of the Sentissi Mosque — the only one of its kind in Morocco — crowned with green tiles engraved with Quranic verses.
Asilah, the medina as a canvas
In 1978, artist Mohammed Melehi and journalist Mohamed Benaïssa came up with the brilliant idea of entrusting the walls of Asilah — then a small coastal town without electricity or running water — to painters from around the world.
Since then, the cultural avant-garde has gathered there every summer during the Moussem festival to transform the town’s walls into giant canvases, constantly renewed. Before each edition, residents whitewash the façades, closely followed by artists who cover them with fresh geometric designs and figurative works.
Tafraoute, a spectacular desert
In 1984, artist Jean Vérame — a Belgian painter and sculptor known for his monumental interventions in the Sinai and Tibesti regions — arrived in the Anti-Atlas with 18 tonnes of paint and a team of Moroccan firefighters. He covered dozens of pink granite boulders in blue, red and violet, colours that sharply contrast with the surrounding arid landscape. The most spectacular example of land art in the Maghreb can be visited three kilometres from Tafraoute, at an altitude of 1,200 metres.
Forty years later, nature has faded the colours into pastels. Hassan Amzil, an entrepreneur from the nearby village of Aday, regularly restores them and adds new shades.
Chefchaouen, the Rif painted in smalt blue
Founded in 1471 to resist the Portuguese, Chefchaouen is said to have originally been green — the sacred colour of Islam. Later, refugees arriving from Andalusia are believed to have painted the walls blue to evoke the sky and the divine presence. Or perhaps the blue came to Chefchaouen simply to cool its winding alleyways and keep mosquitoes away?
Whatever its origins, the colour now cascades through the town in shades ranging from azure to deep cobalt, depending on the neighbourhood and the family. Every spring, the town’s 42,000 inhabitants repaint the façades of this medina perched 600 metres above sea level, between the Kelaa and Meggou mountains. Instagram later turned it into a global star.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axuwx7Y3aFI
Are you planning a trip to Morocco? Find out more in these articles:
- The most beautiful city in Morocco is a veritable open-air museum and worth the detour
- In Morocco, this stunning surf spot is among the most sought-after in the world (yet it remains surprisingly peaceful)
- In Morocco, archaeologists may have uncovered the earliest human “jewellery”
- This small fishing village in Morocco is a surfers’ paradise and the trendiest destination of the moment
